A Couple Ways I Avoid Cell Phone and Other Addiction
A few small ways I avoid the cell phone causing craving.
One: When I’m walking and feel the urge to check something on my phone, instead of getting it out, I pick a spot ahead and tell myself I can get it out of my pocket and check it there. I usually pick a distance of a block or two, sometimes more, which means a minute or two later, sometimes five or ten.
I’m consistently surprised at how often I find I’ve passed the spot having forgotten to check my phone. The urge feels so strong and whatever I hope to find out so important that in the moment it comes, I can’t imagine forgetting it. A minute later it’s gone. It comes back, but through experience I learn the fleetingness of the craving. It teaches me not to trust those feelings.
I’m not saying the craving goes away or that handling the urges has become easy, but I have developed skills to handle them and expect to develop the skills more.
Two: I don’t store pictures or songs on it. It has something like 128 gigabytes of space and around 120 of it remains unused. I stream library audio books, but otherwise don’t use it for much more than phone, texting, checking email, and Wi-Fi hot spot.
Three: I avoid apps that prompt craving. I use a few, like to buy train tickets and show I’ve been vaccinated.
If it weren’t for the hot spot, I mostly use the phone as a non-smart phone.
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