I feel the tug to check my phone more than I want to as much as anyone. I like when I find ways to feel more free. I already wrote how I put it on airplane mode more all the time.

For my next trick, I don’t know if others do it or if others know it already, but I find an effective on that worked well enough that I found other ways to do it.

Sometimes when I walk down the street, I feel the tug to check my email or if I got any messages. Many other people are on their phones that they prompt that tug. With Manhattan’s density, they’re constantly almost running into me.

Trick 1: Pick a spot to check

The first trick is: when I feel that tug, instead of checking email or getting my phone out if it’s in my pocket, I look ahead, find a spot, like a fire hydrant, street sign, or intersection, and say to myself, “I’ll check my phone when I pass that hydrant,” or whatever spot.

The more I do it, the farther ahead a spot I pick. That is, at first I’d pick a spot a few steps forward from me. Later I picked spots farther. Now I might pick a spot a block or so away. Commonly, if I’m on Tenth Street walking north, I’ll tell myself that I’ll check the phone when I cross Eleventh Street. Something like that.

The surprise

I was surprised when I started the practice how often I’d forget by the time I reached the spot, even when it was a few steps away. I’d say, “I’ll check it when I pass that stop sign,” and by the time I passed the sign, my mind was thinking about other things, and I’d only remember a long time later, at which time I’d do the same trick

I wouldn’t believe the next part if I didn’t experience it: I still forget now, years into doing the trick.

The lesson

The lesson I learned from all this experience is that the urge to check passes whether I check or not. If I check, I don’t benefit much. If I don’t check, I retain mental freedom.

Trick 2: Pick a few minutes later

When I’m on the phone talking to someone, I also often feel the tug to check email. I’m using the phone, so it’s on my mind. I’m sure people check their emails and social media while talking to me. On video calls you can see people trying to look like they’re engaged while obvious doing something else.

My trick here is similar to picking a spot. I tell myself to check in a few minutes. Usually I forget that I wanted to check.

With these two tricks, I’ve reduced my phone time and increased my mental freedom with no cost or added apps.