Ditch the Doom-Scroll: Why a Classic Watch and Paper Notebook Are My Secret Weapons Against Phone Distraction
Try this out and regain hours of your time
We know that smartphones tend to dominate our lives. They give access to a whole world of both useful and not-so-useful apps and information. Many, today, are like me, trying to reduce the use of smartphones and regain control of our time.
Without doubt, smartphones are useful, and in many ways virtually essential for daily life. It is possible for us to reduce our time devoted to these electronic marvels. After all, much of the time many people use them is not for banking, paying for things, or navigating their way around. Much of their use is for what has become known as “doom-scrolling” — looking at apps, often for social media, and getting caught up in the ever-flowing threads of videos and posts appearing on the screen.
One big reason people end up scrolling is when they pick up their phone for another task and end up staying glued to the screen. There are too many distractions.
What can we do to reduce the temptation to look at our phones?
It might start with a watch!
For many, the smartphone is their timepiece. A quick look at the screen to check the time is fine, but … there are notifications capturing our attention. More TikTok videos to watch, Facebook posts, and emails to read, all of which are unlikely to be important at that moment.
Wearing a simple watch, rather than a smartwatch connected to your phone, could help. An accurate watch costs little these days, and a quick glance at your wrist eliminates the chance of being distracted by your phone. Upon checking watch sales statistics, I found that in 2023, 200 million watches were sold. A staggering percentage of these were smartwatches, with 186 million bought by people thinking how useful their new watch will be. These devices are now another distraction and will inevitably lead to a user picking up their smartphone more often as a result of wearing one. Or, perhaps, just glued to a tiny watch screen.
I like to wear a standard watch. It tells the time and date. In my watch collection, I also have a Casio W-96m, a cheap digital watch that includes a stopwatch and alarm, both something I would otherwise use my phone for. Wearing a watch reduces my need to check the phone and get sidetracked.
Carry a notebook and pen
One other thing I find invaluable is carrying a notebook1 and pen. Making a note on paper is another way of reducing my reliance on a phone. In the past, I would make many notes on my phone. Using electronic notes isn’t always a bad thing, and maybe after noting something on paper, there might be a reason to add it to my Notes app later. Adding everything to a notes app will provide more opportunities to become distracted. At the end of the day, having many notes can just be clutter in the app, and having fewer will be better and more manageable. In reality, having notes in a notebook often means they are more likely to be acted upon and not forgotten once added to a phone.
My smartphone has many apps. Most of them don’t attract my attention. Apps for car parks, loyalty schemes, banking, navigation, and so forth sit there until I need them. I have removed social media apps and indeed have closed some accounts. There are no distractions when there is nothing to distract! If I need to access anything like that, I will use my laptop.
Now, of course, there are many who have only one electronic device and like to have social media apps. If you can, do reduce the quantity of platforms you use. Perhaps you can set limits on them as to when and for how long you use them? Android and iPhone allow you to do this. I will write more about a life with less social media in the future.
Back to the notebook
There is a great temptation to pick up our phone when we are waiting, or using public transportation. This is where a notebook can be your new friend. Rather than doomscrolling, open your notebook and check what you have written. Is there anything you have forgotten to do? Is there something you need to learn, perhaps? Possibly like I do, you may have written down a new word with its meaning and now use the note to try to remember it.
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With the notebook open, take out your pen, and get your thoughts down on paper. Maybe review your day, or plan for tomorrow. Something might be happening around you that will make for an excellent conversation in the future. Write it down. If you like to write, or blog, these moments with a notebook and a pen are wonderful opportunities. They would be lost if that time were to be spent on the phone. Time can never be reclaimed. We might wonder: How much time is wasted around the world each day on needless phone apps?
I can vouch that having a watch, a pen, and notebook can improve your life. We can get back to a time when people had control and not electronics. Yet, we can master our electronic devices with care and using tools that help us in the war with the tech companies that are trying to get our time and data.
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