Using Your Phone to Reinforce Priorities & Minimize Distractions.
They say two feelings cannot occupy the same space at the same time. I suggest they can, and do, in the form of my phone. I love my phone's beautiful simplicity and power. I love the freedoms it grants me to talk with clients and friends while on a walk, listen to audio books while I grout the entryway tile, fall asleep to Mary Backstayge's adventures in the Dry Tortugas, and have an fantastic camera with me at all times. But I hate, looking down at the screen, using most apps, and getting sucked into diversions and time-wasters. Love it or hate it, it is a part of my life and I look at it dozens of times a day.
Since I struggle to maintain focus, I decided see what I could do to "flip the script" and turn my phone from a temptation to distraction, to an ally in reinforcing my priorities and reducing distraction.
1) Lock Screen and Wallpaper
We pickup our phones so many times a day, why not make the first thing we see inspiring and remind us of where our focus should be? I jumped in to Canva and created a lock screen template for just that purpose.
I placed pictures that represent my top priorities for the month in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and inspiring to me. Then downloaded and saved to my lock-screen and an single accent image as my wallpaper.
Now, every time I look at my phone, I am reminded what I am working toward this month.
It satisfies my creativity and helps me track the passage of time and the importance of taking action.
2) Do Not Disturb
Implementing the "Do Not Disturb" features has played another major roll in turning my phone to friend from foe in my "Focus Battles". Why I did not customize this feature ages ago, I'll never know. Do yourself a favor, spend a few minutes setting this up and eliminate hours of useless distraction.
On an iPhone, go into "Settings" and scroll down to the "Focus" section. From here you can customize each category, including "Smart Activation" which will turn on the setting automatically.
Once you have these set, you can swipe down from the very top of the screen and switch your focus setting at any time.
These "set and forget" tools are huge time-savers.
3) Reminders
There are times when it is actually helpful to be interrupted with a reminder to check my thoughts and actions, to make sure they are aligned with my goals. If I am rehashing a painful event or stuck in an internal berating, my phone (or paired watch) tapping me with a reminder to be present and lean-in to life, can be helpful.
On an iPhone, go to the "alarm" setting and add a reminder to take your Omega-3s, think of three things for which you are grateful, get some sun, send a message to a friend, play a game with the kids, or check in with your body... whatever you need to refocus on what matters.
Here's to a more engaged, less distracted life!
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