How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price is an excellent read that explores the unhealthy relationship *most* people have with their cellphones. How to Break Up with Your Phone is a super quick and easy read, broken up into two clever sections. The first part explores why we’ve become so addicted and the side effects of being constantly glued to our phones. The second part lays out a 30-Day Plan for you to follow — one step / task per day. The ultimate goal is to teach you how to have a better and healthier relationship with your phone.
WHY I DECIDED TO BREAKUP WITH MY PHONE
I will be the first to admit that I am addicted to my phone. Sometimes I find myself opening and checking my phone, even though I know no notifications came in. Sometimes I find myself reaching for it after I literally just opened and closed it. Checking it when I’m in line at a grocery store. Checking it when I’m sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. Checking it on the metro. Checking, checking, checking. My phone is glued to my hand when I go for walks. My phone sits next to me when I read. My phone is right next to my laptop as I type this post. It’s distracting AF. And worst of all, sometimes I find myself reaching for my phone when I’m in the presence for friends and family. It’s insane and I don’t want to be this way. Hi, I’m Dara Boxer, and I have a gross, unhealthy, dependent relationship with my phone. To be honest, it gives me anxiety, and I need help breaking my ridiculous phone habits.
How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price
PART I: THE WAKE-UP
The first part of Catherine Price’s book dives deep into how and why we’re so deeply addicted, constantly checking our phones, continuously and mindlessly scrolling and reading, and missing the world around us. Queue depression, anxiety, and loneliness — the first part of the book is filled with eye opening data. Part I also explores extensive research, studies, and data on the harm our phones are causing. The addiction, our rapidly declining attention span, the truth about multitasking, the social media dilemma, poor memory, blue light issues, and of course, the stress our phones actually cause us. It was really disturbing, to be honest… which is great because Part II teaches us to have a healthier relationship!
PART II: THE BREAKUP
The second part is the 30 day action plan that will help develop a healthier relationship with your phone. The point isn’t to trade in your iPhone for a flip phone (though my husband keeps throwing this out as a serious solution), but rather foster a better and healthier relationship. The steps are guided, easy to do, and help change our nasty phone habits and rewire our brains. Catherine is a good friend of my husband, and when she was in the process of writing this book last spring, she needed guinea pigs to participate in real-life experiments to help collect data and actual feedback. It was a blast, and I’m thrilled to share some of the changes I made, and still incorporate to this day. Oh, and if you look carefully, Alex and I are featured in some quotes in Catherine’s book.
HOW MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY PHONE IS NOW DIFFERENT
My biggest change after completing The 30-Day Plan: I no longer charge my phone in the bedroom overnight, it now lives in the kitchen. Which means I’m not allowing blue light to seep into my bedroom, nor is checking my phone the first or last thing I do when I go to bed / wake up.
My second biggest take away, that’s been a total game changer: I’ve deleted any apps that are a complete waste of time (i.e. Snapchat) and I’ve turned off all notifications other than phone and text (yes, including email!), which has eliminated my urge to check 100x my phone a day.
My husband and I have a strict no phones during meals policy (unless I need to snap a photo of a fancy dish at a restaurant). I try my absolute hardest to keep my phone in my purse when I’m with friends and family as well.
I still regress, and find myself becoming addicted all over again at times. But after reading this book, I feel like I’m able to identify and pinpoint triggering cues and take a step back. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a cell phone, because chances are you’re addicted, just like the rest of us!