I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to my phone. Even pooping without staring at my phone seems hard on some days. I’ve tried a lot: 30-day digital detox, uninstalling most apps, switching off all notifications… but nothing has really worked.
I’m also aware of the costs:
- Worse sleep
- More negativity
- Less productivity
- Reduced attention span
- Wasting hours every day
The list goes on.
Honestly, I nearly gave up. But then I found a method that was so simple that I might even stick to it. My hope is that some other phone addict reads this and profits from this method as well (even if you are not addicted but can simply reduce your phone time by a few minutes every day, this is worth reading).
How to battle phone addiction: the phone foyer method
In an article titled “A Piece of Advice I Wish I’d Included in My Book,” Cal Newport, the author of Digital Minimalism, suggests having a fixed place for your phone in your home.
“When you get home after work, you put your phone on a table in your foyer near your front door. Then — and this is the important part — you leave it there until you next leave the house.” – Cal Newport
I love this method because it is:
- Very clear
- Simple
- Manageable
It also doesn’t force you to take more drastic measures that you likely won’t stick to, like uninstalling most apps, including WhatsApp and Google Chrome. Additionally, the method ties in well with my advice to keep your phone out of the room where you study chess—a classic two-in-one.
Now that I work from home again, this is a simple way to be more productive—e.g., create more content for you guys—and waste less time when I actually want to work! You keep all the advantages of having a phone – you can receive calls, Google stuff, text friends… and get rid of most disadvantages – no distraction during the home office, no compulsive scrolling, no phone in the bedroom…
If you want to get precise instructions, check out Cal’s Article. Here is to more undistracted, deep work and less scrolling,
Keep improving,
Noël
PS: This article was initially sent out to my Newsletter list. If you want to get chess improvement advice for free in your inbox, join 17,000+ chess improvers by signing up for Friday Grandmaster Insights here.
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