On average we spend 3 hours 15 minutes on our phones, checking them a whopping 58 times a day. 

Find yourself going to check the weather on your phone, only to realise 20 minutes later that although you may now know what your friend’s dinner looked like last night, you still don’t know whether to pack an umbrella? It’s no secret that most of us spend too much time on our phones.

And although they are a very productive tool, research is consistently finding that ‘context switching’ is killing our productivity and can have a negative impact on our mental health.

Here are some tips on how to combat these effects:

Change your screen

Simply moving your most-distracting apps to another screen can give your brain a bit of a check-in before you automatically open your usual go-to apps without realising.

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Delete or log out of social apps

This may fill you with fear, but try it for a day, a week or even a month and you could find yourself with a clearer mind. (Warning: this may mean that you need to tell friends what you’ve been up to when you see them as they won’t automatically know).

Deploy “Do Not Disturb” mode

Try this one evening a week or at the weekend and you may find yourself more engaged in the moments around you. (Tip: you can still enable certain incoming phone numbers in case of emergency).

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Replace your ‘habit’ with something more positive

Instead of having social media and news apps on your front page, replace it with a note-taking or writing app. Journaling has been found to have huge mental benefits.