Using Technology to Improve Your Life

The world has turned upside down, and many of us have become increasingly grateful for technology. Thankfully, we can have Zoom meetings, follow home workouts from Instagram, have FaceTime chats with the family, and online group poker games with friends.

But at the same time, technology is also becoming less important in our lives. This time at home has encouraged us to whip out the card games, puzzles and Lego. I’ve seen more people out on bikes and walks than ever before. We’re taking up gardening, painting and baking.

I love that people are understanding the limits of technology. There’s only so long we can spend watching Netflix inside before we get bored. There’s only so many times you can scroll through a newsfeed.

And so whilst we’ve entered an era of virtual contact, we’ve also regressed to simpler, old-fashioned forms of entertainment. I love a paradox.

So yes, let’s be grateful for the technology keeping us connected and semi-functional. But let’s also be careful to not let it take over.

We all know the science by now: LED screens emit blue light, which our body interprets as sunlight. This disrupts our circadian rhythm (our wake-sleep cycle) and suppresses melatonin production (the sleepy chemical).

If we use our screens too much towards the end of the day, especially before bed, our body thinks it’s still day time. Bottom line is, you won’t be able to fall asleep or you’ll have poorer quality sleep.

We know this, and yet we still find ourselves using them more than we’d like. Our phones have become our 24/7 companions – we reach for them when we’re bored, lost, lonely, sad, happy. We reach for them mindlessly.

So I won’t deny that technology is incredibly useful, but I also want to encourage you to use it mindfully. Use it for a specific purpose. Use it on your terms, only when you want to.

Think of your phone as similar to that really fun, clever, interesting friend, that can turn demanding, distracting and a bit toxic when you don’t give them enough attention. Let’s take back control and make this relationship a healthy one.

I’m going to give you some tips on how to set up your phone so that it only brings you benefits, not detriments. And then I’ll give you a list of my favourite apps that can enhance your day-to-day living.

Customise notifications

App notifications are your phone’s clever way of triggering you and drawing you back to use them. Look at me, I’m still here! You’ve got a message! Someone likes you! You’re popular! There’s something you must do right this instant! Pretty hard to ignore.

Notifications encourage us to succumb to the impulse of checking our phone, and cause us to be constantly alert for the next pop-up. Remember, we want a healthy relationship. And the first step to any healthy relationship is boundaries.

I had begun to despise the number of times my screen lit up each day, demanding my attention, and the loss in focus I experienced every time. I was sick of getting work emails during my morning workout and losing count of my reps.

So I switched off all my app notifications. Yep, all of them. Facebook, Messenger, Snapchat, email, Pinterest, Instagram. It’s really easy to do this in your phone settings. You've just got to have the courage to do it! Now, the only things I still get notifications of are incoming calls and SMS (I receive hardly any SMS’s these days anyway…)

And I can tell you, it’s made a huge difference. I no longer feel that rushed, stressed sensation of five different people messaging me while I’m trying to get errands done. I don’t automatically grab my phone from my pocket after it vibrates when I’m having lunch with a friend.

When I have a break in my day, or when I actually need to use my phone, I’ll go in to the app. I'll read my emails, reply to my messages, and browse social media when I have the time to. It makes me feel more relaxed, rather than always multi-tasking.

I control when I want to use it. I don’t let it control me.

Try it out, put up those boundaries.

Track and limit usage

It’s all too easy to let the hours we spend on our phone accumulate. One message here, five minutes spent answering emails there, a quick break that turns into 30 minutes of scrolling. They all add up and we don’t realise how often we yield to that demanding, distracting friend.

Remember, we don’t want to be using our phones mindlessly. We want to be mindful.

So let’s start monitoring our usage. Some phones, like mine, have an in-built tracker in the Settings app – you can see the total hours you’ve spent on your phone, and which specific apps draw most of your attention.

It’s also a good idea to have accountability reminders and limits throughout the day. In Settings, you can set up daily timers for apps: when the timer ends, that app is paused for the rest of the day.

Parental controls are another way to create screen time limits for yourself. We all need to parent ourselves sometimes.

Other great apps for limiting phone usage are Moment, Toggl or Harvest. I haven’t used them personally, but if you’re struggling with limiting your screen time and need a bit more accountability, find one that works for you.

Night mode

Let’s talk about blue light again, A.K.A the reason that the modern human sleeps so poorly. Towards late afternoon and evening, we need to be thinking about darkness – limiting as much light exposure as we can.

And if you need to be using your screens during the latter end of the circadian rhythm, this is where night mode comes in.

Night mode turns your screen orange and reduces the amount of blue light hitting our retinas. Set it up to come on automatically on your phone, with the sunset or at a certain time. I also use it as a reminder to start putting my tech away – when night mode comes on, I think, “the phone's bedtime is soon!” Give those screens a curfew.

Flux is also a great app to reduce blue light from your laptop screen. Of course, we’re still getting light exposure. But it’s a step in the right direction.

Screen-free time

You use night mode in the evening, so now the next step is a period of time before bed that is 100% screen-free. The 1 – 2 hours before you sleep are crucial. The amount of light exposure you get will determine the quality of sleep you get and how rested you feel the next day.

So around 8pm I’ll put my phone on Airplane Mode. And I’ll put it away.

Airplane Mode is great because it won’t tempt you to check notifications that one last time before you hit the hay.

And I always charge my phone outside my room. First of all, there's too much temptation if it’s lying there next to your bed all night – way too easy to grab if you wake up at midnight, restless and struggling to fall back asleep.

I also don’t like reaching for my phone first thing upon waking. I enjoy those first few moments in my morning routine before turning it back on.

And of course, there’s the issue of radiation emission from a device less than 2 metres from our heads – but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

So set up a charging station in your kitchen or living room, and don’t move your charging cords from that spot. If you need an alarm to wake up, get an old-fashioned one with minimal bright lights on it.

Better yet, I’ve been wanting to invest in a Sunrise Clock – one that wakes you gently with increasing light in your room. Very natural indeed.

If you find yourself asking, “but what am I going to do in those 2 hours before bed?” I’ve got some advice for you.

Find a peaceful, soothing, wind-down routine. Make this your sacrosanct time, and don’t allow any screens to intrude! If you haven’t done anything nice for yourself yet today, now is the time.

Have a warm bath with candles, Epsom salts and essential oils. Read your favourite book with a cup of warm milk or herbal tea. Journal, draw, play a soothing instrument (maybe your acoustic instead of your electric guitar). Play a board game with your family. Do a small tidy up of your room to make it a sleep haven.

Find an activity that makes you feel indulgent and relaxed, and make it sacred. Let nothing of the screen variety interfere with your time. So that when you settle down in bed, all that built-up melatonin will take over and sweep you away into a beautiful, deep sleep. Sounds nice, doesn’t it.

Now that we’ve seen how to restrict our phones’ uses, let’s talk about how we can enhance our phones to make life better.

I’m very selective about the apps I have on my phone. If I no longer use it, or it wastes too much time, it goes. Here are some of my favourite apps.

Google Tasks

That never-ending to-do list you drag around in your brain, making you feel guilty every time you think about all the tasks on there - you know what I'm talking about, don't you. Easy fix: write it down on the app. Organising my thoughts, errands and projects on this app has honestly changed my life. It’s not so overwhelming when you see it written down. You can prioritise them, and choose to tackle one at a time. And the satisfaction of ticking them off is the icing on the cake.

Insight Timer

A place to find free meditations with a range of lengths, categories and speakers. I use it every morning, browsing for one that will resonate with me or help my current emotional state. For a paid subscription, you can unlock extra features. Other great meditation apps are Calm or Headspace. Start that daily meditation ritual, first thing in the morning or whenever you need to re-centre yourself. Or even use Calm Sleep Stories to wind you down before bed - just like when mum used to read you a bedtime story.

Down Dog

Yoga on demand, with endless combinations of movements and practices. You can customise the length, body part focus, music, and voice used in the session. Yoga is fantastic for a gentler form of exercise, on your rest days or when your body needs a break. It’s also perfect before bed as a night time wind-down. And right now, Down Dog offering free subscriptions while we’re all in isolation. So as I said in my earlier post, use your extra time at home to get into this wonderfully enriching and restorative practice.

HIIT Down Dog

For your workout days, HIIT is the answer. This app is also free at the moment, and it’s a great way to get in a sweaty workout session whenever you have the chance. You just set it up, put some pump-up music on, and follow along with the exercises. Again, fully customisable for the length, body part focus and intensity of your workout. And no equipment needed, just you and those legs you’re dying to stretch.

Tabata Timer

Another one for helping with workouts; there are many similar interval timer apps out there. If you already have a workout prepared and know the exercises, this will provide you with the timing and keep you motivated. HIIT and interval workouts are the quickest and most effective way to get sweaty and get results. Body weight exercises are still tough, believe me! Or better yet, get creative with household items you can use as weights.

Spotify

I’m sure most of us already use Spotify (or Apple Music, if you’re one of those people). But it’s such a huge companion to me that I couldn’t leave it out. I have a playlist for every mood and occasion. It gets me through workouts and housework, and accompanies my down time. Now is also a great time to start listening to podcasts, whether they're educational or for entertainment, they'll keep your mind stimulated. Audible is another great option if you’re into audiobooks – but I’m old-fashioned, I love the feel and smell of books.

We can’t change the fact that during isolation, we’re relying on technology more than ever before. But there are healthy ways to use it.

Remember that your phone ‘friend’ is fantastic and helpful in small doses, but pretty quickly that friend can turn into a backstabbing, nagging enemy.

So let’s become more mindful of how much time we dedicate to our phones, and use them only when and how we want to.

Our days will flow much easier, and we’ll be much more productive, present and grateful. Grateful that we can still see our friends' faces despite social distancing, can communicate with our work colleagues, and can share hope and solidarity around the world.

But also grateful for the simple things in life - tech-free walks and bike rides and down time.

Make some of these changes so that your phone improves your life, rather than distracts you from life. We no longer want to be mindless consumers, we want to be in the driver’s seat.

Take back control over your time – it’s precious.

And leave your phone at home next time you leave the house. I dare you.