My phone now stays down stairs at night, and doesn’t come with me to pubs, on rides etc. I now have a watch that means I can receive texts and calls, and buy beers, track rides, use as an alarm, but not that much else. It isn’t something that can engage me for long. That’s helping.

I would happily stop bringing my phone into the bedroom if there was another alarm clock option that allowed me to set multiple alarm options & then turn them on & off as I need.

I’d put money on one of those bog standard £9 Casio alarm clocks being quicker to change the time on than navigating though an app.

They also have the most irritating tone ever, so you won’t sleep though it unlike “symphonic daybreak melody” or whatever my phone plays 🤣

@p7eaven
Free Member
No (permanent) answers yet, but happy to share my experience.

My name is P7eaven and I’m a ‘reading-and-watching-shit-on-mobile-devices’ junkie.

Am still trying to navigate/quantify how much of my passive-media addiction could be…/snip. a

Just wanted to say what a great post and vid. Given me pause for thought.

thisisnotaspoon
Full Member

I’d put money on one of those bog standard £9 Casio alarm clocks being quicker to change the time on than navigating though an app.

I wouldn’t.

Unlock phone with fingerprint…
Tap clock on home screen….
All alarm times/routines set are then visible whether active or not, with toggles for each one. So turning one off & another on takes 2 presses.

The whole process takes around 5 seconds (I just tried it).

That’s one of the main reasons I haven’t defected to a different alarm clock; I’m yet to find something that works as well.

I’d put money on one of those bog standard £9 Casio alarm clocks being quicker to change the time on than navigating though an app.

If anything like my Casio watch it’s a PITA to begin with until you get proficient. I never did*. But once set are set, I suppose.

*Grew quickly to mostly dislike it, and only ever really use it for camping. Currently seem to have mislaid it at home for a number of years which says a lot about how much I value/use the device at home, compared to a phone or tablet!

OP have you had a look at the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential? £25 (or about £15 used from ebay etc).

I would suggest meditation… It is essentially the practice of doing the very opposite. And practice makes perfect.

It’s not the sole remedy but I think it’s potentially the most powerful tool you have. Not only do you get to practice being in a place without any stimulus, it brings your attention back to the outside world and away from the inner thoughts that fuel the process.

In my opinion, that mental practice is essential if you want to protect yourself from the growing number of influences around us.

I know someone who got really bad with their phone.

I advised to put it on a shelf and set the timer for 1hr, and they could only look at it again when the time was up.

Might be worth a try as a crude way of rationing screen time.

I wouldn’t.

Unlock phone with fingerprint…
Tap clock on home screen….
All alarm times/routines set are then visible whether active or not, with toggles for each one. So turning one off & another on takes 2 presses.

The whole process takes around 5 seconds (I just tried it).

That’s one of the main reasons I haven’t defected to a different alarm clock; I’m yet to find something that works as well.

I think that’s missing the point. Surely the question is whether it’s worth the expense and hassle of a separate alarm clock to keep the phone away. To me it is

ampthill

I think that’s missing the point. Surely the question is whether it’s worth the expense and hassle of a separate alarm clock to keep the phone away. To me it is

I do get the point, but was merely asking whether an alarm clock exists that allows me to replicate the way I use my phone alarm without actually using the phone.
If a Casio alarm clock exists that allows me to have multiple alarms programmed and then just select the one I want, then that would be great. But if it’s more of a ballache to use, I’ll just end up using my phone again.

That Lenovo clock linked to above by p7eaven is the closest I’ve found, but it’s perhaps overkill as I don’t need the smart aspect of it. I could just turn the mic off and ignore all that as it’s not exactly expensive.

The best remedies for me are very simple ones.

Acceptance, with the understanding that you’re doing something about it

Turn off notifications. If you don’t see the number, or hear the ping, then it’s easier to ignore.

Do something that actually interests you rather than just anything that isn’t the phone. Puzzles, reading, scale modelling, cooking…you know; hobbies.

When you’re doing something you like (presumably MTB for instance) put the phone somewhere where stopping getting it out, taking your gloves off, is a PITA so you don’t do it. Or if you can’t trust yourself, don’t take it with you.

I am pretty much the same, don’t see it as much of a problem until I am sat in the pub and feel an urge to check my phone, WTAF? Before mobile phones you didn’t feel the need to run off and grab a newspaper every 5 mins, or ask a random stranger what they had been up to in the last hour, check answer machine messages etc. when you were in a pub.

Anyone have an idiots guide to using Google smart speaker tech so that I can ask it what time my first meeting is, set appropriate alarms, and then be able to leave my phone downstairs at night?

For an alarm option to get the phone out of the bedroom (although rather expensive option).

I have a couple of those ikea symfonisk lamps with hue bulbs, I have a sunrise set for the lights so they transition from a low light red setting to bright daylight over 30 mins at which point the music comes on. The phone can be anywhere in fact it would mean having to get out of bed to turn it off if the phone was elsewhere.

I don’t have a problem with overuse of my phone, but have developed a terrible procrastination habbit of browsing the internet while I am meant to be working that I wish I could find a solution for. Anyone know of an application that can timelock websites on a computer that I could install on my laptop? I would like to see what effect just allowing access to the main websites that I use to my lunch and coffee breaks would have.

How much do you really need a smartphone? Maybe try a simpler one that has the basics but won’t be useable enough for the addictive things.

I have a Nokia 2720 4G which is fine for me, has the ability to run basic apps & internet access but only really want to when needed… can give a full review if you’re actually interested!

Plus, flip phones are awesome 😁

@stump01, do you have an old phone in a drawer?

If you have (or get a s/h one) , delete all the unwanted apps from it and just have the clock/alarm running. I’ve done the same, with just hive Hive app and weather on it as well as a poor man’s smart alarm clock, works well.

Keep your main phone out of the bedroom.

I have also went for the 2 phone strategy.
Works one I’ve signed out of social media accounts on it.
Other one us a sim-less Note 3 with a really poor battery, it stays at home mostly. If it’s out of charge, oh well nevermind.
This method seems to have cured the Facebook dependency, now to go cold turkey on insta!

Unlock phone with fingerprint…
Tap clock on home screen….
All alarm times/routines set are then visible whether active or not, with toggles for each one. So turning one off & another on takes 2 presses.get distracted by Facebook and spend half and hour scrolling.

Twiddle dial, done.

Not a bad idea fettlin

tinas – HA HA, that’s funny. And probably a bit true. Although I don’t have FB on my phone for just that reason.