Giving up your phone for Lent? Here are a few tips to help
The focus of Lent is sacrifice and could there be a bigger sacrifice than giving up time on one's beloved phone?
Well, yes, but it does feel like a huge sacrifice for a lot of people.
If you set less screen time as your Lenten sacrifice, there are ways to make it easier. Catherine Price literally wrote the book on the topic: "How to Break Up With Your Phone."
(MORE: 5 ways to KonMari your smartphone)
Read below for four of Catherine's top tips to give your phone a rest during this season.
1. Make changes to your physical environment
Price recommends starting with the basics, like purchasing a stand-alone alarm clock so you don't have to rely on your phone and keeping the phone's charging station out of sight, like in a closet.
Another recommendation is to create a pre-bedtime alternative for yourself, like a book on your bedside table, and keep a pad of paper near you so you can write things down instead of reaching to type notes on your phone.
(MORE: Are you in a toxic friendship? 5 tips on how to break up with toxic friends)
If your whole family is trying to limit their screen time, establish "no-phone zones" in your house, like bedrooms and the dining room table, suggests Price.
2. Make changes to your phone
Make your phone not as enticing by changing your home screen to something generic (i.e. not personalized) and keeping on it only apps that are tools.
Move your other apps, the ones that draw you in, into folders or delete them entirely, recommends Price. (Read here for tips on how to 'KonMari' your smartphone.)
Price also suggests changing your phone's lock screen to a message that will remind you of the value of your time. Downloadable options are available here.
Finally, turn off as many notifications as possible on your phone so you're not bombarded with updates, according to Price.
3. Think of your phone as a craving
By thinking of the urge to grab to grab your phone as a craving, you'll develop the ability to notice the craving and ride it out without giving in.
"The more you practice it the better you'll get at it but you can always reach for your phone again," she told "GMA" last year. "You're in control."
Price also recommends asking yourself three questions if you are about to reach for a phone: What for? Why now? What else [could I be doing]?
4. Find a buddy
Whether it's a friend, a family member, a coworker or a fellow churchgoer, Price says there is "power in numbers" when stepping away from your smartphone.
"It's more fun and more effective if you do it with other people," she said.
Price recommends creating an auto-reply or posting a message on your social media accounts so people know you are away and you don't feel guilt about missing notifications.
For more resources, challenges and information, visit phonebreakup.com.
