Just Pay Attention! A Mindful Approach to Your Phone

How Can We Control a Device When It Feels Like It Controls Us?

We’ve all been in those early morning Zoom meetings when our brains aren’t fully functional yet. We’re struggling to focus and pay attention, but our hands keep inching towards our phones. Before we know it, our phone is in our hand and we are scrolling… When we tune back into the meeting, we’ve definitely missed something important and now we’re lost.

Unfortunately, this is more common than we would like to admit. Smartphones have trained our brains, and our hands, to seek constant engagement and stimulation. Some people can’t focus at all without a phone in their hands.

And this is all by design. Our brains have been rewired to crave constant digital stimulation. Why? Because it taps into our brain’s reward center, releasing dopamine. This is called the slot machine theory.

As a result, the average American spends more than seven hours per day on screens. The constant stream of notifications and triggers on mobile devices has negatively affected our cognitive processes, especially focus and concentration.

How can we break this pattern, improve our focus, and become more present? Mindfulness can help.

What is Mindfulness, Anyway?

The term mindfulness is tossed about everywhere these days, but what does it actually mean? According to the Annual Review of Psychology, it’s simply the “practice of fostering greater attention to and awareness of present moments and experiences.” In other words, pay attention to what’s happening around you. Not so complicated, right?

In spite of its trendiness, the many proven benefits of using mindful intervention techniques have long been known. These include reductions in chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and addiction. And there you have it, “addiction.” In a world where people are glued to their phones, it makes perfect sense that there is so much hype around mindfulness.

But it’s not just a lot of hype over nothing. Practicing mindfulness improves your attention to detail, presence, and working memory. It has also been shown to support overall mental health, including mood stabilization and emotional regulation. Studies have found that even brief practices of 10 minutes a day can significantly improve well-being. 

Mindful Activities That Improve Focus

Keeping our hands busy with something other than a digital device offers many benefits. Activities such as journaling, painting, puzzling, and using coloring books improve focus. In fact, adult coloring books help relax the mind and refocus our attention on the present moment. It also helps keep our minds from wandering to other matters, such as tasks we need to complete. 

Consider drawing on paper or taking notes during meetings to help you stay present.

Here are a few mindfulness exercises to help you practice. 

Tips to Be More Mindful With Devices

It starts with having awareness of your own smartphone use and patterns. The next time you reach for your device, pause and take a moment to check in with yourself. What are you planning to do after you unlock the phone?

Notice how you respond when you hear a notification sound. Do you immediately glance at your phone? How quickly do you respond?

What apps distract you the most? Are you constantly refreshing your email throughout the day? You may spend a lot of time auto-pilot scrolling on Instagram.

After you unlock your phone, pay attention not only to what you're seeing, but also to how it makes you feel (before, during, and after). How is your body responding? Are you feeling stressed, anxious, or excited?

It’s essential to be specifically mindful while using social media. Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, recommends: “Taking a step back and thinking about what I’m seeing...Being mindful of how we use social media is challenging because some apps are designed to be used mindlessly, to keep people scrolling through an endless stream of videos and targeted content.”

What Did You Learn? 

Now that you’ve stepped back and examined your digital habits, how do you feel? Some of us might feel a little icky. Perhaps we didn’t realize how much time we were wasting on our phones. 

So what do we do about it?

One technique recommended by therapists for breaking patterns of addiction is called Motivational Interviewing. Rather than diving into all the scientific research and details, let’s break down a simple exercise you can try to become more mindful and develop healthier tech habits. You can do this practice alone or with a friend.

Start by choosing one tech habit you would like to change. Then ask yourself a few simple questions. 

• Why do you want to make this change? 

• How has this unhealthy habit impacted your life?

• What specific examples can you think of how this habit has created problems?

• How important is it to you to make this change on a scale of 0–10? What might increase that number?

• How confident are you that you can make this change on a scale of 0–10? Can you increase that number?

• What are the pros and cons of this change?

• How would this change improve your life?

Now that you’ve answered these questions, you have a clear understanding of the change you want to make and why it’s essential to your wellbeing. You might need a few resources to help you commit to the change and make it easier to accomplish. 

This “Mindful Moments Challenge” can help.