For all the conveniences  smart phones offer us, they’re also prime distractions. Many of us have unhealthy relationships with our phones that harm our productivity and mental health. We’re all aware of this, but as with many bad habits or bad relationships, it’s difficult to change things even if we want to.

If you’re looking to change the way you interact with your phone for the better, the experts have a few tips to help you avoid wasting your time on apps and improving your general well-being.

First and foremost, alter the appearance of your phone to make it less appealing. Change the color scheme to grayscale in the settings to reduce the visual appeal. In a similar vein, organize your phone mindfully. Put only useful apps on the first screen, placing games and social media in a folder on another screen so they can only be accessed deliberately. This will help you resist temptation and reduce mindless scrolling. 

The next and equally helpful thing the experts advise has to do with setting boundaries and blocking out time away from your phone. Turn off notifications when you’re trying to get work done or need to be present for family time. This can also be applied to computers to ensure better focus on your tasks. Be sure to power your phone off well before bed, and if possible put it in a different room overnight to reduce the temptation of looking at it if you wake up during the night, which is highly disruptive. An old-fashioned alarm clock is a much safer bet for a beside wakeup call.

For the full list of advice and tips, read EVP Ken Sterling’s full article here.