THE SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE, MEANINGFUL, WELL-DESIGNED LIFE /
THE F Ê T E / LIF E PROJECT NO.
50
SIMPLIFY YOUR SMARTPHONE AND UNPLUG Welcome to the Fête/Life Project – a collection of helpful, useful and practical articles that can be applied to life at any time, but especially now. Sourced from the many magazines we have released, our message has never been more relevant or needed by our community today… let’s embrace the simple life and treasure what is truly important – human connection, community, self care and pure acts of kindness. SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST /
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health / W E L L - B E I N G
STORY / ELLA LIASCOS
SIMPLIFY YOUR SMARTPHONE AND UNPLUG Remember when phone etiquette existed and calls after 8pm were considered rude? Nowadays, scrolling through a phone is the last thing many people do before bed. Since it’s one of the biggest aspects of modern life, creating healthy boundaries and tidying our smartphones can simplify life like nothing else. There was a time when my iPhone stole
Smartphones do a great job of soothing
TOP TIPS /
every moment of solace and reflection
our nerves with an unmatched ability to
TRACK YOUR PHONE TIME /
there was in a day. When I was lying in bed
distract us. Despite yoga, meditation and
or in the line at the supermarket, I’d have a
alternative therapies booming in recent
‘quick scroll’ which would often turn into a
years Collier says, “Even people with strong
mindless half-hour surf. I attempted to cut
spiritual practices or those who have never
down, but it proved harder than I thought.
had other addiction issues now find
I relapsed constantly into excessive phone
themselves caught in the subtle trap of
use before finally getting to a point where
these miraculous tools we’ve created”.
I felt in control of my phone, not the other
A tool that even Apple founder, the late
way around.
Steve Jobs, admittedly limited his kids
But I’m not alone, most of us are addicted
from using.
to our phones. The average person checks
So how do we limit our own use of
their phone 150 times a day. But it's not for
technology when the temptation is so
our lack of willpower, since smartphones
great? Understanding the nature of our
are continually updated with innovative
minds, in the same way as coders do,
ways to keep us hooked.
is key to kicking the habit.
Despite being highly intelligent, humans
RE-DESIGN YOUR SMARTPHONE
are still largely ruled by primal instincts. It’s this venerability that coders like Ramsay Brown attempt to tap into. They even nickname this line of work, ‘brainhacking'. Brown co-owns a start-up called Dopamine Labs, where he writes code for apps that's designed to provoke a neurological response to keeps us coming back for more.
Have you ever opened your phone only
WE’RE ALL SPENDING MORE TIME ON OUR PHONES THAN WE THINK AND THAT SOBERING REALIT Y ALONE, MIGHT BE ENOUGH TO INSPIRE A CHANGE. ‘MOMENT’ A P P A U T O M AT I C A L LY T R A C K S OUR SCREEN TIME AND ALSO RUNS A SMARTPHONE BOOT CAMP TO HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE SPEND LOOKING AT OUR PHONE SCREEN. SWAP YOUR PHONE HABIT FOR SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE / M O S T O F U S H AV E S O M E H O B BY OR SKILL WE’VE WANTED TO DO F O R Y E A R S B U T H AV E N’T G OT A R O U N D TO, A N D T H I S I S T H E P E R F E C T O P P O R T U N I T Y T O F I N A L LY D O I T. I T ’S E A S I E R TO G E T R I D O F ONE HABIT WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A MORE POSITIVE ONE, SO D E D I C AT I N G T H AT F R E E D U P T I M E
to forget what you intended to do?
TO S O M E T H I N G M O R E C R E AT I V E
That’s because other apps are distracting.
OR CONSTRUCTIVE, WHETHER
Clearing our smartphones down to the bare essentials reduces the temptation to check apps unintentionally. As I became aware
I T ’S PA I N T I N G, M E D I TAT I O N O R R U N N I N G A B AT H, W I L L M A K E THE TRANSITION A MORE PLEASANT ONE.
of my phone habits, I noticed Instagram,
PICK UP YOUR PHONE
Facebook and Gmail were the biggest
CONSCIOUSLY /
culprits for distraction. In moments of
TA KI N G A B R E AT H A N D A M O M E N T TO PAUSE CONSIDER WHAT WE
Instagram for example, holds off ‘likes’
boredom, I'd open my phone and fall into
and give them to you all together in a
the browsing rabbit hole. Half an hour
sudden burst. It then analyses our level of
would fly by without me noticing. I found
I T U P I S I M P O RTA N T TO H E L P
activity after a burst of likes, to see if there
that burying all apps in a single folder on
DEVELOP A MORE CONSCIOUS
was an improvement in our behaviour.
the last page kept these apps out of sight
Since phone users are up against coders,
and out of mind. If I need an app, I swipe
psychologists and marketing gurus, relying
down to open up the search tab, which
solely on our willpower to break the
keeps my phone usage intentional.
OR DO SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD.
The front page of my phone is now blank
TURN YOUR PHONE TO
addiction isn't viable. HOW EXCESSIVE PHONE USE IS IMPACTING OUR BRAINS
Author of The Power of Off, Nancy Collier states, “Without open spaces and downtime, the nervous system shuts down — it’s in constant fight or flight mode”.
with only the essential apps like maps, phone calls and camera. I also deleted push notifications from all social media
R E A L LY I N T E N D T O D O W I T H OUR PHONES BEFORE PICKING
R E L AT I O N S H I P WI T H I T. I F T H E R E’S NO LEGITIMATE REASON TO PICK I T U P, T H A T ’ S A G O O D C U E T O TA KE I N YO U R S U R R O U N D I N G S
BLACK AND WHITE / I F YO U WA N T TO TA KE I T A S T E P FURTHER, JUMP INTO YOUR PHONE SETTINGS, HIT GENERAL
and keep my phone on silent to reduce
> ACCESSIBILIT Y > DISPL AY
the urgency to respond immediately. I
ACCOMMODATIONS > AND
discovered that responding to accumulated messages is much less overwhelming than
With faster paced lives, anxiety has
answering each one as they occur. If apps
become more widespread than ever.
like Instagram are still tempting, try
COLOUR FILTERS TO CHANGE YOUR PHONE TO GREYSCALE AND THOSE ENTICING RED NOTIFICATIONS WON'T HAVE T H E S A M E E F F EC T.
deleting the app after each use.
ISSUE NO. 28 / FETEPRESS.COM.AU
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health / W E L L - B E I N G
ANTICIPATE TEMPTATION
“It's very, very hard to do the right thing
SET UP PHONE-FREE PERIODS
Scheduling phone free periods in your day
today", says Adam Alter, author of
is a great way to reduce phone time and
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive
get more of the all-important ‘downtime’
Technology and The Business of Keeping
in our day that our brains require for
Us Hooked. “The lucid loop is this idea
healthy functioning. “Downtime
that when you're engaged in an addictive
replenishes the brain’s stores of attention
experience, like playing slot machines,
and motivation, encourages productivity
you get into this lulled state of tranquillity
and creativity, and is essential to both
where you just keep doing the thing over
achieve our highest levels of performance
and over again." It’s best to anticipate this
and simply form stable memories in
lucid-loop before it happens and find ways
everyday life,” writes Ferris Jabr in The
to beat it. One way to do this is set a timer
Scientific American. Time spent staring
or using an app that tracks your usage and
at a screen is not nourishing downtime
sends notifications when you’ve been on
and studies are discovering that blue light
your device too long. Apps like Moment
can affect our sleep cycle. I’ve taken a
track how much time you spend on your
‘no phone before 8am and after 8pm’ rule.
phone daily and also allows you to set a
It’s easy to remember and helps me to
daily limit. After exceeding the limit,
get real downtime. You can also set up a
Moment uses endless alarms to pester
‘Do Not Disturb’ function to screen calls
you off your phone. REPLACE THE HABIT
Creating backup behaviours can save us next time we fall into an unconscious browsing loop. By identifying the times that we unconsciously check our phones the most, we can begin to devise alternative behaviours. If you're a bedtime browser for example, reading a book or meditating can replace the habit. When waiting in line, use it as an opportunity to be mindful, look around you and if it's appropriate, even say hello or strike up a conversation with someone nearby. According to Nancy Collier, the author of The Power of Off, “It's connections to
between these hours, except for special contacts you allocate. DON’T RELY ON YOUR PHONE FOR EVERYTHING
What are your biggest excuses for keeping your phone nearby at all times? The answer might be the key to reducing incidental phone usage. One common excuse is needing our phone as an alarm clock. Buying a simple alarm clock to replace your phone, means you can charge it in a different room. As for Google, ask a stranger for directions, or engage in a debate instead of Googling the answer. These moments might strike up new, even life-long connections that may
other human beings — real life connections, not have happened if you remained buried in your phone. not digital ones — that nourish us and make us feel like we count". Writing is another alternative, more wholesome habit to replace phone usage with. Writing in a journal daily can helps us to process and resolve anything that’s troubling us or gnawing at our attention, instead of distracting ourselves from the issue with an electronic device.
Ella Liascos is a travel, sustainability and wellness writer based in Byron Bay. MOSSJOURNAL.COM /
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FETEPRESS.COM.AU / ISSUE NO.28