The average person (myself included) spends several hours a day on their phones and if you believe any of the research articles written on the subject, that equates to somewhere around 3-4 hours a day per individual.
This isn’t good or bad, it’s all relative. There are social media influencers out there who most likely exceed that number and pull in six figures annually.
What I do believe is if we are going to spend close to half of our working hours on our phones, that time should be put towards our interests or at least discovering what those interests are.
I have a great interest in personal finance and achieving retirement goals. Spending those 3-4 hours following people that have accomplished what I’m striving for would be in my best interest.
Our days are made up of small successes and the act of managing your phone time is a good place to start.
What would you spend your time doing if you had to choose?
Some of us are luckier than others because we’ve already gone through this self-discovery stage, for most that is not the case. Dig deeper into passions that may have gone by the wayside over the years.
If you were interested in starting a blog, you could find a step-by-step guide and have a website up in a matter of hours; if you were interested in photography, you have the tools available to create, edit and share your content all in one.
The opportunities are endless. As we enter a new decade, think back to early 2010 when smartphones and social media as we know them to be today were in their infancy.
Stay consistent enough to create a new habit
Like I mentioned at the beginning, this is not an argument for pulling ourselves off our phones. I doubt that’s realistic; at least for me, I knew it was a losing battle.
It’s all about time management and in today’s society our phones are a big part of that.
If you were forming a budget, you would first look at what you’re spending the most money on, and start looking at ways to reduce that cost or put the money being spent to better use.
When it comes to healthy eating habits, it’s always better to think lifestyle change than short term diet. This is no different. The overall goal is building a long-term habit, not a temporary fix.
Invest in yourself
Investing time in yourself is always the first place to start when it comes to achieving any long term success. Half of your time is already committed to certain tasks before you even wake up.
The easiest way to set a clear direction for how you spend your time is to set a goal. It could be short term or long, financial or personal.
Without a goal we end up wasting time without knowing why, or even giving it a second thought.
Odds are you are not the busiest person in the world, but I can bet we’ve all felt like we were at some point in our lives.
Two things we all have is downtime and a phone. The first thing we turn to when we have downtime is our phones.
Turn that hour of lunchtime or that 15-minute break into something productive.
Manage your time
Your days might be so busy that you’re always on the move, but always remember to make time for what’s important.
Time is your most important resource, be creative, use it well and all your successes will surely follow.