A two-second hack to combat smartphone stress

Amy Shearn
Forge
Published in
1 min readFeb 19, 2021

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📱Today’s tip: Turn off your notifications on one app for 24 hours.

We all know that taking a break from your phone is good for the soul, restorative for the mind, blah blah blah. It’s also, uh, a tall order when you’re stuck at home in a pandemic and your smartphone is the only thing that makes you feel tethered to the outside world. The good news is, you don’t have to chuck that iPhone out the window in order to give your brain a rest.

The therapy group Real offers a very doable way to cut down on stress and improve your focus: Turn off your notifications for a day. Or start even smaller and pick a single app that’s been a source of distraction for you. When the 24 hours are up, you can switch your notifications back on — if you even want to anymore.

📋 More from Forge on finding your focus:

How to Escape the Vicious Cycle of Distraction
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This Spreadsheet Can Help You Focus on What’s Important
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What You Lose With ‘Deep Work’
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Amy Shearn
Forge

Formerly: Editor of Creators Hub, Human Parts // Ongoingly: Novelist, Essayist, Person