Make Your Phone a More Joyful Place

I know you're an above average cool cat (because you're here), but chances are you are one of the millions of Americans who touches their phone 2,617 times, unlocks it 150 times, and checks it 96 times PER DAY. I guarantee the majority of those interactions are not intentional, and I don't blame you.

Phones were once our tools, but with the rise of well-crafted apps, notifications, and companies using psychology to get us hooked on scrolling, clicking, and responding to dings, it seems we have become the tools. Instead of using this technology to enhance our lives, make things easier, faster, and simpler, most of us now deal with a sense of anxiety, annoyance, and obligation to that dinging, buzzing contraption.

But with a few simple intentional steps, you can turn your phone back into the sidekick that helps you live superhero-style. It's much simpler than we make it out to be; all it takes is a little intention and about 10 minutes.

Watch the video above and reset your phone alongside me, using the points below to guide you!

How to make your phone work for you:

1. Choose your relationship with your phone.

Yes, really. Many of us let things be decided for us, but when it comes to a piece of technology that's designed to grab and keep your attention, you need to take control back and consciously choose. You need to be the superhero, not the sidekick.

- Is this a work tool?

- Is it for entertainment?

- Is it to connect with friends and family?

There's no wrong answer; just make sure it's a conscious choice. If you want to separate your work and personal phone, that's great. If you want to text Mom while sending work emails, that's great too. If you want to only play Mahjong or Candy Crush for the rest of your life, you better get good at it.

2. Decide which apps (and boundaries) align with your ideal life.

While you can't get rid of your coworker who texts too often, you can rearrange apps and screens. Which apps align with your best life? Which ones don't? What apps do you use during your happiest moments?

If you want to meditate daily, go outside weekly, and eat well, move those apps to your home screen. For me, moving AllTrails and plant identifying apps to my main screen has encouraged me to get outside more often. If your superhero self works out 5 times a week, meditates daily, and connects with loved ones, then your home screen and the easiest-to-tap apps should reflect that.

And for those unavoidable things like email and texts? Move them away from your easily reachable spots or mute notifications. Speaking of notifications...

3. Use notifications to your advantage!

First of all, not all notifications are bad! In this reset process, I added an affirmation app to my phone (because I can be a self-critical over-thinker) and opted into daily notifications. Now, instead of emails, texts, news, or social media updates, I receive little notes like "I give myself the grace and love I give to others." Does it make me love myself unconditionally? No, but it does transform my phone from an insatiable notification machine to a kind friend who reminds me that I'm loved.

4. Rapid-fire questions to add, delete, and rearrange apps:

- What apps help me grow? Make sure that meditation, nutrition, or audiobook app is front and center, making it easy to click on every day.

- What apps are holding me back? Delete anything that makes you feel negative. If you don't want to delete it, move it off the home screen, and please make sure you've turned off notifications as mentioned earlier.

- Replace FOMO with JOMO. Most apps make us feel FOMO - the fear of missing out. We've been conditioned to believe that the latest tweets, news, and Instagram reels will bring us happiness. Spoiler alert: they don't. Where can you find JOMO, the joy of missing out? For me, removing TikTok reminded me of my values and realigned me with my center. Despite how much I love outdoorsy cooking accounts (what can I say, I enjoy seeing people make tasty foods in the woods), I'm not someone who wants an increasingly shorter attention span or seeks satisfaction in surface-level videos. I want to be slow, mindful, intentional, and selective. So, I deleted TikTok, and the time I could have spent there now goes to apps that make me happier, like podcasts, Apple Books, and texts with friends.

-Anything else to add or delete? Do it now.

5. Last but not least, have some fun with it!

The people who designed our phones and interfaces prioritized function. It's time to inject FUN into function. Details like adding widgets (I made my affirmation app take up prime real estate on my home screen; see the video for a peek), renaming folders (I changed "finance" to "I'm rich b*tch!"), and using personally meaningful wallpapers can turn your phone into YOUR happy place.

Having your screen be a personal, intentional reflection of the life you want to live may be one of the simplest and most effective hacks out there. You'll probably keep picking up your phone 100 times a day, but now the dings and scrolls will be ones that help you feel more connected and fulfilled.

Complex problems often have simple solutions. Get on the mailing list below for tips and event news 1-2/month.