Trying to use tech responsibly is a losing battle. It’s like having prayer beads that are made of super tasty sweets, and expecting yourself to always use them to pray. You inevitably eat them. On days when you’re tired. When there are major stressors in your life. Then you build the habit of eating them. You associate the prayer beads as a snack instead. If you keep eating them, they’ll eventually be all gone, as will your prayer beads. You don’t eat your phone, leading to it being gone, but you do eat through your time with it.
Recently I’ve been trying to cut out tech. There are many little things that live on tech devices that bring me value. There are youtube tutorials for playing songs on guitar. I can takes notes easily. I have guided meditations. I have free ebooks on my tablet.
These things bring value to my life but the tech is filled with so many temptations and distractions. Inevitably pathways to higher dopamine get formed and I stop doing the good habits.
For this reason I have recently started;
- taking notes with pen and paper
- writing down song lyrics+chords and printing music theory stuff to have in a folder
- listening to guided meditations on my computer
- reading physical books or using the kindle as opposed to samsung tablet
I suggest considering different ways you could remove reasons to use your phone/tablet. Even moving some of the tasks you do on tech to the computer can help. Tablets and phones are too easy. You can use them lying down. I keep the phone out of my room. My tablet has been powered off for a week. I only use the computer in my bedroom. I have to sit upright on an uncomfortable chair when using it. That makes me use it more intentionally.