How I Tamed My Negative Tech Habits with These Simple Actions

Imagine it's 2 AM and you're super tired, but you just can't fall asleep. You've been scrolling through social media and checking your email for hours. You know you should stop, but you can't seem to tear yourself away. This staying up late because of technology is going to make you feel terrible and unproductive tomorrow. You haven't even crossed anything off your to-do list! Late-night internet surfing has become a habit you want to kick, but you're not sure how to do it.

Ever feel like you've been here before? Well, let's check out some numbers, as told by the voice inside my head.

Thoughts: "It's midnight, time to hit the hay." Lights out, head on pillow. Done.

Thoughts: "Kinda bored. I could read those articles I saved...not tired yet." I grab my phone. "Phone, you're the best."

After reading an interesting article, I thought about sharing it with my friends. But then I got distracted by cute pictures on Facebook and ended up liking a bunch of them. I also saw a cool Tesla car and decided to send a picture to my friend Aleks. While checking my email, I got sidetracked by a new post about smartwatches on TechCrunch. Before I knew it, I was stuck in a never-ending loop of social media, emails, and news. Welcome to my communication black hole!

Breaking bad habits is harder than making them in the first place.

Habits can be tricky to understand. Sometimes, the cool gadgets we use can help us build good habits, but they can also make it easier to keep doing bad habits. With technology, we can quickly get caught up in what Nir Eyal calls the Hooked Model. This model has four steps that make us want to keep doing something over and over again.

Eating

Picture this: you're in the middle of a busy workday, feeling a little hungry. You brought an apple to snack on, but you're so focused on your work that you don't even realize you're not hungry anymore. When you finally look up, you see that your apple is still there, but your emergency chocolate chip cookie is mysteriously missing!

Have you ever wondered why you sometimes eat without even thinking about it? Well, it turns out that stress can be a big reason why we make bad food choices. When stressed, we might reach for unhealthy snacks without even realizing it. So next time you find yourself mindlessly munching, take a moment to think about how you're feeling. Stress could be the culprit!

A cool study looked at why we sometimes choose unhealthy snacks over healthy ones. First, students had to remember a bunch of numbers, which made their brains work hard. Then, they had to walk down a hallway and choose between a fruit salad or chocolate cake. The fruit salad was the better choice, but the cake was more tempting. The researchers discovered that the students who remembered more numbers were more likely to pick the chocolate cake.

The researchers thought that when we make choices, we use either our logical or emotional brain. If we have to think about a lot of stuff at once, like a bunch of numbers, our logical brain might not work as well. This could let our emotional brain step in and make decisions instead.

Using too much technology can mess with our ability to make good choices. Social media, email, and other tech stuff can make it hard for us to think clearly and make smart decisions. It's like trying to juggle a bunch of things at once in our heads, which can make it tough to stay on track and do the right thing.

Sleeping

I've been told that it's best to have important meetings in the morning because that's when my brain is working at its best. But I've been having trouble sleeping lately, and it turns out that looking at my phone before bed might be part of the problem. The light from my phone can mess with a chemical in my brain called melatonin, which helps me fall asleep. Some studies even say that the blue light from screens can make me feel sad.

Did you know that even your phone can mess up your sleep? The light from the screen can throw off your sleep schedule, and all those loud videos and games you play at night don't help either. The more time you spend on your phone before bed, the harder it is to fall asleep.

Exercising

Research shows that exercising is really good for you. It can make you healthier and happier. But sometimes it's hard to get off the couch and do it. We have so many things like email, TV, and apps on our phones that distract us. When we were kids, we would just go outside and play. But now that we're grown-ups, we think of exercise as a boring task. Instead of going for a run, we reach for our phones when we're bored.

Declining Fulfillment

I realized that I had some not-so-great habits when it came to eating, sleeping, and working out. But how could I turn things around and break those habits for good?

I checked out the Hooked Model again and saw that when you're trying to stop a bad habit, the things that make you want to do it are really hard to get rid of. Instead, you have to figure out what makes you do the habit and then teach yourself to do something else. Finding out what triggers your habit takes some practice and trying different things out.

Changing habits can be tough. But one way to do it is by connecting new rewards to old triggers. If you can make yourself believe that the reward for a good habit is better than the reward for a bad habit, you're on the right track. And if the pleasure from the old habit's reward starts to fade, a stronger reward might take its place. It takes some work, but it's doable!

Technology can make us feel like we always need to be doing something. We try to fit more and more into our days, thinking it will make us happier. But, the more we try to do, the less satisfied we feel with each thing we accomplish. It's like we're always chasing after the next thing without really enjoying what we have. This can make us feel like we need to keep seeking out new things to make us happy, but it just ends up making us feel even more unsatisfied.

Learning to Embrace Boredom

Imagine you're feeling super bored. You might find yourself checking your email, snacking, watching TV, or putting off your homework. But guess what? These things make you feel even worse because they add to your stress. To stop this cycle, you need to learn how to recognize when you're feeling bored, prepare for it, and get this - accept that it's okay to feel a little down sometimes.

One way I find happiness is by taking short breaks from always being connected to technology. I call these breaks "mini-sabbaths." Using the Hook Model, I've come up with four tips for taking these mini-sabbaths at different times during the day. These tips have helped me control my technology use and break bad habits.

1) Foresee Cues

• Get yourself an alarm clock and make sure to leave your phone in another room, not by your bedside.
• Store only healthy choices in your kitchen so that you are compelled to leave the house if you want any unhealthy foods.
• Upgrade to an iPod for your workouts if you struggle with the urge to check email on your phone.

2) Recognize Behaviors

• Give yourself the chance to unwind by trying a short 3-minute meditation before going to sleep, allowing your mind to relax.
• Put a stop to all push notifications on your devices.
• Take breaks from your phone now and then, specifically while at the gym, and partner up with someone for extra motivation during workouts.

3) Welcome Fresh Incentives

• When insomnia hits, consider listening to calming music at bedtime to help you unwind instead of scrolling through social media.
• Test yourself by consuming a generous glass of water and delaying snacking for 10 minutes; it's common to mistake thirst for hunger.
• Choose a powerful saying, focus on a single uplifting word to embrace, and chant it repeatedly during your workout, visualize transforming into that word as you move forward.

4) Dedicate Yourself to Restructuring

• Dive deeper into discovering your triggers and dedicate yourself to comprehending your vulnerabilities.
• Take advantage of this habit-tracking tool to measure how frequently you complete tasks and commit to delving into self-awareness for better results in making long-lasting adjustments.
• Show yourself kindness by recognizing that occasional regressions into old ways are to be expected, and give yourself permission to resume your healthier lifestyle without dwelling on guilt, which may exacerbate stress and rekindle negative habits.