The presence of the mobile phone, whether it is silent or not, is enough to distract a person from performing his tasks. How can the owner of the phone regain his focus despite the continued succession of those beeps announcing the arrival of a message or an audio clip, or someone updating his page on “communication sites” with a new post.
A report published by C. CNN news, on the authority of the American doctor Anna Lembck, professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, and author of the book “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Immersion”, issued at the end of 2021, that one of the chemicals in the brain called “dopamine” plays an essential role. In giving a person a feeling of happiness, as it helps a person to strive and focus on the reasons that bring him pleasure and happiness. Also, the secretion of “dopamine” itself is an indication that patients have reached the stage of addiction with this pleasure, whatever it may be. According to Anna Lembke, one of the most prevalent forms of addiction in recent times is related to checking smartphones.
Estimates vary, but most agree that the average person checks the phone about 85 times a day, about once every 15 minutes. This means that every 15 minutes a person gets distracted from what he was doing.
It may take several minutes for a person to fully regain his focus, and restoring focus depends on the nature of the activity that the person was doing, so regaining his focus for the purpose of watching TV is easier than in other cases such as driving a car or studying.
1- Avoid checking the phone, except after completing the tasks that one is supposed to do.
2-
Determine one goal behind checking the phone, such as checking e-mail, without going beyond that to other browsing operations.
3- Conducting an experiment from time to time by refraining from checking phones for a period of 24 hours.
Limbeck's tips, which she confirms that she has personally tried, are consistent with a number of tips agreed upon by several studies and a number of experts. There is growing evidence that phone notifications contribute to reduced productivity, poor concentration and increased distraction, whether in the areas of work or school.
One study of the brainwaves of people who describe themselves as regular smartphone users found that they tend to be more sensitive to incoming notifications. Mostly, it is difficult for them to regain focus and continue their assigned work after hearing the incoming notification alert.
Such studies and associated behavioral experiments concluded that switching the phone to silent mode did not contribute to solving the problem, so they are used to checking the phone, checking it in any case. These were additional tips that can be mixed with Limbeck's advice in an attempt to overcome the addiction of checking phone notifications:
1- Charging the phone all night in a room different from the bedroom, which limits the habit of waking up to check phone notifications.
2-
Trying to control the desire to lose the phone, and wondering about the importance of losing it. For example, when one turns to reach for a phone, one has to pause to wonder if this action serves some purpose other than as a distraction.
3- The Pomodoro technique for staying focused on a task. This involves breaking down focus time into manageable chunks (ex: 25 minutes), then rewarding oneself with a short break (ex: to check the phone). The duration of the focus periods is gradually increased.