How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life

One of the reasons I started reading self-help books was because of my extreme anxiety. I'd lived with it for years, and couldn't take it anymore. And while I will happily report that I have made great strides regarding said anxiety, due in part to all the aforementioned self-help books, combined with therapy, one of the things I still haven't "recovered" from is my anxiety surrounding my smartphone. I have had this phone-anxiety for as many years as I've had anxiety, but on all the worst ends of it, and yes, I still have it even now. Sometimes my phone anxiety gets so bad I leave it on airplane mode for days. And I've tried to explain it to my hubby for as many years as I've felt this way, but he has never understood.Nor really did I until I read this book, and now ALL of it makes perfect sense. First of all, I got it because I was convinced it would tell me I'm not addicted to my phone, and while that is mostly true, it became glaringly apparent that I still have nervous tics surrounding my phone. And second of all, I got it hoping it would shed some light on why so much of my intense anxiety surrounds my phone, but it did far more than that. "Shed some light" is an understatement, and I found the lengths that people go through to make phones addictive to be disturbing and shocking to put it mildly.For instance, did you know that apps are carefully designed to give you a rush of endorphins at the exact right moment, to keep you from closing out of them, carefully leading you on for hours at a time? Because I certainly didn't. I don't mean it's a side-effect of an app. I mean that they design them that way.And as for all the anxiety I've had surrounding my phone, I finally have my answers. I'm not crazy. It wasn't in my head that my phone made all my anxieties worse, specifically my frazzled emotions, and inability to feel calm. But if there was any one thing that shocked me the most while reading this book, it was the realization that even I, who still to this day puts my phone into airplane mode, has a mild smartphone addiction. Even I do. And if that is possible, considering how strong my aversion is sometimes to my phone, then what in the world are these phones doing to others?Nothing good, I'll tell you that much. This book was an incredible find for me, and I'd recommend it to literally everyone in the world who owns a smartphone.

I first saw this book on a whim when I was at the library. I noticed the title, and thought it sounded interesting. It's a quick read, as once I started I couldn't put it down. The book starts off with "An open letter to my phone", and I was hooked from there. I included that letter in the pics.The book is broken down into 2 sections - The Wake Up and The Break Up. The Wake Up goes into how phones are so addictive, how they can harm memory and attention span, etc. The Break Up is essentially a 30 day challenge where you do one thing each day, with the goal of ultimately creating a healthier relationship with your phone. After reading the book in 2 short days, I decided that to get the most out of it, I needed to do the 30 day challenge. It exceeded my expectations!I really appreciated how the author, Catherine Price, isn't telling us phones are bad. She says they are incredible tools that can help lead to richer and more fulfilling lives, if used appropriately. She isn't telling us not to use our phones, but is instead giving us tools that allow us to make the choice of when/how to use our phone a conscious one...rather than the addictive habit that phone usage can so easily become. I would strongly recommend this book to any smartphone user, and I've already purchased an additional copy for my brother.On a side note, I reached out to the author directly and actually heard back! She was friendly, encouraging, and very thankful.

This book gives a shift in perspective. It's an easy read about some really disturbing things going on. I really feel sickened at how I've allowed myself to be led on in so many ways, I dumped all my social media weeks ago and I feel so much happier, my garden is amazing, my pets are awesome and I call my family. This book really gets you thinking about what it means to be free and how to consider living your life in a less sheeplike manner.Funny though, that after purchasing the book I immediately got a message saying "you don't have to wait, read this book on your phone right now"

Don't be misled by the title, as I almost was. Instead of recommending a permanent split with ones's smartphone, the author encourages us to re-evaluate the current relationship we have with our phones and ask ourselves if this is truly how we want to be spending our time. Price provides a thorough explanation of how devices and apps are developed to intentionally create an endless loop of browsing and be addictive. She also explains how human brains work, why we get a little rush of dopamine when we check our phone and why that hooks us to reach for it again only moments later. What I appreciate most about the author's approach is that information and advice is given without judgement. Instead of telling us we "shouldn't" be on our phones, which truly isn't the case, she is equipping us with the tools necessary to make a decision about how and when we use our phones. This is an important book. All smartphone users should read it so they can make educated choices.Also worth noting is I reached out to the author for a post I'm writing about this book on my blog (While I Was Reading) and she was friendly and willing to answer questions.

One of the reasons I started reading self-help books was because of my extreme anxiety. I'd lived with it for years, and couldn't take it anymore. And while I will happily report that I have made great strides regarding said anxiety, due in part to all the aforementioned self-help books, combined with therapy, one of the things I still haven't "recovered" from is my anxiety surrounding my smartphone. I have had this phone-anxiety for as many years as I've had anxiety, but on all the worst ends of it, and yes, I still have it even now. Sometimes my phone anxiety gets so bad I leave it on airplane mode for days. And I've tried to explain it to my hubby for as many years as I've felt this way, but he has never understood.Nor really did I until I read this book, and now ALL of it makes perfect sense. First of all, I got it because I was convinced it would tell me I'm not addicted to my phone, and while that is mostly true, it became glaringly apparent that I still have nervous tics surrounding my phone. And second of all, I got it hoping it would shed some light on why so much of my intense anxiety surrounds my phone, but it did far more than that. "Shed some light" is an understatement, and I found the lengths that people go through to make phones addictive to be disturbing and shocking to put it mildly.For instance, did you know that apps are carefully designed to give you a rush of endorphins at the exact right moment, to keep you from closing out of them, carefully leading you on for hours at a time? Because I certainly didn't. I don't mean it's a side-effect of an app. I mean that they design them that way.And as for all the anxiety I've had surrounding my phone, I finally have my answers. I'm not crazy. It wasn't in my head that my phone made all my anxieties worse, specifically my frazzled emotions, and inability to feel calm. But if there was any one thing that shocked me the most while reading this book, it was the realization that even I, who still to this day puts my phone into airplane mode, has a mild smartphone addiction. Even I do. And if that is possible, considering how strong my aversion is sometimes to my phone, then what in the world are these phones doing to others?Nothing good, I'll tell you that much. This book was an incredible find for me, and I'd recommend it to literally everyone in the world who owns a smartphone.

I first saw this book on a whim when I was at the library. I noticed the title, and thought it sounded interesting. It's a quick read, as once I started I couldn't put it down. The book starts off with "An open letter to my phone", and I was hooked from there. I included that letter in the pics.The book is broken down into 2 sections - The Wake Up and The Break Up. The Wake Up goes into how phones are so addictive, how they can harm memory and attention span, etc. The Break Up is essentially a 30 day challenge where you do one thing each day, with the goal of ultimately creating a healthier relationship with your phone. After reading the book in 2 short days, I decided that to get the most out of it, I needed to do the 30 day challenge. It exceeded my expectations!I really appreciated how the author, Catherine Price, isn't telling us phones are bad. She says they are incredible tools that can help lead to richer and more fulfilling lives, if used appropriately. She isn't telling us not to use our phones, but is instead giving us tools that allow us to make the choice of when/how to use our phone a conscious one...rather than the addictive habit that phone usage can so easily become. I would strongly recommend this book to any smartphone user, and I've already purchased an additional copy for my brother.On a side note, I reached out to the author directly and actually heard back! She was friendly, encouraging, and very thankful.

this book is really eye opening to some bad behaviors and phone addiction symptoms

A more accurate (but less catchy) title might have been “How to Re-establish Dominance In Your Relationship With Your Phone”.Price has no problem with people using their phones… as long as that’s what they want to be doing.But she makes a compelling argument that our phones have started to use us instead, and that app designers have harnessed neuroscience to keep us scrolling and checking far beyond what has become useful for us.The goal of her book is to make us aware of how and when we use our smartphones, how it makes us feel, and to break the cycle of mindless app surfing, scrolling and checking by breaking our addiction to the dopamine cycle.The book begins with a section explaining why the current relationship between many people and their phones is not a positive one, and some potential consequences which include reduced attention span, reduced memory, and depression.The second half of the book is a 30 day plan for “breaking up with your phone” and then reforming your relationship so that it’s a healthy one where you’re actively deciding when, where, and how you use the phone.I’m purposefully following Price’s 30 day plan because it takes time to change a habit. If you try to do it all at once, you might have a good week, but it may be harder for it to stick. Picking up her book every day and reading what “the plan” is for that day and journaling about my progress has helped me play the long game.This book is changing my life.I’m on Day 6 of the 30 day process and it’s already changing my life. I’ve reclaimed time in my day by taking those minutes of scrolling and adding them together into blocks of time which I can use to actually sit and read a book for 30 minutes, or bake something, or tackle cleaning out a drawer.I’ve also noticed an increased level of focus. Because I’m actively trying not to pick up my phone unless I want to initiate something (rather than consume something) I’m better able to empty the entire dishwasher without checking Instagram or Facebook or seeing an e-mail that I must deal with right this second.I freaked out when reading the section of the book about how our attention span is suffering and our brains may actually be changing due to our phone use. Now I actively try to see tasks all the way through. Every time I completely finish a task without stopping and doing something else, I’m training myself to have more focus and patience. think everyone with a smartphone should read this book. Maybe you have a perfect relationship already… but I would be surprised if even the most technology savvy and mindful of us can’t learn something from Price’s straight forward tactics for being aware of your current relationship, forming goals for what you’d like it to be, and coming up with a plan to break your addiction and get back in control of your device.

Instead of needing the willpower to put my phone down, Price's statistics, mindfulness, and walk-through steps made me voluntarily not want to use or look at my phone in the first place. As a junior in high school, doing remote learning, my screen time spiraled to an average of 7-9 hours per day (I know, it's pretty bad but pretty normal among teenagers). I realized Instagram and other social media weren't making me happy, but I had to check them, even if I knew nothing notable would be there. I was going on social media simply to feel numb after staring at a screen for 6 hours for school.Wanting to escape this cycle, I bought myself this book. I could have easily tried to go cold turkey and follow everything in her 30-day plan in a week, but spreading each small step over the whole month definitely was more effective at creating lasting change. I found that reading the book first thing in the morning was a fantastic replacement to checking my phone as soon as I wake up. Price makes a healthy phone relationship easy and not overwhelming, as each day I only had to read 3-5 pages. Yes, there are days here and there where I reinstall social media, but I delete it immediately after whatever I downloaded it for, since I have become hyperaware of how I'm not actually any happier on it. There are also still days where I spend too much time on my phone, but on average I'm spending 1-2 hours a day now, so I've gained so much more time back to slow down and get more done. I highly recommend any other high or middle school students get this book and try out the brilliant 30-day plan.

Not what I expected but okay. Some of this is just plain common sense approaches to limits on using your phone.

I was struggling with embarrassingly high screen time and decided it was finally time to tackle it. I followed her outlined program and tried to honor the process before deciding her suggestions wouldn't really work for me (like some of the other reviewers here). A few months out, and my screen time is still much improved. I probably need a "tune up," which she addresses in the book, but I definitely found her tools and challenges helpful. Some of the changes I've made have had huge impacts on my life, and without her process, I never would have implemented them.

It was the best book explaining how technology is effecting us. Very easy read. Informative information and thirty day program. This book changed my life for the better.

I must read for all of us who are dopamine addicts.Wherever our attention goes our time goes and wherever our time goes our money goes.

This is literally the best book I've found for phone addiction, the author writes with such respect and non-condescending/judgmental, as if you're having a conversation with a friend who has been through what you're going though and wants to genuinely help you. all while giving useful information that you can integrate right away. she literally tells you what to do on the daily basis and guides you though everything. I cannot express how amazing this book is. if you're looking for something to lessen your phone usage or you want to get this for yourself or a friend, get this! I found one other book and it was layed out like a 12 step program and that is nothing compared to this one. This is literally the only book youll need.

Me gustó que es fácil de colocar y de usar, su instructivo para manipular las combinaciones es muy sencillo.

Excelente producto, super seguro, fácil de instalar, fácil de configurar, resistente por muchos años, ideal para hospedajes

Había visto otras marcas y más caras pero este vale cada peso que pagas. La calidad es 10/10 y fácil de instalar, ya trae todo lo que vas a necesitar, solo necesitarás taladrar. Nosotros lo usamos para nuestra casa que está en Airbnb pero nos sirve mucho también cuando llegan los trabajadores a limpiar, así no les doy llave directamente y voy rotando las contraseñas por seguridad en general. La verdad nos es muy práctico y cambiar la contraseña es fácil. Compramos otro para colocar en el cuarto de lavado para cerrar el acceso de este y funciona a la perfección.

De buena calidad, fácil de instalar, resistente, cumple perfectamente su función.

Todo bien!

Excelente producto, fácil de instalar e instrucciones claras y sencillas

Tengo usando ya unos Master Lock hace varios años pero son más caros. Compré estos para probar. En vista son similares, cumplen con la función, aunque se notan más débiles, pero considerando que son más baratos, se equilibra.