Last Updated on September 25, 2017 by Marie Bautista
Cell phones today are great, and with all those great apps and web pages to access, you barely need a computer to manage your social media or do the grocery shopping. The issue today though is that too many of us rely on our phones to make it through the day and stay connected to the world. Do your panic if your battery has died or you’ve left your phone at home? It may be time you stepped away from the phone. Read about some of the other signs that it’s time for a break below.
Your phone is always close to hand
Our phones have almost become a security blanket that we can’t bare to be apart from. Do you start panicking if you can’t access your phone or the reception is bad? Do you find yourself looking at your phone to check the time and then find you’re using it to check other things? Maybe it’s time that you start keeping the phone out of reach, in a drawer or in your bag so that you’re not tempted to grab it when you’re bored.
You’re distracted while with others
When you meet up with friends, do you give them your full attention, or are you half-listening while reading the latest on your phone? You may feel that you’re being sociable by interacting with people online, but by ignoring your real life friendships and relationships when they’re right there in front of you, you’re causing more harm than good. Make sure you put your phone down and give whoever you’re with their full attention – you’ll hate to have missed an important detail because you were too busy being distracted by your phone.
You need to save money
Phones can be a huge drain on electricity, especially when there are multiple phones in your home. If you tend to plug it in overnight to charge or leave it charging for hours on end, you could be wasting a lot of money each year keeping your phone powered up unnecessarily. If your energy consumption appears normal, but the bill is still high, you may wish to search for electricity companies that can offer you a better deal. Only charging your phone when needed will save you a lot of energy as well as preserve the battery life of your phone.
Your children are also becoming reliant on phones
It’s a tempting and easy solution to give your child your phone to play with when they’re in the car, they’re bored, or you just want some peace and quiet. When your kids start only becoming placated when they’ve got a phone in their hands, that’s a sign that your habits are rubbing off on them. Even when you feel it’s the right age for your children to have their own phone, you need to set a good example on how to use it and make sure that they enjoy other things, read books and do their homework rather than being engrossed in their phones. One of the first things you should do is ban phones from the dinner table and make sure that you all engage in meaningful conversation about your days – that way you’ll get real updates about what’s going on in their lives and not an online status update!
While relying on your phone too much can be an issue, phones are great for managing your work and family life. These top money managing apps are perfect for moms and can help you stay on track of your family’s budget and savings. A break from your phone every once in a while will do you good, and you may even find that you don’t really miss it that much when it’s not there.