Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about becoming more aware of how you
Speaker 1: are using your phone. Before you pick it up, ask
Speaker 1: yourself what for, why now? And what else? These questions
Speaker 1: come from journalist Katherine Price, and I learned about them
Speaker 1: from a New York Times interview with Laurie Santos, who
Speaker 1: is a Yale psychology professor and the host of the
Speaker 1: podcast The Happiness Lab. Santos recommended using prices questions to
Speaker 1: become more mindful about your smartphone usage. Here's how they work.
Speaker 1: The first question, what for is about why you are
Speaker 1: picking up your phone. Are you using the phone to
Speaker 1: find out what the amperatures so you can grab the
Speaker 1: right weight jacket, or because you want to see how
Speaker 1: people responded to an Instagram store you posted half an
Speaker 1: hour ago. Or is it to check your email because
Speaker 1: you worry there might be a message from your boss,
Speaker 1: even if it's after hours. Pay attention to the practical
Speaker 1: or emotional needs that are prompting your phone usage. Then
Speaker 1: ask yourself why now? Why is this the moment you
Speaker 1: chose to pick up your phone? Because you were feeling
Speaker 1: self conscious, sitting at a table alone while you waited
Speaker 1: for your friend, because you were bored, because you were
Speaker 1: avoiding starting a difficult work project, or because you genuinely
Speaker 1: needed the information right then, notice the emotional and contextual
Speaker 1: factors that influence your urge to check your phone. When
Speaker 1: you do, finally, ask yourself what else? As Santos puts it,
Speaker 1: notice the opportunity cost of engaging with your phone. If
Speaker 1: you weren't on your phone, what else would you be
Speaker 1: doing instead? Getting your work done, playing with your kids,
Speaker 1: people watching, reading a book, staring at the wall. It's
Speaker 1: easy to tell yourself that you are doing nothing when
Speaker 1: you picked up your phone, but you probably would have
Speaker 1: done something if your phone hadn't been an option. Even
Speaker 1: if that's something is staring at the wall. People did
Speaker 1: something before two thousand six when they were bored, whatever
Speaker 1: that happened to be. So, acknowledge what you are giving
Speaker 1: up doing to spend time on your phone. You can
Speaker 1: use the fitting acronym www to remember the three questions
Speaker 1: what fur, why? Now? What else? Our phones are powerful tools.
Speaker 1: They can do wonderful things like summon a car or dinner,
Speaker 1: and tell us how to get to that place I've
Speaker 1: never driven before. They can also eat hours a day
Speaker 1: if we are not careful and keep us from wrestling
Speaker 1: with difficult issues. When we understand how we are using
Speaker 1: our phones, we can make sure they are tools that
Speaker 1: are serving us and that we are not beholden to
Speaker 1: them asking what for, why now? And what else can
Speaker 1: make that happen in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pop
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.