Creating Environments That Encourage Disconnection
Your physical environment plays a massive role in shaping your habits. Just as you wouldn’t try to work in a loud, chaotic space, you can’t expect to build healthy tech habits if your surroundings are constantly prompting you to pick up your phone. By making small, intentional changes to your environment, you can make digital wellness the path of least resistance.
Establish Sacred Screen-Free Zones
Designate specific areas in your home as completely screen-free. The two most impactful places to start are the dinner table and the bedroom. Mealtimes are for connection—with family, friends, or even just your own thoughts. Banning phones from the table encourages conversation and mindful eating.
The bedroom is even more critical. Making it a tech-free sanctuary is one of the single best things you can do for your sleep and mental health. When you bring your phone to bed, you bring the entire world’s worth of stress, news, and social pressure with you. It disrupts your ability to wind down and can negatively impact your sleep quality.
Engineer a Sleep-Friendly Evening
Our brains are sensitive to light, and the light from our screens is particularly disruptive to sleep. This is because they emit a high concentration of blue light, a type of light that our brains interpret as daylight. Exposure to blue light in the evening can suppress the production of melatonin, the hormone that signals your body it’s time to sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, this can shift your circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep and reducing the quality of your rest.
Create a “digital sunset” an hour before bed. During this time, put all screens away. Charge your phone in another room overnight—not on your nightstand. If you use your phone as an alarm, buy a simple, inexpensive alarm clock. This removes the temptation to check it one last time before bed or, even worse, first thing upon waking. Use this final hour for calming activities like reading a physical book, light stretching, journaling, or talking with a partner.
Use Cues for Deep Work
Just as your phone provides cues to distract you, you can create environmental cues to help you focus. When it’s time for deep work, have a specific ritual. This could involve putting on noise-canceling headphones, closing your office door, and placing your phone in a drawer or another room. This physical act of putting your phone away signals to your brain that it’s time to concentrate.
This simple separation creates a small amount of friction. If the urge to check your phone arises, you have to physically get up and retrieve it. Often, that small barrier is enough to make you pause and ask, “Do I really need to check this right now?” More often than not, the answer is no, and you can return to your task with your focus intact.
