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Spectator by Seema Goswami: How to actually use your phone less
It’s hard to stay off your phone. One way to defeat its siren call is to pick up offline habits that engage both brain and heart
Wherever you go, the buzz phrase these days is ‘digital detox’. Don’t be a slave to your phone, the advice columns scream. Get off your socials when you are eating with family, say influencers on Instagram. Resist the urge to post late into the night if you want to sleep well, warn ‘lifestyle coaches’ (no, me neither).
What none of these people tell you is how to keep yourself occupied once you’ve initiated that ‘digital detox’. Yes, it’s all very well to say ‘pick up a book instead’ or ‘watch a series on your favourite streaming service’. That will, however, only take you so far. The urge to pick up your phone will never be too far away.
The trick, I have discovered through bitter experience, is to keep your hands occupied as well as your brain, so that the temptation to pick up your device for a quick dopamine fix doesn’t hit in quite the same way. Here are just some of the ways I have devised to stay off my phone for as long as humanly possible.
I had to hark back to my schooldays when we had a class coyly dubbed ‘Home Economics’. This had nothing to do with economics at all. Instead, it was all about teaching us skills like knitting, crochet, embroidery and sewing that would help us when we grew up to run homes of our own. And it is those skills that I fall back on these days because if you are knitting (or crocheting or embroidering) then both your brain and your hands are busy concentrating on the task in hand. So, intrusive thoughts like ‘I wonder what’s happening on Twitter’ don’t hit in the same way.
When I say go old school, I mean it quite literally. Instead of switching on the TV to watch some mindless bilge, invest in some games and puzzles that the whole family can enjoy together. Rediscover the joys of Scrabble, Monopoly or Catan. Not only will it keep you off your phone, you will rediscover the joy of spending time with your loved ones.
Spending time in nature is the best cure to digital overload. So, the next time you head out for a walk, leave your phone behind. Instead of listening to music or a podcast, focus on birdsong instead. Feast your eyes on the greenery all around. Soak in the beauty of the flower verges. If you feel so inclined take along a pad to sketch or paint. Or simply capture it in your mind’s eye.
The best way to keep yourself occupied, though, is to learn a new skill. Sign up for cooking lessons. Try your hand at a musical instrument. Or stretch yourself by learning a new language. Here, I must confess, I cheat a little. My language lessons are on Duolingo, so I use my phone for them. But, on the bright side, I am absolutely not doomscrolling while brushing up on my Italian pronunciation. And I call that a win in the ‘digital detox’ stakes!
From HT Brunch, August 15, 2026
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