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

Break ups are never easy, but few of us realize that technology can be just as emotionally draining as a bad relationship – until we’ve become too connected. But if you’re ready to break up with your phone, there’s no better time than now to start taking your life back. In “How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life”, Catherine Price provides readers with a comprehensive yet actionable plan to break away from the compulsive relationship we have with our phones and reclaim our lives.

Price suggests that our reliance on technology has caused us to “power down our awareness” and explains that the goal of the 30-day plan is to create a more mindful approach to technology usage. The plan begins with a Snapshot of your Current Relationship with your phone, which involves analyzing the length of time you spend on your phone, when you use it, and considering how satisfied you are with your current relationship. Answers to the snapshot are then used to create an Action Plan with specific goals for each day of the plan. Every day focuses on a different aspect, such as “choosing useful apps” or “scheduling tech-free time”.

Throughout the process of the 30-day plan, Price interweaves relevant research and personal anecdotes to explain the influence technology has had on our lives and why a successful break up is essential. She emphasizes, quoting American philosopher William James, that “The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook” and provides valid points as to why a more mindful approach is needed. For example, Price delves into the negative impact that blue light from phones has on our sleep and how habit forming apps with notifications can lead to an inability to focus.

Price also distinguishes between permanent changes and one-off breaks as part of her advice to readers. This may involve completely deleting an app from one’s phone or localizing certain apps to certain times, such as only using the camera app while out with friends. Other tips involve disabling push notifications, laying off at night and during meals, and various methods to increase productivity when using technology.

For those seeking to break up with their phone, Catherine Price’s “How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life” provides a comprehensive, research-based guide to reclaiming our lives. With a day-by-day approach and ample resources to help readers along their journey, this book provides a sensible, attainable goal and is a great tool for those determined to take back their lives from technology.