7 Ways to Spend Less Time on Your Phone This Holiday Season (and Be More Present)

Picture this: You pick up your phone to set a timer for the holiday cookies you’re baking, and the next thing you know, you’ve answered five work emails and started scrolling through social media. “Holidays also offer lots of opportunities for real connection, turning your presence into a present for your family and friends,” says Don Grant, PhD, a media psychologist with Newport Healthcare. Instead, you’ve found yourself in the screen trap.

If you’re looking to digitally disconnect this holiday season, follow these tips from mental health professionals to get off your phone and into the present moment.

1. Set Boundaries (Physical, Temporal, or Other Ones)

Pick times of the day, activities, or places where you can resolve to not bring your phone — where you can be fully present, Dr. Grant says. You may decide, for example, to stay off your phone after dinner in the evenings or during family meals. Or you might keep your phone in one specific location during family gatherings instead of carrying it with you.

Make this plan in advance, says Dean Aslinia, PhD, a licensed professional counselor at New Path Treatment and Recovery Center, a mental health and addiction treatment facility in McKinney, Texas. You’ll likely enjoy seasonal activities — like skiing, prepping meals, or playing card games — when you’re fully engaged, rather than being on your phone, he adds.

Can’t follow your own rules? Try using your phone’s downtime and screen time management features or an app that blocks certain activities. Sometimes willpower alone is not enough to make a real change, so putting additional measures in place can be helpful. You can also ask yourself: “What am I hoping to gain from screen time right now?” Grabbing your phone might have been a mindless action rather than an intentional choice.

2. Designate Group-Wide, No-Phone Time

Visiting family or other loved ones this holiday season? Decide as a group if you want to set a phone-free time and when it will be, such as during meals, game night, or other group activities.

“As a family, establish specific times and spaces when you all agree to be fully present and not distracted by devices,” says Grant. This boundary can help hold everyone accountable, and “it reduces everyone’s temptation to disappear on their respective devices,” he adds.

3. Turn Off Push Notifications

Don’t let a quick check of your phone at a holiday party keep you away from the festivities. Try turning off push notifications and sounds for apps you don’t need, and only check those apps when you want to (not when the app wants you to).

4. Delete or Hide Tempting Apps

If you’re particularly drawn to one specific app (Facebook or Instagram, for instance), consider hiding or deleting it altogether during the holiday season, Grant suggests. Aslinia agrees: “Delete or hide apps that are not essential to daily living or that tempt you to just pass time.”

Instead, keep and use apps that ultimately improve your day, such as weather, calendar, or banking apps, Aslinia adds. “Apps that are more social or just for fun may make it harder to disconnect and spend less time on your phone.”

Think about it this way: The holiday season doesn’t magically add more hours to the day. Would you rather spend your social time on an app or enjoy in-person festivities (or personal downtime)?

5. Adopt a Delayed Posting Habit

Time spent with friends and family, traveling, or partaking in other holiday festivities makes for great memories — as well as photos that you may be tempted to share on social media. But don’t let posting get in the way of enjoying the moment, Grant says.

Avoid the temptation to share photos and highlights in real time, so you can stay more present in what you’re actually doing, Grant adds. In other words, “you can always post post-holidays.”

6. Pick Monotasking Over Multitasking

Your holiday to-do list is likely brimming with tasks, from buying and wrapping gifts to decorating your house. At the same time, you’re likely using technology (and several open tabs on your devices) to stay on task.

And this all means that if you’re scrolling while talking with your grandparents, you’re not fully present in the conversation. Instead, try to take time to disconnect and put the phone away so that you can be present in special holiday moments.

7. Take Fewer Pictures

Can’t stand the thought of not having a few snapshots from your holidays? Designate a specific time frame to take pictures, and then stay off your device.

The Takeaway

• Cell phone and social media usage can distract us from quality time spent with family and friends during the holidays.
• Studies have found that too much time spent on screens can negatively affect attention span, mental focus, sleep quality, and mood.
• Setting limits on when and where you use your phone, how often you post on social media, and the number of pictures you take can help you stay in the present moment.
• Turning off push notifications and sound alerts and hiding or deleting social media apps can help you reduce your overall screen time and enjoy more quality time.