You may have heard of intermittent fasting.
You choose regular time periods to eat and fast.
For instance, you might try eating only during an 8 hour period each day and fast for the remainder.
Fasting for 16 hours is popular when it comes to intermittent fasting.
You start your breakfast at 9 AM and finish your dinner by 5 PM.
The next time you eat will be breakfast at 9 AM the next day.
I won’t discuss the pros and cons here, but this is a popular and interesting concept that is followed by many.
Intermittent smartphone fasting has basically that very same definition.
You choose regular time periods on a daily basis to use your smartphone.
For example, you are allowed to use your phone between 7 PM and 9 PM.
Create such time periods for your daily mornings, afternoons, and evenings.
I can imagine you won’t introduce a 16 hours fasting period, but you may introduce a 10 hour fasting period from 10 PM to 8 AM.
Then you will control how your evening ends and not your phone.
You choose the last message or person you see and not your phone.
The same applies to mornings.
You wake up and decide what the first message is that you will see that sets you up for the day.
Too many people allow their smartphones to decide where their focus should go first thing in the morning, with what feelings and thoughts they should start the day.
Take control over your evenings and mornings by implementing this type of fasting.
Stop using your phone at 10 PM and only check it again at 8 AM the next day when you have taken care of your morning habits.
Let’s not forget, you can also implement intermittent social media fasting.
You dedicate a time slot where you are allowed to use social media or where you are not allowed to use social media.
Or what about intermittent Instagram fasting for example.
Set the alarm that reminds you to initiate the fast and one that reminds you to end it.
Decide after the experience if you want to increase or decrease the fasting.
What matters is, that you train your willpower to not touch your smartphone, social media, or a particular app during the fast that you have agreed with yourself for your own benefit.
Screen Time for the iPhone and Digital Wellbeing for Android can help you with that by setting time limits for your apps.