I did something interesting this week. I teach high school, and this was our first week back at school. No students yet, just beginning of the year prep work.

I was checking my phone every 5-10 minutes half out of restlessness at sitting inside all day, and also to keep up with rapidly evolving events in the world. But I wanted to focus more, without turning my phone off. So I put my phone in my left pocket instead of my right pocket.

It worked. Every time I reached for my phone, I had to think consciously how to get it out. That interrupted the cycle of just pulling it out enough to make me only pull it out once in a while. It went back to being a tool I use to do lots of things, rather than something I use to fill time when there's nothing to do for 30 seconds. The first step he mentions, simply being aware of these habits and breaking the cycles, can go a long way in keeping these habits from becoming too entrenched.