Is your smartphone addiction killing your career?

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We are becoming more and more addicted to checking our smartphones. TIME magazine reports the average smartphone user checks their phone 46 times per day, and other studies show nearly double that number.

It doesn’t take a scientific study to recognize that “phubbing,” or snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention to that person, is a problem. The evidence is all around us.

In meetings it’s increasingly common to see people more engaged in what is happening on their screen than with the people in front of them. It’s not just annoying for those around us, research shows that phubbing may have detrimental impacts on our relationships, mental health, and productivity. The continuous stream of information to and from our phone means consistent disruption throughout the day, distracting us from the tasks and conversations we should be allocating full attention to.

This presents a clear obstacle at work. When we are not able to concentrate on one task at a time, we stifle our creativity, make more mistakes, slow and lessen our output, and damage our overall workplace satisfaction.

It’s time to take action. As part of our #conqueryourinbox series, we’ve partnered with SaneBox to share 7 strategies designed to prevent your smartphone addiction from killing your career.

1. Keep your phone out of your line of sight
Simply seeing your phone is often enough to trigger FOMO and trigger your addictive phone-checking. Remember, out of sight, out of mind.

2. Turn your phone on airplane mode
Do this during personal and professional gatherings like meals and meetings. This is similar to point one, but also keeps you honest, as that innocent glance to check the time won’t snowball into a ten-minute social media sessions.

3. Turn cell phone notifications off
You don’t need to know every time you receive a new email nor do you need know the exact second a friend likes your Facebook photo—so turn off your cell phone notifications.

4. Delete unnecessary apps
Delete apps you don’t use and delete apps that you don’t want to use but are in the habit of checking. If nothing else, move your most distracting apps into a folder, name it “Distractions,” and move it off your home screen.

5. Designate phone-free activities
Do anything that stimulates you and commit to doing it without your phone. You don’t have to Instagram everything and you don’t have to look at other people’s food porn while you have dinner.

6. Assign accountability partners
Ask friends, family, and coworkers to call you out when they notice you peeking at your screen during a conversation or event and be sure to reciprocate the behavior.

7. Keep track of your progress
As with any resolution, it’s important to track your progress. You will slip up at times and that’s okay; just remember to keep yourself accountable and to celebrate successes, both big and small.