Tech Tips That Actually Help You Disconnect During Non-work Hours

So you’ve set up your internal and client-facing plan for PTO and activated your out of office notification. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to ditch your pesky smartphone. Nearly all lawyers (93%) say they use their smartphones for law-related tasks outside the office — a tough habit to break when you’re on vacation, or even during a weeknight with your family.

Good news: The same technology you use to stay connected to your law practice can be used to actively disconnect. That might sound like a non sequitur, but there truly is an app for (almost) everything. We spend nearly 4 hours a day using smartphone apps — follow these tech tips to cut down that number and focus on your time off:

Snoozing notifications

Smartphone notifications — that annoying banner and ping that pop up seemingly every minute — are proven to activate our stress hormones and keep us on edge. But actively dismissing every notification still counts toward interacting with your phone.

Android users can follow these steps to snooze all notifications. Unfortunately, iOS doesn’t currently have a similar snooze option — users still must manually turn off sounds and banners — but setting a Do Not Disturb will hide all notifications, calls and alerts during your desired period.

Set screen time limits

Limits on staring at a screen aren’t just for kids and cartoons. Apps like Offtime and Quality Time allow you to set parameters for your phone usage, then deliver statistics that can help you use your time better.

Locking it up

Still unable to resist the distraction of your phone at dinnertime? It may be time to get a little extreme. Yondr, a product most often used at live concerts and other performances, secures your smartphone in a tamper-free pouch. Your phone can only be freed using Yondr’s unlocking base, so it’s easy to resist the temptation to check your email early.

Ready to learn more about how Smokeball maximizes your productivity to help you disconnect when you’re off the clock? Schedule your free demo today!