A couple of months ago I got my first smartphone. With the smartphone I can check news at any time of day, read books, play fun games and listen to music. But in the first few weeks of using it I noticed that I felt stressed. I started to delay more by playing games on the phone or by doing Internet surfing. I checked the phone too much while spending time with others. And I started to feel addicted to doing something on the phone. So , something had to change Here’s what I did----and a few general trips----to reduce the phone usage, minimize the negative effects and still enjoy the capabilities of this new tool. First, I set up small obstacles to using the phone. When I sleep it is not in the bedroom with me but in the drawer beneath the desk in my workspace. By putting up small obstacles like these, I make sure that the phone is not by my side all the time. In this way, delays caused by the phone have decreased. Instead of checking my Facebook, Twitter and other social media from time to time during the day, I try to check all those accounts once a day in a fixed time at the end of my workday. The less I check it, the less I feel addicted to it. Nowadays much of one’s life is on the phone. We check what friends and colleagues are up to and keep in touch and discuss things on the phone. But the phone cannot become the replacement of going out, seeing wonderful places and having experiences in person. Simply by filling my life with a bit more fun or exciting activities, such as going out in nature, playing sports or playing in a band, working towards my biggest goal, having uninterrupted face–to–face conversations with my friends. I won’t have time or as many reasons to use the phone that much anymore.