How I Evade Phone Addiction as a Person with ADHD

It’s 1996, and half-finished craft projects and abandoned fashion shows cover every inch of my bedroom floor. My easily distracted mind has every intention of being tidier and more organised, but my ADHD brain just says “no”. I start the mission to tidy up, and before I know it I’m looking for the key to the secret diary that I’ve just rediscovered, then finishing the friendship bracelet that has laid half-braided on my bedside table for 3 weeks, and painting my toenails because…oo shiny!

In 2026, distractions are a little different. Instagram, emails, online dating, Google, AI, and of course, the dreaded WhatsApp group chat. And the devil at the gate to this wonderland of dopamine? The humble mobile phone. Perfectly designed to slot into the palm of your hand and slip into your pocket - ready to help you fulfil your dopamine quota at a moment’s notice. So convenient and useful, that we are all led to believe that our lives would be impossible without one. 

Now, I’m not suggesting going back to the ‘90s and carrying 50p with you at all times just in case you need to use a phone box, or lugging around an Encyclopaedia just in case you have a burning desire to find out the name of Jupiter’s largest moon while you’re on the train - but wouldn’t it be wonderful to be less reliant on our phones and more present in our lives?

I’d throw my mobile phone in the bin in an instant if it wasn’t for how handy it is. My iPhone really is a wonderfully useful tool. Aside from calls and messages, I use the timers, alarms, the calculator, the voice memo recorder, my banking apps, and Google on a daily basis. I love that I can use an app to identify a plant or a bird when I’m out on a walk. I love that as a single person living miles away from my friends and family I can stay connected to all of my favourite people from afar. I love that thanks to the Instagram algorithm, my social feed gives me a sense of social belonging with a cascade of videos and photos that validate and affirm my identity as a weird and witchy, queer, vegan, nature-loving lefty. I love that I can quickly find answers to all of my wonderings through a quick visit to Google, and that someone on YouTube can show me how to forage for seaweed, or teach me to play the violin.

But you know what I don’t love? I don’t love that the first thing I want to do in the morning is check my phone. I don’t love that the screen time app tells me that my phone screen has been open for almost all of my waking hours. I don’t love walking past my phone and feeling a need to pick it up and check every possible inbox for messages, and then the compulsion to check them all a second time. I don’t love having an idea and feeling the desire to immediately consult Google, or outsource my creative planning to AI. I don’t love that I can pick up my phone with a very specific task in mind and emerge from the digital waters an hour later having still not achieved the 30 second job that I first sought to accomplish. I don’t love the pressure to be simultaneously socially available and logged into work emails. I don’t love being in a real life social situation and realising that I’ve spent the last 10 minutes organising a booking with a client instead of being present with my friends. I don’t love popping to the loo and realising that my phone is still glued to my hand. I don’t love that without Google maps I would have no clue how to get to most of my friends’ houses. I don’t love that my mood can be changed in an instant by a news story or a comment online, and usually not for the better.

These are all first world problems I know, but at this point so many of the issues that I have with my phone outweigh the benefits. I’ve been in desperate need not only for some balance, but also the confidence to be able to use my phone only when I really need to, without getting sucked into the dopamine machine. I’ve tried using apps that block other apps, and apps that limit your screen time - but unfortunately there is always an easy way to turn them off when your brain says “but I need more dopamine!”. 

So, what have I found that actually works for me and my little ADHD brain? Well, here’s what I am currently doing:

1. Stop the Scroll

I quit social media and dating apps. I feel so much better for it and have never once uttered the words “I miss Instagram.” As a business owner I was warned that leaving social media would impact my business - and it has, but not in the way most people expected it to. I now spend less time creating content and posting stories and scrolling for “inspo”, and more time working on my business in ways that directly get me bookings. The work I used to get from Instagram was really minimal compared to the amount of effort that I used to put into it. There was one point where, in a moment of self sabotage, I told myself that I actually enjoyed relaxing and scrolling through instagram. But that was only partly true. In reality, my mind was just comfort eating, and what I really needed was more rest, more real life social connection, and maybe a hobby… 

Also, something unexpectedly liberating happened when I quit social media. Suddenly, I had more capacity to be present without constantly scanning my environment for carousel worthy photo opportunities, or constantly wondering how I could turn my experiences into “content”. Instagram was the hardest to let go of. At first I deleted the app and stopped posting, but recently I have deleted my entire account, and it feels like a weight has been lifted. I was worried that people wouldn’t be able to contact me if I didn’t have a profile. But honestly, if people want to contact me, they can google me and get in touch through my website. So, it was goodbye IG. 

And as for dating apps, my patience has expired. To the point where I have no desire to use up any more of my brain space talking about them. Suffice it to say, I’m pretty sure I’m not missing anything on Hinge.

2. Out of Sight, out of Mind

Putting my phone, as it is now, in the pocket of my rucksack slung over the end of the bannister is the most simple way that I’ve found to avoid the allure of the screen. It has been really interesting to notice how habitual it has been to pick up my phone for the smallest or most insignificant things - wondering what time it is, or how long snails can live for without water, or what the temperature is today, or how to make a turmeric latte… It turns out, most of my curiosities subside within a couple of minutes, even without checking Google for an answer. And the problems that I think I need technology to help me with, I am usually quite capable of solving without any help at all. I offer up this delicious turmeric latte that I just made as evidence of my Google-independent problem solving skills. No advert riddled cooking blog necessary.

3. Resurrect the Filofax

The two most organised people I know do all of their planning on paper. One of them even still swears by her Filofax. I haven’t taken it quite that far, but maybe I should… I’ve started using a paper diary for my schedule, and I keep all of my notes on paper. The biggest advantage of writing this article by hand in a notebook was that my attention had the opportunity to stay focused. Not once did I check my phone for messages, or for the time, or get distracted by an email about the plight of cape cod Dolphins, or go off on a tangent on Google whilst innocently searching for a statistic to illustrate my point, or end up in a YouTube rabbit hole because a friend I haven’t spoken to in a year has suggested in an overcrowded group chat that I “check this out.” I'm exhausted just thinking about all of those distractions.

4. Wise and Intentional Use

While my phone has a little nap in my rucksack for the day, I keep a little notebook on hand to write down the things that I actually need to do on my phone later. Pay sister for takeaway. Message guitarist about rehearsal. Call Grandma. Most of the other things that I would have habitually picked up my phone for don’t make it to the list. And things like emails now have their own dedicated time to be checked. I check email on my computer, and only a couple of times a week because, as I often have to remind myself, I am not a machine. If I can use another tool that is not my phone to get a job done, then I will. As it happens, physical calculators, watches and alarm clocks all still work remarkably well. Who knew?! And finally, I make conscious decisions about if and when I check the news, based on the capacity I have to absorb it at the time, instead of having it thrown at me by my phone.

In a digital age, I want to be able to make the most of the tools available to me and to remain socially connected in a society that looks very different to our tribal roots - but I also don’t want to be beholden to my iPhone like some sore-eyed, sleep deprived screen junkie. I am a great believer that true well-being is all about balance, and that balance needs constant adjustment. This article describes my own personal attempts at finding that balance, and where I’m at with it for now, in the hopes that it might inspire some changes in your lives that help you to find a little more contentment and peace in the digital age. 

If you find yourself struggling with phone addiction and nothing seems to help, I offer hypnotherapy for habit change that can help get to the emotional root of the issue and help to reorganise your mindset and thinking patterns. You can contact me at laurawyattwellness@gmail.com 

Please visit www.laurawyattwellness.com to find out more.