Do you often find yourself scrolling mindlessly on your phone and losing track of time? Tired of realizing you wasted several hours of your precious free time glued to a screen instead of using it to enjoy life?

If this resounds with you, you probably already know you need to kick your smartphone addiction ASAP!

If you want to have quality free time instead of wasting it scrolling on social media or texting, here are the most effective tricks that you can use to reduce your smartphone dependence and get your life back:

1. Put your phone away when you get home

When you get home, you drop your keys, your bag and your coat somewhere. So why not do the same with your phone?

Designate an area to leave your phone when you get home. Try to stick to it and get used to doing that. If you form that habit instead of carrying your phone in your pocket all day as you walk around the house (yes, even to the bathroom - you know you do it!), you'll be much less likely to reach for it to entertain yourself.

I guarantee you'll feel freer and less stressed when you aren't constantly getting your attention pulled to your phone by random notifications at all times.

2. Use paper instead of noting down things on your phone

3. Print out your recipes

The internet is great for finding recipes (and whatever else you like to search) but I often find myself scrolling endlessly on Pinterest or Google trying to get ideas for dinner so I've decided to start printing out my favorite recipes and make a binder with them.

This has made following the recipes so much easier because I don't have to keep unlocking my phone to look at the recipe and I can read them so much better on paper than on a small screen.

It's also a lot simpler to browse all the recipes in your binder and figure out what to cook because you can just flip pages and you only have what you really like and would actually want to cook.

4. Call instead of texting

Try to switch to calling people instead of texting for hours.

You might have noticed that if you call someone you’re more likely to get the conversation done in 5 minutes whereas if you try to have the same conversation through text, it might take you an hour.

It's much more practical to talk verbally instead of texting to understand each other and you avoid those moments of waiting ten minutes at a time for a reply and never getting anywhere.

5. Play board games instead of games on your phone

6. Block apps after you use them too much

If you tend to get lost scrolling on social media or any websites, it might do you good to set a limit on the time you can spend on your phone or an app (social media app or even the internet browser if it's a website).

Most phones have this definition nowadays. When you reach the limit you set, your phone will block the app so you can't use it for a while or for the rest of the day.

Check out how to use this definition on Android phones and on Iphones.

7. Get real life hobbies

Finally, try to prioritize non-virtual activities and hobbies. Get outside more, do some activities or just meet up with friends and family, read actual books and not just online articles and newspapers.

Keep yourself busy with fun and educational activities that make you enjoy yourself as well as grow and learn. This will help you stay excited about those activities and not want to go back to your phone and look for some entertainment online.

How do you stay focused on life and avoid your phone? Feel free to share your results if you try any of these tips!