Most people are not addicted to phones. They are addicted to relief.
Recently, I started noticing something strange about myself.
While working, I would constantly switch between tabs on my phone and computer for no real reason. Then I would complain that I had no time, couldn’t focus, or wasn’t working at my full potential.
But over the years, I unknowingly trained my brain to function this way because I kept giving it constant feedback to operate like this.
What surprised me the most was what I realised during meditation.
I noticed that many times, I wasn’t going to my phone because I truly needed something from it. I was going to it to avoid something happening inside me. Stress, discomfort, uncertainty, pressure, boredom. The brain was simply trying to find relief and feel safe.
And whenever I sat down to do meaningful work, a feeling of discomfort would arise. Instead of sitting with it, I would switch tasks, check my phone, open another tab, or distract myself for a moment.
Over time, this repetition conditioned me to believe that I was someone who “couldn’t focus.”
Then I started speaking with like-minded people and professionals, and I realised how common this has become.
The average person checks their phone around 144 times a day, and every interruption forces the brain to refocus again. Over time, the brain adapts to constant multitasking, making deep focus feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
Maybe most people today don’t actually have a productivity problem.
Maybe they have an attention regulation problem.
Watch the YouTube video for more information.