Tech

Exhausted by your phone? Try these 3 tips to build healthier habits

CNBC Make It outlines three practical steps to curb phone use and build healthier digital habits, framing the effort as a practical antidote to doomscrolling fatigue. The piece anchors its guidance in research from UC Santa Barbara professor Paul Leonardi and is positioned for home and workplace productivity.

Exhausted by your phone? Try these 3 tips to build healthier habits

Key Takeaways

  • Set an intention before you pick up your phone to curb impulsive use.
  • Create a barrier to distance yourself from devices, such as leaving gadgets in another room or using separate inboxes.
  • Pick up a hobby to engage attention and reach a flow state, reducing mindless scrolling.

People Involved

  • Paul LeonardiUC Santa Barbara professor of technology management, department chair
  • Maria KorneevaAuthor (Moment) for Getty Images credit

Entities Involved

  • CNBC Make ItNews publication presenting the tips
  • UC Santa BarbaraUniversity cited as expert source
  • Getty ImagesImage credit provider
  • CNBC's Beyond the BasicsCNBC AI course promoted in the article

MarketMoodz Analysis

For investors, the piece signals growing consumer appetite for tools that promote intentional use and device-free zones—think apps that prompt a pause, hardware with better focus modes, and workplace programs that structure break patterns. In addition to direct consumer demand, employers may increasingly budget for productivity tools designed around attention management, potentially creating new revenue streams for software providers and device makers.

Context matters: doomscrolling and digital fatigue have become a mainstream frame for attention research, with Paul Leonardi's Digital Exhaustion outlining simple, practical rules for reclaiming life. Watch for product design that favors friction over reflex, and for corporate pilots that encourage deliberate use; any shift here could lift engagement metrics and ad effectiveness for apps that balance flow with focus.

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