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Outsmart Your Smartphone: Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness, Balance, and Connection IRL
Do you have smartphone syndrome? This refreshingly honest how-to guide will help you find balance and build meaningful connections in a screen-obsessed world.
Do you spend hours every day on your smartphone or tablet? Reading the news, shopping for clothes, checking your email, and catching up on social media? Do you scroll through blog articles and text with your friends while waiting in line at the DMV or the grocery store, avoiding any chance interactions with actual human beings? If so, you aren’t alone. Most of us are stuck on a hedonic treadmill of push-button notifications, friend updates, and text messages. But the real question is—are we happy? And, if not, how can we increase our happiness in the age of tech?
Outsmart Your Smartphone is not a book about the evils of technology—it’s a road map for achieving happiness using all the tools available to you, including your phone. With this smart and irreverent guide, you’ll find seven steps to help you use technology in ways that increase your well-being, and find tips and tricks for overcoming the obstacles that technology creates. You’ll also learn to:
Reconnect with your values, including kindness and gratitude
Find your purpose in life—and then live it
Use technology to do good things in the world
Be fully present in each moment using mindfulness
Our technology crazed, social media-obsessed world does nothing if not make us more self-focused. This book will help you harness the power of that focus and magnify your happiness, for yourself and the greater good. You don’t even have to throw out your phone!
Do you spend hours every day on your smartphone or tablet? Reading the news, shopping for clothes, checking your email, and catching up on social media? Do you scroll through blog articles and text with your friends while waiting in line at the DMV or the grocery store, avoiding any chance interactions with actual human beings? If so, you aren’t alone. Most of us are stuck on a hedonic treadmill of push-button notifications, friend updates, and text messages. But the real question is—are we happy? And, if not, how can we increase our happiness in the age of tech?
Outsmart Your Smartphone is not a book about the evils of technology—it’s a road map for achieving happiness using all the tools available to you, including your phone. With this smart and irreverent guide, you’ll find seven steps to help you use technology in ways that increase your well-being, and find tips and tricks for overcoming the obstacles that technology creates. You’ll also learn to:
Reconnect with your values, including kindness and gratitude
Find your purpose in life—and then live it
Use technology to do good things in the world
Be fully present in each moment using mindfulness
Our technology crazed, social media-obsessed world does nothing if not make us more self-focused. This book will help you harness the power of that focus and magnify your happiness, for yourself and the greater good. You don’t even have to throw out your phone!
200 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2019
14 people are currently reading
1021 people want to read
About the author
Tchiki Davis
5 books16 followersDr. Tchiki Davis is a writer, consultant, and expert on well-being. The programs she has helped create have already reached more than a million people worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 8, 2019
Really well written and honest. The author provides straight forward answers on what you can do to be happier, and how you can use technology to do so. There are great exercises, helpful antidotes, and a low pressure approach that allows you to ease into outsmarting your smartphone. Buy it! Or, just keep phubbing people Janet! Why are you like this!
June 23, 2020
I don’t usually leave reviews, but I really enjoyed this book as it helped me identify ways in which my smartphone is harming my happiness and connections. There is a quiz to take at the beginning and end and seven steps to work on. All but one of my scores went down (which is good!) The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because I found the editing mistakes to be distracting. I read at least five sentences that didn’t make sense. Overall highly recommend!
December 9, 2024
Completely wrong title for this book.
I was hopeful that this was a more pragmatic approach to taming technology. In fact, with a subtitle of “Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness, Balance and Connection IRL, one would think that author Tchiki Davis would be setting out do exactly what the cover proclaims.
With highlighter in hand, I optimistically set out to glean as many tips, hacks, tricks, strategies and pieces of encouragement. Instead, I found a manual for practicing kindness, exercising gratitude, and discovering happiness from within myself — all while barely mentioning any reference to how one might control their technology in doing so.
That’s not what I signed up for. That’s not even what the title and subtitle prepare you for.
By and large, the content of this book is twofold:
1. Illustrate technology’s part in complicating our mental health and how overuse creates depression, isolation and loneliness. Give few strategies as to how to offset this in your technology usage. Awareness is enough, right?
2. Practically beg the reader to buy the accompanying journal, recruit others to read this book (including that you should buy copies for all of your friends), and post about this book utilizing any of the readymade hashtags found throughout.
Wait, is this a book on outsmarting your smartphone or is it a ploy to get you to buy the supporting materials while becoming a digital apologist for them?
I was hopeful that this was a more pragmatic approach to taming technology. In fact, with a subtitle of “Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness, Balance and Connection IRL, one would think that author Tchiki Davis would be setting out do exactly what the cover proclaims.
With highlighter in hand, I optimistically set out to glean as many tips, hacks, tricks, strategies and pieces of encouragement. Instead, I found a manual for practicing kindness, exercising gratitude, and discovering happiness from within myself — all while barely mentioning any reference to how one might control their technology in doing so.
That’s not what I signed up for. That’s not even what the title and subtitle prepare you for.
By and large, the content of this book is twofold:
1. Illustrate technology’s part in complicating our mental health and how overuse creates depression, isolation and loneliness. Give few strategies as to how to offset this in your technology usage. Awareness is enough, right?
2. Practically beg the reader to buy the accompanying journal, recruit others to read this book (including that you should buy copies for all of your friends), and post about this book utilizing any of the readymade hashtags found throughout.
Wait, is this a book on outsmarting your smartphone or is it a ploy to get you to buy the supporting materials while becoming a digital apologist for them?
November 14, 2019
This book offers some good insight on various ways our social and private lives have changed collectively in the past decade, and not all for the better. There are a lot of small ways that everyone becomes more and more disconnected with reality while at the same time feeling virtually connected at all times. I enjoyed the tips and will be trying to utilize them in my own life as someone likely on the far side of the spectrum regarding internet and smart device use. I recommend people check this book out and note down the ways it offers to get back to some more true social interaction with our peers and loved ones.
January 28, 2020
It's good information for some people, but I didnt really get much out of it. A lot of the advice is pretty basic, and it tends more toward the author's study of happiness in general, rather than specifically related to smartphone use. Much of the time I felt like I was reading a different book than the title suggested.
April 13, 2020
I think there are some really good suggestions in this book. I've been telling my friends for the last few years how there is so much more to life than being "supposedly connected" to others on social media, who may or may not have your best interests at heart. There is so much creative potential to tap. I am not connected 24/7, and I'm loving life. This book is a great resource for those wanting to curb that social media time and find a better balance in life.
January 17, 2020
I thought that this book was an incredibly interesting take on finding connections in the real world. I loved that the author put in their own stories in order to connect to the reader as well. They really had an expertise on the subject and gave clear ways that you are able to make changes in your daily lives. I highly recommend this book!
December 4, 2019
Reading this book made me realize that although I thought I was using facebook to keep track of friends, I was mostly just keeping annoyed due to the algorithms. I kicked the habit. Thanks dr. Davis! I like the honesty used in writing the book. It wasn't like some perfect person telling me how to live my life, rather someone who has struggled with the same issues. I would recommend to anyone who spends too much time on their phone.
August 5, 2020
شجاعة أن تكون مكروه .
محادثه بين الشاب و الفيلسوف ، يتطرقون فيها نحو مناح كثيره من الحياه ، و نمط الحياة التي يجب ان ترى نفسك خلالها في تعاملك مع ذاتك و الآخر
وهنا سأتطرق في عرض بعض الأفكار الأساسيه في الكتاب .
ثم أرفقا بإقتباسات رأيتها مهمه .
: تتمحور الفكره الأساسيه للكتاب حول
شجاعة أن تكون مكروه ، مرتبطه تماما بالحرية ، فكونك مكروه من الآخرين تعني أنك حر. هو دليل على أنك موجود تعيش وفق رؤيتك الخاصة ، تسعى لقيمك التي تشيرانك تعيش بنمط حياة مختلف ، لا أعني بذلك انك تسعى لتكون مكروه و لكن لا تكن خائف من كره الناس لك أو عدم تقبلهم، فكل ذلك هي مشكلتهم هم و ليست أنت . الحرية لا تعني كسر القواعد و الهروب من المنزل أو المدرسة هذه ليست حرية أو منظمة العمل ، ليست سوا أنك لا تخاف من كره و عدم ترحيب الناس بك غير مكترث بأراء الأشخاص عنك.
الحرية تعني دفع ثمن عدم الإعتراف بك .
الشخص الذي يهاجمك هو الذي يعاني من مشكلة .
اذا كان لديك 7 اشخاص ، اثنين يحبونك و يتقبلونك بما انت عليه و شخص واحد فقط تعلم انه لا يحبك و الأربعه الباقيين حياديين ؟ على ماذا تركز ؟ هل ستركزعلى التزاحم البقيه االأربعه ام على الذين يحبونك ؟ ام تترك ذلك كله و تركز على من لا يحبك ؟ الشخص الذي ينقصه توازن الحياة سيركز على الشخص الواحد الذذي لا يحبه .و سيبني حكمه على العالم بادئا من تلك النظرة.
تستطيع أن تكون سعيدا الآن:
أي نوع من الشجاعه التي تحتاجها لتكون سعيدا؟
الأشخاص الذين يستمعون الي الآن هم سعداء في هذه الللحظه و لكن الاشخاص الذين لا يستعون لي الان ليسوا بسعداء.
السعادة هي الشعور بالمشاركه و المساعدة، فأنت معني بترك التركيز على ذاتك ، توقف حالا ! و ابدأ بسؤال نفسك : ما الذي يمكنني إعطائه للشخص الاخر ؟ ماذا علي أن أقدم؟ هذا هو الإلتزام الحقيقي التركيز الحقيقي على النفس.
- تقبل التغيير ، فتغير ذاتك وتختار طريقة عيش جديدة و نمط حياة جديدة
دعوه للتفكير في اللحظه الانيه التي تشمل جنبات الحياة و مسؤليتك أن تجد طريقك في السعادة فيها.
الماضي في هذا الكتاب لا وجود له وكذلك المستقبل ، فقط يوجد الآن ، لنتحدث الآن ليس بالأمس أو الغدد هو الذي يقرر ذلك
إنه هنا و الآن .
-
الشباب الاصغير يتقدم البالغين .
بعد الحديث عن قبول الذات ومن ثم تقبل الآخرين و تبعا المساهمه معهم ، اهم ما يهتم به العلم بأنواعه الوعي بأن لدي القدره ( قبول الذات ) و أن الناس رفاقي فأثق في الآخرين و أساهم معهم .
يناقش فكرة
على الشباب أن يتقدموا أاماام الأشخاص البالغين الأكبر منهم ، و ان يعطوا الفرصة للتغير تغير ذوتتهم و تقدمهم ليغيروا العالم.
كتاب رأئع جدا ، ربما تشعر أنها بديهيات لكنك في حاجه إلى أن تتعهدها من وقت لآخر.
-
Shine a Light on the Here and Now
So if I have lived earnestly here and now, those moments will always be complete?
" The greatest life-lie of all is to not live here and now. It is to look at the past and the future, cast a dim light on one’s entire life, and believe that one has been able to see something. Until now, you have turned away from the here and now and shone a light only on invented pasts and futures. You have told a great lie to your life, to these irreplaceable moments".
"Living earnestly here and now is itself a dance. One must not get too serious. Please do not confuse being earnest with being too serious. YOUTH: Be earnest but not too serious. PHILOSOPHER: That’s right. Life is always simple, not something that one needs to get too serious about. If one is living each moment earnestly, there is no need to get too serious. And there is another thing I would like you to keep in mind: When one has adopted an energeial viewpoint, life is always complete"
PHILOSOPHER: And the same may be said with regard to your own life. You set objectives for the distant future, and think of now as your preparatory period. You think, I really want to do this, and I’ll do it when the time comes. This is a way of living that postpones life. As long as we postpone life, we can never go anywhere and will pass our days only one after the next in dull monotony, because we think of here and now as just a preparatory period, as a time for patience. But a “here and now” in which one is studying for an entrance examination in the distant future, for example, is the real
"You are lost in your life. Why are you lost? You are lost because you are trying to choose freedom, that is to say, a path on which you are not afraid of being disliked by others and you are not living others’ lives—a path that is yours alone."
"YOUTH: That’s right! I want to choose happiness, and choose freedom!
PHILOSOPHER: No matter what moments you are living, or if there are people who dislike you, as long as you do not lose sight of the guiding star of “I contribute to others,” you will not lose your way, and you can do whatever you like. Whether you’re disliked or not, you pay it no mind and live free."
"PHILOSOPHER: Then, let’s dance in earnest the moments of the here and now, and live in earnest. Do not look at the past, and do not look at the future. One lives each complete moment like a dance. There is no need to compete with anyone, and one has no use for destinations. As long as you are dancing, you will get somewhere"
- " To go about changing yourself and making a new world, in a way you are ahead of me, too. It is okay to lose your way or lose focus. Do not be dependent on vertical relationships or be afraid of being disliked, and just make your way forward freely".
"People want to like themselves. They want to feel that they have worth. In order to feel that, they want a feeling of contribution that tells them “I am of use to someone.” And they seek recognition from others as an easy means for gaining that feeling of contribution".
محادثه بين الشاب و الفيلسوف ، يتطرقون فيها نحو مناح كثيره من الحياه ، و نمط الحياة التي يجب ان ترى نفسك خلالها في تعاملك مع ذاتك و الآخر
وهنا سأتطرق في عرض بعض الأفكار الأساسيه في الكتاب .
ثم أرفقا بإقتباسات رأيتها مهمه .
: تتمحور الفكره الأساسيه للكتاب حول
شجاعة أن تكون مكروه ، مرتبطه تماما بالحرية ، فكونك مكروه من الآخرين تعني أنك حر. هو دليل على أنك موجود تعيش وفق رؤيتك الخاصة ، تسعى لقيمك التي تشيرانك تعيش بنمط حياة مختلف ، لا أعني بذلك انك تسعى لتكون مكروه و لكن لا تكن خائف من كره الناس لك أو عدم تقبلهم، فكل ذلك هي مشكلتهم هم و ليست أنت . الحرية لا تعني كسر القواعد و الهروب من المنزل أو المدرسة هذه ليست حرية أو منظمة العمل ، ليست سوا أنك لا تخاف من كره و عدم ترحيب الناس بك غير مكترث بأراء الأشخاص عنك.
الحرية تعني دفع ثمن عدم الإعتراف بك .
الشخص الذي يهاجمك هو الذي يعاني من مشكلة .
اذا كان لديك 7 اشخاص ، اثنين يحبونك و يتقبلونك بما انت عليه و شخص واحد فقط تعلم انه لا يحبك و الأربعه الباقيين حياديين ؟ على ماذا تركز ؟ هل ستركزعلى التزاحم البقيه االأربعه ام على الذين يحبونك ؟ ام تترك ذلك كله و تركز على من لا يحبك ؟ الشخص الذي ينقصه توازن الحياة سيركز على الشخص الواحد الذذي لا يحبه .و سيبني حكمه على العالم بادئا من تلك النظرة.
تستطيع أن تكون سعيدا الآن:
أي نوع من الشجاعه التي تحتاجها لتكون سعيدا؟
الأشخاص الذين يستمعون الي الآن هم سعداء في هذه الللحظه و لكن الاشخاص الذين لا يستعون لي الان ليسوا بسعداء.
السعادة هي الشعور بالمشاركه و المساعدة، فأنت معني بترك التركيز على ذاتك ، توقف حالا ! و ابدأ بسؤال نفسك : ما الذي يمكنني إعطائه للشخص الاخر ؟ ماذا علي أن أقدم؟ هذا هو الإلتزام الحقيقي التركيز الحقيقي على النفس.
- تقبل التغيير ، فتغير ذاتك وتختار طريقة عيش جديدة و نمط حياة جديدة
دعوه للتفكير في اللحظه الانيه التي تشمل جنبات الحياة و مسؤليتك أن تجد طريقك في السعادة فيها.
الماضي في هذا الكتاب لا وجود له وكذلك المستقبل ، فقط يوجد الآن ، لنتحدث الآن ليس بالأمس أو الغدد هو الذي يقرر ذلك
إنه هنا و الآن .
-
الشباب الاصغير يتقدم البالغين .
بعد الحديث عن قبول الذات ومن ثم تقبل الآخرين و تبعا المساهمه معهم ، اهم ما يهتم به العلم بأنواعه الوعي بأن لدي القدره ( قبول الذات ) و أن الناس رفاقي فأثق في الآخرين و أساهم معهم .
يناقش فكرة
على الشباب أن يتقدموا أاماام الأشخاص البالغين الأكبر منهم ، و ان يعطوا الفرصة للتغير تغير ذوتتهم و تقدمهم ليغيروا العالم.
كتاب رأئع جدا ، ربما تشعر أنها بديهيات لكنك في حاجه إلى أن تتعهدها من وقت لآخر.
-
Shine a Light on the Here and Now
So if I have lived earnestly here and now, those moments will always be complete?
" The greatest life-lie of all is to not live here and now. It is to look at the past and the future, cast a dim light on one’s entire life, and believe that one has been able to see something. Until now, you have turned away from the here and now and shone a light only on invented pasts and futures. You have told a great lie to your life, to these irreplaceable moments".
"Living earnestly here and now is itself a dance. One must not get too serious. Please do not confuse being earnest with being too serious. YOUTH: Be earnest but not too serious. PHILOSOPHER: That’s right. Life is always simple, not something that one needs to get too serious about. If one is living each moment earnestly, there is no need to get too serious. And there is another thing I would like you to keep in mind: When one has adopted an energeial viewpoint, life is always complete"
PHILOSOPHER: And the same may be said with regard to your own life. You set objectives for the distant future, and think of now as your preparatory period. You think, I really want to do this, and I’ll do it when the time comes. This is a way of living that postpones life. As long as we postpone life, we can never go anywhere and will pass our days only one after the next in dull monotony, because we think of here and now as just a preparatory period, as a time for patience. But a “here and now” in which one is studying for an entrance examination in the distant future, for example, is the real
"You are lost in your life. Why are you lost? You are lost because you are trying to choose freedom, that is to say, a path on which you are not afraid of being disliked by others and you are not living others’ lives—a path that is yours alone."
"YOUTH: That’s right! I want to choose happiness, and choose freedom!
PHILOSOPHER: No matter what moments you are living, or if there are people who dislike you, as long as you do not lose sight of the guiding star of “I contribute to others,” you will not lose your way, and you can do whatever you like. Whether you’re disliked or not, you pay it no mind and live free."
"PHILOSOPHER: Then, let’s dance in earnest the moments of the here and now, and live in earnest. Do not look at the past, and do not look at the future. One lives each complete moment like a dance. There is no need to compete with anyone, and one has no use for destinations. As long as you are dancing, you will get somewhere"
- " To go about changing yourself and making a new world, in a way you are ahead of me, too. It is okay to lose your way or lose focus. Do not be dependent on vertical relationships or be afraid of being disliked, and just make your way forward freely".
"People want to like themselves. They want to feel that they have worth. In order to feel that, they want a feeling of contribution that tells them “I am of use to someone.” And they seek recognition from others as an easy means for gaining that feeling of contribution".
March 22, 2020
The numerous typos ruin this a bit.
July 15, 2020
I didn't find it insightful.
October 22, 2024
Kind of just meh. I think I would have gotten into this more if i hadn't already taken mindfulness courses. Like this isn't anything new to me.
February 9, 2020
There is a quiz to take early on in the book before you get committed. My general rule of thumb when taking a quiz where you have to rate yourself out of ten, is to go for the middle. Needless to say my score was very high on subjects I personally didn't think I had/have a problem with. I know where my problem lies and it's more personal than technology obsession.
On page 58 of the book there is a part where the author, Tchiki Davis, talks about people's inability to not pull out their phone when alone waiting for someone. I'm in the 1%. When I sit at a bar or whatever alone, I pull out my book. Which now I realize is the same as having a phone. It is a barrier against others from distracting me, or flirting with me. Because yes, I am an attractive 30 something year old woman. I also just go places with a book to read. I don't understand why I can't read my book wherever I want to. It's sadly more socially acceptable to pull out a phone than a book.
I retook the quiz after finishing the book, and everything seemed a bit more accurate and the one category that was allowed to be so high, remained high. That's ok, I know I need to work on it. <3
On page 58 of the book there is a part where the author, Tchiki Davis, talks about people's inability to not pull out their phone when alone waiting for someone. I'm in the 1%. When I sit at a bar or whatever alone, I pull out my book. Which now I realize is the same as having a phone. It is a barrier against others from distracting me, or flirting with me. Because yes, I am an attractive 30 something year old woman. I also just go places with a book to read. I don't understand why I can't read my book wherever I want to. It's sadly more socially acceptable to pull out a phone than a book.
I retook the quiz after finishing the book, and everything seemed a bit more accurate and the one category that was allowed to be so high, remained high. That's ok, I know I need to work on it. <3
July 20, 2022
Clear, researched, and actionable insights that prompt useful self-reflection and what we can actually do from there! I liked the many examples and anecdotes given, and the optimistic and encouraging tone that was taken throughout the book. :)
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January 4, 2022i can’t get over the fact that to have a phone timeout going to a “developing country” was suggested 😐 like HUHHH??? it just seemed so out of touch to me lol
May 9, 2021
I thought this was a really actionable book. I took a lot of notes while reading. The author provided ample research support for her beliefs and suggestions. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a smarter, healthier relationship with technology.
March 12, 2023
The amount of time I spend on my smartphone has been on my mind lately, so when I saw this book featured at my local library, I immediately snagged it. It’s a great balance between clinical and personal, with both a broad overview and specific details on how to become less attached to your smartphone. But it’s also much more than that. I feel like it would be a good required reading before purchasing a smart phone! It’s opened my eyes to how much I truly use technology and I’ve already seen some positive changes in my habits. The author does a good job of warning against the dangers of overuse without condemning the entire concept of smartphones, which I think makes for a great and balanced book!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews