2026 is just around the corner and if you’d like to make it the year you reduce phone distractions and build better habits, here’s some advice from Yoga Happy guest teacher, Sophie Dear.

When it comes to making new habits stick, it’s important to have boundaries around how we spend our time.  We all complain that we don’t have enough time, yet most of us aren’t using our time wisely.   A killer for new habits – distractions that pull us away from them! And the biggest culprit – our phones.

So here are 6 new habits and boundaries that will help you find more time, joy and ease in 2026.

1. Turn off all notifications. I have had this setting on my phone now for about 7 years. It means you get to consciously choose when you check your messages.
2. Take email off your phone. I know this seems drastic but I promise it’s something you can get used to! It means that you also consciously choose to work / do admin when you are sitting in front of a laptop – not just in between things or when you are on the toilet! 
3. Don’t have your phone on a table that you are eating at.
4. Set boundaries with a partner. For example, no phones in bed. It’s amazing how much of a distraction phones can be within relationships. We can feel rejected by our partners if they are on their phones a lot.  I really recommend doing this early on in a relationship if you are in the dating game! Try not to be a people pleaser or be embarrassed if this is important to you.
5. Whenever you are with friends, make sure your phone is not within your sight. In two different experiments with nearly 800 smartphone owners, participants whose phones were placed in another room were significantly more focused than those who had their phones on the desk. This shows us that the mere presence of a smartphone can reduce your brainpower, even when the phone is off or on silent.
6. Go on a walk without your phone.  Studies show that people who pay attention to their surroundings rather than their screen report better mood, a deeper sense of connection and ease, compared with those who walk distracted by their phone. Walking without a phone also gives your brain a chance to enter a daydreaming state called the Default Mode Network which improves creativity and intuition.

Which ones would you like to adopt in 2026?  I’d love to know!  Post your favourites in the community in the Yoga Happy app…