The 186-time daily habit: Are you checking your phone right now?

When U.S. adults check their phones once every five minutes, what are we actually losing to the glow of the screen—and how do we get our focus back?

Be honest with yourself. Did you just catch this post while checking your phone?

It is seemingly just how we are now programmed.

Is this you right now?

"According to a 2025 survey by Reviews.org, an online resource that reviews mobile services and Internet providers, on average, US adults check their phones 186 times per day, or roughly once every five minutes," read a recent article by the publication Nature.

What does the distraction of our phone add up to? Around five hours a day, which officially claims 76 days of the average year.

Nature — putting the focus on what all this means for scientists and researchers — responded by asking some attention researchers to offer advice on ways to keep our brains focused.

What to do about the phone distraction

This nugget from University of California, Irvine psychologist and attention researcher Gloria Mark really stood out:

"The problem is not that we get distracted. The problem is: what do we do about it?"

Do we wear multitasking as a badge of honor? No, says Mark.

Instead, putting the mobile phone to the side can serve as a great tool while focusing. (Think about what it does to us when we look at it while driving!)

"People find it difficult to work with their smartphone sitting next to them," said Stefan van der Stigchel, a cognitive psychologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "You won’t go on a diet with a pack of cookies next to your laptop, right? There’s one moment where you’re bored or when your will is not as strong, and all of the sudden you’re picking up your phone or you’re eating that cookie."

Toss it in a drawer

So, my challenge to myself and you, the reader, is this (considering my phone is just inches from my keyboard right now): Try to keep the phone in another room or in a drawer and do some work.

See how much easier that was for you, and potentially how much better the work you produce is. 

OK, you can now check Instagram to watch the latest AI-generated music video. That didn’t last long.