With our phones continuously tugging at our attention, being fully present with friends and family during the holidays can prove challenging, but there are things you can do to make it easier. According to research by Adrian Ward, an assistant professor at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and coauthors, the urge to constantly check your phone is actually your brain’s way of solving a significant problem. “We can’t pay attention to everything, and we often have trouble figuring out what we should pay attention to,” says Ward. “One way our brains have solved this is by prioritizing stuff that is rewarding and self-relevant. Our smartphones are unintentionally engineered to take advantage of both of these concerns.” So even if your intention is to enjoy time with your loved ones, the potential dopamine-boosting rewards on your smartphone, such as social media likes or cute animal videos, are …