Tops Tips On How To Reduce Screen Time
I think most of us can agree that we spend way too much time on our phone every day. Using my phone too much greatly impacts my day. It distracts me from completing my to-do list, makes me less productive and distracts me from pursuing other hobbies. Without a doubt, time seems to move faster when I am on my phone.
I’ve listed five steps below that have really helped me to reduce my screen time.
Set Limits
My first tip would be to set screen time limits on your phone. You really need to be realistic for this step to work. Take the time to scroll through each feature in the settings section on your phone and try to decide how long you want to be on each app per day. If you are usually on social media for multiple hours a day, don’t try and immediately reduce it down to 10 minutes a day. I would suggest trying to reduce it by 20-30 minutes when you first set your limit. This will make this new habit easier to implement into your daily routine.
If you are trying to study for exams and are struggling with using your phone too much, you can set a passcode for this screen limit feature. It may help to hold you accountable if you get your parents to set the passcode. You can pick apps that are necessary for your study sessions to be exempt to this limit.
Reduce Notifications
If you are serious about reducing your screen time, I would also suggest reducing the amount of notifications that pop up on your phone. Notifications can lead to you mindlessly picking up your phone and spending unnecessary time scrolling through it. Set aside some time to turn off notifications from apps that are rarely used by you on a day-to-day basis.
It may also benefit you to put your phone on Do Not Disturb. Again, this will stop unnecessary disruptions to your day and stop you from using your phone more often than needed. It is easy to set up the Do Not Disturb function so that your emergency contacts can still contact you while this mode is tuned on. This allows you to have peace of mind as those that might need to can still get in contact with you. Most features can also be set to turn on automatically so that you stick to your goal of reducing your screen time without even having to think about it.
Simply Power Off Your Phone
Every now and again, you should be able to just turn off your phone. This completely eliminates the temptation of using your phone. It also stops you from mindlessly checking your phone as you have to go through the whole process of powering on your phone again. Personally, this method also helps me to be more present when I am with my friends as I’m not distracted by what is on my phone.
I used to always power off my phone when I was in secondary school. This really helped me to resist checking the time on my phone out of boredom. This helped me to tune into my classes more as I wasn’t worrying about how much time had past.
Audiobooks/Podcasts
Listening to audiobooks and podcasts are a great way to stay entertained without directly staring at your phone. Activities such as these really help to reduce your screen time as you are still entertained. It is also a better way to spend your time than scrolling social media as you may learn something new from an educational audiobook/podcast.
Hobbies
Time seems to go by so much faster when I am on my phone. So much so, that I have found that it has led to me neglecting some of my hobbies. One of my biggest tips would be to prioritise hobbies that do not include using screens. Take the time to do things like read, draw or exercise instead of using your phone. If you find an activity that you genuinely enjoy then you will easily reduce your screen time.
Do you think you spend too much time on your phone each day? Will you be try to reduce your screen time?