Limit your screen time

I am writing this in the time of a pandemic where we all are focused to rely on our devices which might have been considerably less when such a situation wasn't there. As physical classes can't be held, all of them are conducted virtually where the majority of the children and students and adults alike become major victims of this crisis.

We should learn to see the good in the bad too like a coin has two sides, this pandemic will help us to learn what we are missing and how attached we are to certain stuff which can be positive or negative.

PUBG, COD, Fortnite, and all popular online games perhaps even became more popular during this era as more people got attached to their electronic devices. I am not stating this is bad, because as we know games can help us in different ways too, but the thing is for some, it just doesn't stop here, this is where ADDICTION comes in.

Whatever device you are using to socially be active and virtually more existing we mustn't forget we have our own lives to live too in the REAL WORLD. 

This is why limiting our screen time is essential for our well-being.

Get Rid Of the Habit

The other day I was on my cell phone and I was snapping scrolling swiping texting tweeting and liking and I thought this is what life on our mobile devices is right, so let me ask you how many of you today have a mobile device or cell phone within your reach? If you do, that is a reflection of our world today,
five billion people have a mobile device and to put that into context three-quarters of the human race have one of these, so it's not so much that we have a mobile device but it's probably that we're on them a little too much.

 I know I feel that way and I see it in the lives of college students who are so tethered to the social media on their phones and I see it in my own home.


What if I told you you could change the trajectory of your life, improve your brain chemistry and have better relationships, would you like to be more present in your interactions, more focused at work, and overall more effective? If the answer is yes then here's our challenge, we need to take our
phones; put them down, and look up now!

Technologically has advanced in many ways that it has benefited us. We no longer have to visit our friends or relatives to check how they are doing.

Technology has unlocked a huge amount of human potential, it's broken down old systems, removed the gatekeepers for entrepreneurs, and has allowed us to stay connected with those closest to us. We no longer have to wait until our 5-year reunion to see how Samantha(hehe just used this since it's popular in our country ;) is doing...

But with all the good comes, the bad we are glued to our devices, addicted to technology, often spending over four hours every day on our phones.

But instead of simply rejecting technology, I'm interested in how we can bring it into our lives without it negatively affecting our well-being. These are some effective ways that I found to reduce screen time  that I think might help you.

How do I limit my screen time?

OK, so these approaches to reducing the amount of time we spend on our screens get a little bit more extreme as we go on.

So let's start nice and easy. Track your screen time on your phone and your PC.

Most phones have the ability to track the amount of time you spend on your device directly on the phone. You can even get them to send you a report every week with a breakdown of how much time you're spending on it. An app like Rescue Time can help you track the amount of time you spend on your computer.

How much time do you spend on email every day? Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram, Twitter, Instagram? Is this really how you want to be spending your days? Understandably, you may want to invest a certain amount of time every day to use social media, but oftentimes I find, at least for myself, that things can quickly get out of hand. Even after you've managed to get your screen time down, you might find yourself occasionally slipping back into old patterns.

Having a way to track where your time is going will help you to get clear on your priorities throughout the year and the second way, turn off all notifications. Notifications are dangerous for several reasons. You're constantly getting buzzes or pings on your phone, which get you to compulsively pick it up without even thinking. They're also a shortcut into addictive apps. You get a notification that one of your close friends left a comment on your Instagram post. You open up your phone planning to simply reply to that one comment and then get back to work. ( I suggest you watch the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” for more detail on this!)

And you do that, but you don't stop there before you know it. Forty-five minutes have passed. Multiply that throughout your day. And it's no wonder that we're spending so much time on our devices. So turning off pretty much all push notifications except for phone calls, text messages, alarm, and calendar. And if you're not expecting a phone call or a text, turn your phone on silent and flip it upside down and keep it next to you. (I've found this effective)

So you're not distracted even by the random text message that might come through. Turn your screen to black and white. Turning your phone screen from color to black and white can significantly impact how you use your phone. Opening up your phone, scanning through your apps, using Instagram all have significantly less power over you.

So the problem with actually creating such a quick shortcut is that it's very easy to turn it on and off and you may just find yourself turning the black and white off. Adding a little bit of friction when you're trying to get rid of a bad habit is a really powerful way to make sure you don't fall back into those old patterns. 

The Hardest Step 

Delete social media from your phone(I don't necessarily have to do it, maybe I have enough self-control). So one of the best ways to increase the amount of friction it takes to use these apps on your phone is to delete them completely. So I have done social media detoxing and it completely changed the way I look at social media from a personal perspective.

If you restrict this amount of time during your work hours, you're likely to be more productive, get more done and spend fewer hours in front of the screen. You can use an app like Freedom and set the specific times during the day with which you don't want these sites to be accessible. And the last thing you can do is to create some distance.

It's almost taboo in our culture now to leave home without your phone. But if you're going to the gym or taking a trip to the grocery store, think about leaving your phone behind.

I think it's a really fun and creative way to restrict the amount of time we use on our devices, even if just for a day every week because small things lead to a bigger difference.

So I believe that technology has helped to make our lives better, but of course, there are ways in which it can negatively impact our well-being, by being more mindful about the time we spend in front of our screens, we can be more productive, we can reduce stress, and we can stop feeling like we're always rushing from one thing to the next. 

If you found additional ways to reduce screen time, let me know in the comments below.