We are all guilty of having a little too much screen time. Or a lot in some cases! Which can have a lot of negative impacts on our physical and mental health. So today we are going to chat about some tips for how to decrease screen time. For those of us with a bit of a phone addiction!
Before we jump into the tips for how to decrease screen time I do want to quickly cover the reasons that it’s so important to lower your screen time.
Why is it so important to decrease screen time?
- Time consuming- spending too much time on your phone can suck up all your free time. Which means you don’t have time to work towards your goals and dreams.
- Your eyes and overall health- staring at your phone screen for hours at a time can be bad for your physical health. It can strain your eyes and hurt your posture if you aren’t careful.
- You aren’t being present– by constantly being on your phone you are not living in the moment and missing the things happening around you.
- Mental wellbeing– the arguably most talked about reason being on your phone all the time is bad for you is the mental health impact. Constantly seeing the highlight reel of everyone else’s lives can lead to hurting your mental health and happiness.
Now that we have covered why it’s so important to lower your screen time let’s get into these tips for how you can actually lower it!
Also, if you prefer to hear me talk about these tips and advice rather than read about it then head over to my video (linked here) where I chat about these tips in depth.
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How To Decrease Screen Time
Phone Addict Edition!
Tip 1: Start your morning with anything except checking our phone.
When you wake up don’t look at your phone right away. I recommend getting an alarm clock that isn’t your phone to help with this.
If you immediately look at your phone then you don’t give your brain the time it needs to wake up and approach the day without the influence of everyone else’s lives and any bad news.
So try starting your day with anything besides your phone so that you aren’t immediately waking up and starting your screen time for the day.
For more ways to refresh your morning routine check this out!
Tip 2: Get the screen time reports.
Often the shock factor is what it takes for us to realize we are spending way too much time on our phones.
So go into your settings and set it to send you screen time reports. For iPhones that is a weekly report that you can have a push notification go to your phone once a week to tell you a summary and then you can click on it for details.
Being able to track this also gives you a way to see if you are actually lowering your screen time or not. It’s a great tool for holding ourselves accountable!
Tip 3: Use an app that reminds you to get off your phone.
As much as technology can be a struggle it can also help us out.
Consider downloading an app like “moment” that will remind you to get off your phone if you have been on it for too long or if you go on it during a time you set to not go on it.
Tip 4: Stop working when you aren’t working.
Always checking your work emails and messages when you are home? Then you are never truly clocked out and you are not dis-associating from work which can be detrimental to your mental health.
So start taking the steps for you personally to start working towards not constantly checking your work communications. This can greatly lower your screen time and help improve your work-life balance as well.
Tip 5: Create a no phone before bed routine
Just saying that you aren’t going to use your phone before bed can be ineffective if you don’t create an actual routine for before bed.
Create a routine of things like doing your skin care, reading on a kindle, and doing yoga or stretching. Do whatever works the best for your life but by creating a consistent night time routine you can help yourself avoid being on your phone at night.
Tip 6: Find things you would rather do than phone time.
Try doing these productive things after work when you are home and bored rather than sitting on your phone.
If you stay busy and productive then you are less likely to start aimlessly scrolling through your phone. Once you find things and activities you prefer doing make sure to keep a list of them so you can pull from them in the future when you find yourself spending too much time on your phone.
Tip 7: Charge your phone away from you.
At night, while working, while spending time with family, etc. charge your phone away from you.
Charge it in a different room to keep yourself from getting tempted to check it when you shouldn’t be. Taking away the conscience factor of always having your phone near by can help to really lower your screen time.
Tip 8: Turn off unnecessary notifications.
If you look at your phone each time you get a notification that is going to lead to a lot of screen time.
So go into your settings and look at what apps you are allowing to have push notifications. Chances are it’s way more apps than you actually want notifications for.
Bonus: doing this also can help you be more productive and less likely to be distracted as well.
Tip 9: Schedule time for hobbies and interests.
When you are making your hobbies a priority you are probably going to spend less time mindlessly scrolling on your phone.
So try scheduling time each week for your hobbies to make sure you are making them a priority.
Tip 10: Make your lock screen a reminder.
Have a goal or inspiration that makes you want to spend less time on your phone? Like improving your mental health? Or spending more time with your family?
Then make your lock screen a reminder of that motivation! That way each time you go to unlock your phone you will see that reminder.
Tip 11: Understand your app analytics.
Did you know that if you follow the first tip and get a screen time report it will also give you a rundown of how long you spent on each app.
So you can use that information to evaluate your screen time usage and potentially delete apps that are really sucking you in and taking up a lot of your time.
Korra-Shay
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