If you are gifted with extra 15 days off this year, what will you do with it?
Many of us spend 2-3 hours on our phones a day*. A portion of that time is essential: we connect with family and friends, get map directions, and manage our finances. But let’s be real — much of that time goes to staring at random cat videos and salivating over beautifully filtered pictures.
If we repurpose only an hour of phone time each day, we gain back a whopping 15 full days a year for other things, such as exercise, relaxation, and sleep. Have an important personal project in mind? Redirecting your screen time is a promising way to start.
A critical strategy in reducing phone time is to remove the triggers. No time can be spent on the phone if you don’t pick it up in the first place.
Here are a number of things you can try:
- Place your phone in a separate room (my phone stays in my study)
- Put your phone out of sight when working (I hide mine behind a printer)
- Turn off 95% of your notifications (I only allow text messages)
- Turn off all sounds (vibration is good enough)
- Use single purpose devices (I use a separate timer to track time, a physical journal for note taking, a Kindle to read articles and books without distraction)
- Delete all social media apps you don’t need
- Make your bedroom a phone-free zone
- Respond to text messages in batches
- Cut off work email and instant messaging access
- Avoid making same-day plans (since that requires you to constantly check messages)
Remember, the intent is to redirect your attention and invest the time in other things that matter to you. It’s critical to plan ahead on what to do with your newfound time. The best way to achieve this is to decide on a specific activity when you go without the phone. For example:
- Instead of checking my phone first thing in the morning, I will do a 5 minute workout.
- Instead of reaching my phone when I’m bored mid-day, I will read an inspiring book for 5 minutes.
- Instead of meditating with an app, I will simply meditate with nothing more than my breath.
- Instead of trading text messages with a friend to check in, I will call a friend or propose a fun activity to do this weekend.
- I will go on a 10-minute walk without my phone since the chance of an emergency is extremely low.
Let’s get 2 weeks of your time back this year!
* To check your screen time: If you are on an Android: Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing and parental controls > Dashboard > Screen time. For iOS: Go to Settings > Screen Time.