How to Reduce Screen Time

Welcome back to Diary of a Small-Town Girl! One thing I’ve been focusing on this year has been reducing my screen time. At the beginning of this year, I found I was spending A LOT of time on screens, specifically my phone. So, I decided to start figuring out how to be on my phone less. As a result, I’ve learned a lot about what works for me and I’ve found a couple great tools for how to reduce screen time.

So without further ado, here are my best tips for how to reduce screen time.

Tools to Help Reduce Screen Time

To start reducing screen time, we first have to find resources to help us do that. My absolute favorite screen time regulator is actually built in on our phones. On Android phones (which I have), this tool is in the Settings App and is called Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls.

Digital Wellbeing

Digital Wellbeing is seriously the best thing I’ve discovered on my phone. It has a screen time counter, a place you can set screen time goals, app timers, and it even has something called “Focus Mode”, where you can turn off access to certain apps when it is on.

While there are a few other settings in Digital Wellbeing, the ones mentioned above are the ones I use. I have screen time goals set for almost all of the apps on my phone, which helps me to not spend too much time on them. For example, I have a 1 hour timer for Netflix. So, when that time is up, I can’t get into the app anymore.

While app timers are definitely the most helpful for me personally, I also have a screen time goal of 4 hours per day. Some days I meet this goal and some days I don’t, but it is really rewarding when I do hit my goal. Plus, I get a weekly screen time report that shows me how many days I make my goal, which motivates me to have green checkmarks every day.

I also use Focus Mode in the mornings. The way I have it set up, the only apps I can use are my meditation app, my photos app (which is where I have a photo of my journal prompts), my workout app, and necessary apps like my phone and text app in case there is something I need to respond to. But other than that, I can’t access anything else on my phone. And Focus Mode blocks all notifications from apps you can’t access, so I don’t even have to worry about notifications.

Widgets

While Digital Wellbeing is definitely the tool that has helped me the most, there are a couple other tools I’ve used to reduce my screen time. First, Widgets. If you don’t know what Widgets are, they are little blocks on your home screen, like the clock. One widget in particular that I use is the Screen Time widget.

If you have an Android phone, I highly recommend this Widget. I’m not sure if iPhones have a similar feature, but I would guess that they do. Basically, it is the screen time counter from Digital Wellbeing that I mentioned earlier, but it sits on your home screen. I love this widget because it is a near-constant reminder of how much time I’m spending on my phone. I can’t even unlock it without seeing how much time I’ve spent on a screen.

For me, I find this really helpful and motivating. However, a big caveat with this tool is that I don’t beat myself up or limit necessary phone use when I get close to or over my goal. I view it as a gentle reminder, because getting anxious or beating myself up over my screen time is pretty useless. While the goal is to reduce screen time, it’s OK if you can’t always meet your goal.

Deleting Apps

The last major tool I use for reducing my screen time is simply deleting apps I spend too much time on.

Last December, I decided to take a break from social media. This came more from a mental health standpoint than a screen time reduction goal, but it had an effect on my screen time anyway. I have since redownloaded these apps (specifically Instagram and Snapchat), but I still take breaks from time to time.

For me, deleting the app from my phone means I don’t see it as much. And not seeing the app means I am less likely to think about it and it’s harder to get into, so I spend less time on it. I find deleting apps to be really helpful, but it may or may not work for you. Even though the apps aren’t on your phone, there is still some amount of willpower involved, especially when it is a social media app that you can easily log back into.

Tips for How to Reduce Screen Time

While the tools mentioned above are incredibly helpful and are definitely the main ways I reduce screen time, there are a couple of other tips I have on how to reduce screen time.

Physically Distance From Your Phone

This is one of the easiest ways I get myself to stay off my phone. When I have homework I really need to get done, I set a timer on my phone and put it away inside my desk drawer. This means I don’t see it and I can’t pick it up until the timer goes off.

This trick is seriously the most effective way of keeping me from looking at my phone every 10 minutes when I really need to get work done. I usually put it on do not disturb as well, so the only time I’d hear any notification would be if I got a text message from someone on my favorites list (and if I get a message from someone on that list, it usually means I actually do need to check it as opposed to other notifications).

You could also put your phone across the room or even in a completely separate room from where you are. This tip is really easy to adjust for your wants and needs.

Find Something Else to Do Instead

Finding something else to do is another great way I’ve found to reduce my screen time. However, it is easier said than done. For me, I often have to consciously remind myself to not immediately pick up my phone.

For me, one of the things I like to do instead of being on my phone is reading (check out my Best Summer Reads post for some great recommendations!). Making sure I always have a book with me is the best way I’ve found to ensure that I’m not always picking up my phone when I have a few minutes.

Other things I like to do instead of being on my phone include painting, writing, cleaning my room, and spending time talking to friends (even if it’s over text!). When I notice I’m spending a lot of time on my phone, I usually think “What is something I’ve been wanting to do but have been putting off because it seems too hard?” and I go do that. Because 9 times out of 10, it’s not as hard as it seems, and I have a lot more fun doing whatever that activity is than I do sitting on my phone all day.

Conclusion

And those are all my best tips, tricks, and tools for how to reduce screen time! I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what you think of this more talkative style and which of these tips you’re most excited to try. If you haven’t followed DSTG on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest yet, go give us a follow. As always, thank you so much for supporting DSTG and I’ll see you next week!