How to Reduce Your Phone Time

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We are all guilty of scrolling aimlessly and endlessly.

I will give you three straightforward ways to minimize your phone usage.

The benefits of having a cell phone are not to be underestimated, boiled down, your phone is your link to the world and your loved ones. However, we often become so engrossed with the black mirror that we lose track of time. When we regain awareness, we regrettably realize that we have just squandered 30 minutes to people dancing on Tiktok. (personal experience speaking here).

How do we stop this?

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To-do lists

First thing you must consider is to create a to-do list for the day as soon as you wake up. Jot down at least three things you want to accomplish by the end of the day. Do not worry too much about scheduling the time to do it; write it down. The reason for this is that when you have something to refer to throughout the day, you will feel incredibly accountable to yourself and therefore guilty when you catch yourself wasting precious time.

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Do Not Disturb

The second thing you need to do is utilize the 'do not disturb' mode on your phone a lot more frequently than you currently do. The 'do not disturb' mode is a godsend. Whenever you are about to begin a task that will take a considerable amount of time, switch on 'do not disturb' so that your phone's notifications do not distract you from the task at hand. Eventually, this invaluable functionality will become such a utilized feature that you will immediately switch it on whenever you watch a show or even wash the dishes. Another good thing about 'do not disturb' is that when you switch it off the influx of notifications on your screen make you feel good. Do not ask me why, but notifications seem to make anyone feel good.

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Application Timers

Lastly, application timers— this one is powerful. Every phone has an inbuilt timer for each application. You can access it through your settings, and it essentially allows you to limit the usage of an app through a timer that prevents you from using the app if you have used up all of the time for the day. In the beginning, you will dramatically limit your time because you will be so shocked by the amount of time you use on some of these applications. However, you need to remember that the total time you are seeing is not reflecting continuous sprints of usage; instead, it is reflecting your overall use.

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When I first began to limit my time on specific applications, I was astonished to see that I was spending close to three hours on social media a day. However, I realized that I was spending this time in short sprints, and, most of this time was spent speaking to friends and interacting with different people. Regardless, you should restrict your application usage because spending all day on social media is not doing you any favours. (Unless you are making money through it).

Be mindful of your phone usage so that you can focus on what matters—You.