How I Reduce My Screen Time

Read time: 3 minutes

Scattered Attention

As someone with a slightly scattered attention span, I’ve always had issues with overstimulation.

This, coupled with the fact that the majority of my Long Covid issues are neuro-based, has meant that screens, especially scrolling, have been a big issue.

It’s a tricky one because when you go through periods of being unable to go out, socialise or connect with others, your phone can feel like one of the only outlets.

It’s easy to sit and scroll, as there’s little else to distract oneself.

But I do actually get a lot of benefits from my phone.

It allows me to connect with others in a similar boat, I enjoy sharing pictures and content of things that have helped me, and I love the odd game of Block Blast or Clash of Clans.

But I do find it all too easy to sit endlessly scrolling, hitting that dopamine button, feeling depressed as I fill my brain with mundane and brain-numbing content.

What has helped:

If you’ve been reading my stuff for any amount of time, you probably know that I’m a big fan of healthy habits, and that’s exactly what I’ve tried to implement when it comes to my phone.

I’m going to cut straight to the point and share the two things that have helped me reduce my screen time, and thus my stimulation.

I genuinely noticed a large change in the quality of my life when I cut it down.

1. Grayscale

This is quite a simple one, but studies show that when you put your phone in your grayscale, you use it less.

Why? Well, because your phone becomes more boring.

When you swipe or scroll, it’s less interesting and less addictive.

That being said, this didn’t solve all the problems for me, which brings me on to

2. A physical blocker

In order to add some friction when opening ‘bad’ apps, like TikTok or social media, I would add time limits or some other app to block distraction.

The trouble was, I would end up just bypassing them one way or another. Maybe I’m just lacking in discipline, but it just didn’t work.

So I recently got this device called a brick, and it’s pretty simple.

You can set a few options for apps you want blocked in different modes.

For example, for work, I block all social media.

For sleep, I block all communication apps, WhatsApp and email included.

You tap the device to lock it, and then when you try to open that app, you’re locked out. The only way to get back in? Physically, go and tap on the brick.

I love it.

The physical friction of knowing I have to move and go to untap my phone on the brick is enough to interrupt my automatic desire to bypass, and it’s massively reduced my screen time.

Maybe you’ll think it’s a waste of £50, but for me, the time and mental energy saving has been worth far more.

(Quick note, I’m not sponsored or affiliated with Brick, just love the product!)

Anyway, I hope that’s been useful for you - if you have any questions, feel free to reply, and as always - take care of yourselves!