How to Reduce Screen Time Without Apps, According to Reddit
There are plenty of features to help report screen time, but just like knowing how often you go over the volume guidelines , knowing isn’t really enough. Here are some tips from Redditors on how to cut down on the time you spend on your phone, none of which require you to download extra apps.
Divide phone use into necessary and unnecessary time
The first thing you should do is evaluate how you use your phone. Eventually, phones replaced notepads, newspapers, and just about every other form of personal and professional communication. Maybe you’re actually more productive when you spend long hours on your device, and realizing this can help you feel less guilty.
One Reddit user said , “What you really need to cut down is not screen time, but time spent on useless crap on your phone.” Your phone probably has a preinstalled screen time tracker and it should break down your usage by app. Go down the list and pull out anything you find wasteful, but keep in mind that even social media can be informative and helpful, depending on your appetite for current events and your job description.
The same user suggested deleting notifications for “all but the most important apps” and deleting games or social media apps that don’t serve your productivity. Figuring out which applications need to be curbed is the first step, and then working on actually reducing (or eliminating) them.
Keep your phone away from you (although it’s harder than it looks)
You can enable “limits” for apps using your phone, but you can easily bypass them whenever you want. Instead, try keeping your phone away from you. “When you’re doing anything else – eating, reading, watching TV, talking to friends, studying, working – keep your phone out of your hand. If I’m working on something that requires my utmost attention, I put my phone in another room,” said the same user.
Practice this physical, mindful activity, and don’t get frustrated if it takes you a while to stop going into another room to check your notifications. This advice goes far beyond the Redditverse: Scripps recommends not eating in front of a screen and keeping them out of your bedroom, especially before bed.
It can be helpful to have something else to keep you busy while you’re eating or lounging, so try a book or any other task you need to get done that doesn’t need your phone. Another user suggested : “You could try to recognize the behaviors that make you spend time on your phone, like after breakfast I always sit in that one chair and goof off on Reddit for a long time. Then you can try to break that pattern, like going for a walk or doing something else while you’re usually sitting in your chair with your phone.”
Make your phone less attractive
One user suggested the same advice we gave years ago : switch your display to grayscale. If your phone isn’t fun to look at, it might not be as appealing to you. Take it one step further by getting rid of any cool backgrounds, fun fonts, or eye-catching widgets. Keep everything as simple as possible so that you get the information you need without extra eye candy that sucks you in.
Another user suggested getting an older phone model that would be cheap and effective in reducing the number of apps you can use. You can still use Spotify and send text messages, but installing updated versions of most apps will be more difficult. This means that you will limit most of your technological productivity to your computer, yes, but you will only use your computer when you are at work or during the hours you have set at home. One user called it “delayed gratitude” and said they’re starting to look forward to the time they’ve set for interacting with technology instead of just pulling out their phone whenever they feel like it.