Technology can be both a blessing and a curse; it all depends on how you utilize it. When used correctly, technology and the internet offer us a plethora of resources that we can use to learn new skills, upskill ourselves via certifications, and further our careers.
On the other hand, mindlessly using technology in excess can be a huge waste of time, a source of distraction, and even cause conflicts in relationships due to excessive use of phones and not paying attention to the person trying to communicate with you.
Our lives nowadays are highly dependent on our phones; from getting from one place to the other using Google Maps, hosting virtual meetings or remote jobs, or just scrolling on social media apps like Instagram, or Tik Tok. It is safe to say that the use of technology is highly integrated with our daily lives and finding a balance is crucial.
It is important to create healthy relationships with technology and set boundaries with yourself around your screen time. By doing so, you can encourage creative downtime, make time for your family, procrastinate less, and be better able to achieve your goals. Here are 10 tips that can help you do just that:
Set Limits on Screen Time
The first step to improving your relationship with technology and screen time would be to set boundaries with yourself about setting limits on screen time. Take scheduled breaks whenever you feel like you need a refresher from working.
For example, use your phone to scroll through social media during that. Set a time limit of 15 minutes on each app or however you may prefer to remind you to put your phone down when the time limit is up. The timer on these apps acts as a constant reminder to not mindlessly scroll and waste your time by procrastinating.
Establish Screen- Free Zones
Since technology is so highly integrated into our lives, we tend to have screens in every part of our house. From mobile phones, television, iPads, and laptops; these devices often accompany us everywhere and are present in almost all the rooms of our homes. This constant presence of screens acts as a distraction and can act as a barrier to truly unplugging from social media or work. Try to set up screen-free zones in your house.
For example, the bedroom should be a completely screen-free zone. This means you will not be staying up late scrolling reels on Instagram when you should be relaxing and getting a restful night of sleep before work. Screen-free zones can also help you stay present and really contribute to meaningful conversations, thereby, improving relationships.
Turn Off Notifications
This is the easiest and quickest way of reducing screen time. Simply choose which apps you want to receive notifications from in your phone settings. By turning off notifications, you reduce the urgency to check your phone the moment the notification bell rings. You can always come back to your phone during the set time limit and check the notifications, they are not going anywhere.
Put Phone Away During Meals
Make a rule to put phones away during meals at the dining table, kitchen, or when eating out with someone. This practice can be beneficial to your overall well-being. By choosing to put phones away you are better able to connect with your family during meals, show respect to the person you are dining with, and improve relationships.
Eating without the distraction of screens is also beneficial to our health and digestive system. When we eat while watching the television or on our phones, we tend to eat fast without chewing and not savoring our meal.
This can be detrimental to our digestive system and even cause us to overeat, leading to unnecessary weight gain. Hence, putting phones away while eating is a simple trick to improve our overall well-being and sets a healthy boundary with technology.
Track the Amount of Time you Spend Using Screens
From your iPhone, you can now check the amount of time you spend using your screen. It shows a clear bar chart of your time spent between social media apps, creativity, and entertainment and also shows the exact time spent on each app during the day. By tracking the time spent on your screen, you can become more mindful of excessive screen time, and set goals for time limits, downtime, app limits, communication limits, and overall reduction of screen time.
Pursue Offline Activities
Seek out activities that will help you get away from your screen. For example, going to the gym, going out for a walk, reading an actual book and not from a screen, joining a club, or volunteering. Taking a break from technology and reducing your screen time by engaging in other offline activities can be a refreshing way to disconnect.
Don’t Use your Phone the Moment you Wake Up
When we pick up our phone to check our notifications and social media updates right after waking up, it sends us into a state of anxiety and stress which often sets the tone for a day of us feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. By choosing to be mindful and consciously delaying checking your notifications for at least an hour after you wake up, you can begin your day on a more peaceful note.
Take your time to do your morning meditation, practice mindfulness, enjoy a slow breakfast, and bond over meaningful conversations with your family. Being mindful of your phone usage right after waking up helps boost mental health, reduces stress and anxiety, and gives you the right start to your day.
Remove Distracting Apps from your Home Screen
You may find yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media the moment you unlock your phone, or you may keep refreshing your email inbox. If you are guilty of this, it is time to remove such distracting apps from the home screen. At this point due to the excessive use of the screen, it may just be a habit or reflex action for your thumb to mindlessly go to the Instagram app and scroll through reels for two hours at a time.
Deleting these apps from the home screen can be a small but effective way to break this addiction from the constant, checking, scrolling, and refreshing. If you have to use an app that you tend you waste a lot of time on, for example, Instagram, try to use it from a website a browser.
This way you will have to go through some extra steps to log in which might demotivate you from mindlessly scrolling. Moreover, this will also help reduce the number of notifications you get.
Put your Screens in Grayscale
Putting your phone in grayscale mode makes our phone screens seem less captivating as opposed to the usual captivating and attention-grabbing colors. This makes it less visually stimulating and helps you reduce the urge to scroll mindlessly through social media apps. This simple change can help reduce our screen time, increase productivity, and promote good sleep hygiene and overall sleep due to the reduction in exposure to blue light which can be disruptive to our sleep cycle.
Be Mindful of the Times You Aimlessly Scroll
By being mindful of the time you find yourself endlessly scrolling through social media apps, you learn to take a step back and limit screen time consciously. This could be during idle moments, during stress, or simply out of habit or addiction.
Recognizing these patterns can help you limit your screen time and regain control of your time and productivity. Pay attention to the situations, emotions, or triggers that make you want to scroll mindlessly, for example, for some it is social anxiety and they tend to hide behind their phones pretending to be busy so they don’t have to make conversation and for others, it may be scrolling Tik Tok until 3 am and not being mindful of the time leading to sleep deprivation and a bad start to the next morning.
By ending the aimless scrolling cycle, you can reclaim your time, and increase productivity, focus, and overall well-being.
Setting healthy boundaries around screen time is essential in today’s digital age since technology is so deeply integrated into our lives. By setting time limits, active monitoring, encouraging offline activities, and promoting overall digital literacy, you can easily improve your relationship with technology.