Used correctly, technology can change your life. Used incorrectly, it can ruin it. I’ve spent countless hours experimenting with different techniques to make sure I’m on the right side of that equation. This post outlines everything I’ve found useful.
(Note: I’m not getting paid for any of the tools I recommend)
1/ Add the screen time widget to your homepage
Nothing keeps me more accountable than having my total screen time stare right back at me every time I open my phone. Just like how the scales make someone think twice before eating the doughnut. Your screen time widget will make you think twice before doomscrolling TikTok.
2/ Turn off all notifications
It’s strange to me how we’ve given the world unrestricted access to our attention. And when I say strange, I mean absolutely catastrophic. I’ve turned off all notifications and barely noticed. You quickly realise that nothing is that time-sensitive.
Another good option is to permanently live in ‘Do Not Disturb’, and enable ‘Emergency Bypass’ for family (Contact → Edit → Ringtone → Emergency Bypass). That way, you only get notifications from people you need to.
3/ Delete social media apps
This was an easy decision for me when I ran the numbers: If I spend 1 hour/day on TikTok for the rest of my life (generous for some), that’s 988 days. Nearly 3 years of my life scrolling TikTok. I always try to think what my 80-year-old self would tell me when I’m faced with a decision. In this case, it seems obvious: DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA FROM YOUR PHONE! DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE SCROLLING!
4/ Delete social media accounts
I actually took this a step further and went nuclear. TikTok? Deleted. Instagram? Deleted. Linkedin? Deleted. I’m not perfect, I still have Twitter. But the others were just such an unproductive waste of my precious time on God’s green earth, I thought, why not just remove the option altogether? So I did. And I don’t regret it.
5/ Install ‘UnTrap for YouTube’
When I said ‘social media apps’ earlier, I also meant YouTube. Look, I love YouTube. So many incredible lectures, interviews, podcasts, talks, video essays on there. But those damn YouTube Shorts ruined it. Too tempting. Too futile. So, it’s gone.
That being said, on desktop, I have more control. Especially with the ‘UnTrap for YouTube’ Chrome extension. It lets me completely customise YouTube; hide Shorts, hide suggestions, hide comments, basically anything. It makes YouTube usable again.
6/ Greyscale phone
If you want your phone to become a tool, and not a portable entertainment device, this is for you. I found that any ‘entertainment’ is much less appealing in black and white, yet everything else remains 100% usable.
To enable it on iPhone:
Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Colour Filters → Greyscale
7/ Download Opal
This is the best screen time app I’ve found. You can schedule blocks, set time limits, set open limits. It’s great. You can also disable ‘breaks’ so it’s impossible to turn off. Even after deleting the big boys, I was surprised by how much time I was managing to waste on apps I didn’t know you could waste time on. Any that became a problem, I simply added them to a block.
8/ Download Cold Turkey
This is the best website and app blocker I’ve found for desktop. For me, I block all social media sites (including Twitter), YouTube, and all news sites from 7am - 5pm (Mon-Fri), and 7am - 12pm (Sat - Sun). I’ve also enabled the ‘Schedule’ lock so it’s impossible to disable/change during the scheduled blocks. It’s pretty bulletproof.
9/ Create a ‘Deep Work’ protocol
Obviously, I’m particularly cautious of distractions when I’m trying to focus. Here are some screen-related things I do to help;
Put my phone in another room (or at least out of sight)
Download apps on desktop (i.e Notion)
Work in full screen
Turn off Wi-Fi
Create ‘Deep Work’ blocks in Opal + Cold Turkey
10/ Buy a ‘Brick’
This is a new one for me. I kept seeing it go viral on Twitter and finally decided to buy one. It’s very similar to Opal (app blocker), but it requires a physical device to enable/disable the block. That little bit of friction seems to help a lot. Some might say it’s expensive, but if it prevents an additional hour of pointless screen time a week, it’s worth every penny.
11/ Break the reliance
I love convenience as much as the next guy, but it does mean we’ve become insanely reliant on our devices. So much so, leaving the house without them feels unimaginable. But it is possible. And as much as I can, I try to do so. Go on a walk without my phone. Go on a run without my phone. Go get lunch without my phone. Breaking that dependency has been liberating.
12/ Add a timer to your Wi-Fi
This isn’t one I’ve personally tried, but writing this post reminded me of it, and I’ve since ordered a socket timer from Amazon to give it a go. It’s certainly a brute force technique, but it seems like an effective way to limit any non-phone screens.
13/ Remember, not all screen time is equal
When I first started ‘managing’ my screen time, I just assumed it was all bad. Of course, I’d love to spend all day touching grass, but in reality, screens play a big part in my life and career. Basically, what I’m trying to say is 4 hours writing an essay in Google Docs isn’t the same as 4 hours doomscrolling TikTok. And it’s important to remember that.
14/ Create friction
Most websites and apps are desperately trying to remove friction and increase the amount of time I spend using them. I’m desperately trying to add friction and decrease the amount of time I spend using them. Here are some ways I do it:
Disable Face ID
Removes apps from the Homescreen
Set App Limits and Downtime
Sign out of accounts
Install ‘one sec’ app (set interruptions before opening apps)
15/ Don’t have your phone charger next to your bed
This is self-explanatory. Nothing productive happens on your phone in bed. So, just put your charger somewhere else. The devil on your shoulder is probably whispering, “But what about your alarm?” Simple, just buy an alarm clock.
16/ Regularly update your protocol
I was shocked by how my brain would always find workarounds. As soon as I deleted the YouTube app, I kept miraculously finding myself on the YouTube website instead. So, I had to also block the website itself (Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content → Never Allow → Add Website). It’s a constant battle. You just have to be self-aware and quickly patch any bugs.
17/ Have a why
For me, building a life I didn’t want to escape from has been the most powerful technique. I’m always trying to notice the moments I want to doomscroll, and then address them head-on. It takes time and work, sometimes even some big life decisions, but it’s worth it. The happier you are, the more absurd it becomes to waste a single second on a screen.
Great tips. I have a Brick and love it. Even with that, I still had to delete social media apps from my phone. They are too tempting, even if I only have access for a couple of hours a day.
Do you really need 17 tools/reasons to force yourself to get lower screentime? a good friend of mine when we were discussing about deleting social media apps, lock hours said something that i use to think about often: you can simply choose not to waste time on your phone, it's a choice you can make without all the unnecessary extra steps.