Cutting Back on Screen Time
For much of last year, I was struggling with constant feelings of overstimulation. My brain was receiving so much information throughout the day, getting a constant stream of updates from notifications, that I sometimes wanted to throw my phone against the wall in the insane hope that it’d break my screen addiction.
I’ve suspected for a while that I am addicted to screens. I take pride in being self-aware, but it took me so long to admit this to myself because I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want it to be a big deal and actually have to change my habits. So I ignored the mental dullness, lack of focus, procrastination, and general anxiety that I feel when I look at screens for long stretches of time.
Near the end of 2024, my screen time had begun to affect me more profoundly. All the content I was consuming was exhausting (Instagram Reels, news sites, Youtube videos, Substack articles, to name a few), but nothing was truly connecting with me or stretching me intellectually and emotionally. Spending my free time online was not giving me fulfillment or even meaningful entertainment.
Since I wanted to be intentional with my screen time, I came up with a game plan.
These aren’t hard and fast rules; they just offer me options aside from using my phone.
Delete apps
If I know I spend too much time on an app, I don’t want it on my phone. At least, not all the time. On any given day, I usually don’t have the following installed: Youtube, Facebook, IG, and Tiktok, because they’re the worst offenders. If I want to use them – say, to search for something or to upload some photos – I’ll have to reinstall, log in, maybe wait for an OTP to authenticate my access. This friction is tremendously helpful, because it gives me a few seconds to reconsider: do I really want to use this app, or is there another activity I’d rather do right now?
I’ve learned to uninstall Facebook and Instagram as soon as I’m done using them, because they immediately hook me back into mindless scrolling. However, I’m still struggling with Youtube. So many longform videos on it have shown me new perspectives that I hesitate to cut the cord entirely. As a compromise, I only reinstall the app when I have a specific topic to look up or a creator whose take on topical issues I want to see. This approach doesn’t always work because it’s only too easy to cave and reinstall everything. But the additional steps at least make it harder to use my phone on impulse. Which leads us perfectly to the next tip…
Redirect
Often, when I use my phone, it’s without a specific purpose. Instead, it has become a habit. So, taking some time – even 3 seconds – to search my mood means I can redirect my energies towards something productive (like chores) or meaningful (reading or writing).
Again, the added hassle of having to reinstall apps helps because the delay forces me to think if it’s worth the risk to get sucked into endless scrolling. Usually, that thought lights a fire under my ass to get me to open my Kindle instead.
Speaking of Kindles: I do not want to cut back on ebooks. They’re more convenient to purchase, store, and carry. For my purposes, I don’t consider reading ebooks as screen time.
Go analog, baby!
Clocks and Watches
I watched a video of someone recounting that wearing an analog watch helped them be less distracted. I was intrigued; as someone who never really got into wearing a watch, I was skeptical. After all, we’re all carrying phones with that tell time more accurately. But I was desperate enough to try it.
Spoiler alert: It’s very effective. Instead of looking at my phone for the time, which causes me to get distracted by other notifications and I forget the time anyway, I glance at my wristwatch. It’s faster and focuses my mind because it’s utilitarian: there’s nothing else to do with a watch but look at the time. It’s important that my watches are analog. Seeing the clock hands’ positions and movements made the passing time feel more tangible, real, and definite. It felt like a more accurate representation of time.
Also, to avoid using my phone first thing upon waking, I bought an old-fashioned alarm clock (the one with a really loud, clanging metal bell). The added benefit is I (mostly) wake up on time because it doesn’t have a snooze function.
Notebooks and Pens
There have been studies that show how writing by hand helps us process and retain information. This is great for when I’m reading a nonfiction book and digesting the concepts.
I particularly love writing by hand when I have big emotions to process. Journaling on physical paper makes it easier to let the feelings pour out. There is something deeply, thoroughly cathartic about the act of scribbling on paper.
The endless variation of writing tools (pencils, pens, inks, stickers, tape…) also makes writing so fun and unique. Sure, attaching a photo to your online diary is easier, but nothing beats the feeling of holding an instant photo in your hands and glueing it to the pages of your journal, decorating the margins with colorful doodles and cute stickers.
I still love digital journaling. The ease and convenience of Day One is unmatched; plus, I like knowing that I have backups if I lose my paper journals. In fact, I’m trying to find a solution where my physical entries can be backed up digitally in a seamless, frictionless way. But I also recognize how the benefits of paper writing uniquely serve my needs.
To conclude...
A major reason I wanted to cut back on screen time was the awful effect it had on my mental abilities. My attention span was shot; I couldn’t focus on reading a book for more than 10 minutes. Even then, I had to reread entire paragraphs a few times to comprehend what I was reading. As someone who loves the written word, this was unacceptable. There are too many books to read, so much knowledge to gain, more characters I want to encounter. I don’t want to shut the door on that specific kind of joy.
Not only does screen time reduce my ability to think deeply, it also negatively affects my creativity. How can I create something of my own (whether it’s a watercolor painting or a piece of writing) if I’m too busy looking online at what others have created? The problem is compounded by not having enough attention to focus on writing for more than 2 minutes before switching off to a new browser tab.
Mindless Internet consumption is the worst kind of wasting time because I don’t even get a lot of value from it. I don’t want to have my day end where I haven’t done anything with my precious free time aside from scrolling. I need hobbies that nourish me mentally or emotionally. I had to face the fact that I was giving my finite attention to an activity that ultimately didn’t enrich my life, and actually took away from my goals of reading and writing more. I’m not saying that the Internet is all bad – after all, it’s where I recently discovered and fell in love with Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?! by Mckinley Dixon. However, being more mindful of my screen time has yielded all positive results: I hit my 2025 reading goal way ahead of schedule because I didn’t waste my time on social media; I do housework with less procrastination; my mind feels stronger and more able to process complex ideas for longer periods of time.
All of this takes effort and mindful redirection of now-ingrained impulses to pick up our gadgets. But when I look at all that I gain – time, focus, creativity, an improved mood – it’s well worth it.