4 Ways to Limit Your Screen Time

In 2021, people on average spent about 5 hours on their phone daily. 7 out of every 10 minutes were spend on social media platforms such as Instagram or TikTok. Excessive phone usage is shown to be associated with issues related to low self-esteem, poor regulation, sleep problems, impulsivity, and migraines. If you are looking to limit your screen time, keep reading!

Schedule Downtime

I recently set up the screen time feature on my iPhone to cut back on my phone usage during the day. I scheduled my downtime to be one hour before bed which allows me to mindfully practice nighttime routine and one hour after waking to slowly start my day with the right mindset. You can even customize your downtime based on your own sleep schedule or weekday routine. This structure and it's consistency can be especially important for parents when establishing boundaries for you child's technology usage.

Set App Limits

In addition to scheduling downtime, I also put limits on specific apps such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and more. Like so many, I can aimlessly scroll on TikTok for hours and not even realize how much time has past. This limit is helpful to prioritize and manage my time better.

Practice Mindfulness

In one of my previous post I talked about ways to be more more mindful in our daily routines. Mindfulness is another great way to limit our screen time. For instance, when engaging in daily activities such as cooking, eating, bathing, drinking coffee, or getting ready for work instead of doing these things while also scrolling through our phones, we can try to focus on the present moment. When eating, focus on the smells, the textures, the taste, the colors, the aromas, the spices, etc...

Discover a New Hobby

After setting limits on my phone, I discovered that I had so much time to fill with other productive activities. I replaced my screen time with activities such as biking, cooking, reading, writing, and organizing! Limiting your screen time helps improve sleep, productivity, mood, and focus.

Let me know in the comments if you found this post to be helpful and what you wanna see more of! Thanks for reading!