Enough is Enough: Simple Ways To Reduce Your Screen Time In The New Year
The new year’s right around the corner, and you know what that means: resolutions! As fun as it is to make them, it’s not as much fun to keep up with them. While most of us will try cutting out sugar or upping our exercise routine, a lot of us should actually be focusing on something just as important.
At this point, we all know that kids spend way too much time on their phones—but what about adults? With all the hoopla about kids’ screentime, we often forget that the average person still spends nearly four hours a day on their phones as well, and when you toss in our average screen time at work, we spend a good chunk of our days zapped with blue light. Don’t you worry, we have a few solutions to reclaim control of your life!
Airplane Mode on Solid Ground
You’ll never cut down your screen time without a little discipline. Luckily, your phone can help implement some self-control, namely through airplane mode. You don’t even need to cut out communication throughout the day; you can easily set up your “do not disturb” settings for certain off-hours.
“Do not disturb” doesn’t cut out communication altogether, either. Depending on your phone model, you can tinker in the settings and leave notifications open for certain contacts. As for everyone else, they can reach you when the rooster crows!
If you’re paranoid about missing important notifications, you can also opt for screen-free zones in your home. For example, keep phones off the table at dinner time. Designate screen-free areas in your home for hobbies like journaling, puzzles, or knitting. These routes allow you to keep your phone within arm’s reach without actually staring at it for hours at a time.
Get Back Into Reading
When did reading become such a Herculean task? There was a time when we thrived in the library, itching for the latest books in our favorite series. But sure enough, adulthood hit us all hard, and our phones offered that dopamine chase that our brains quickly got addicted to.
We’re not saying it’ll be easy, but it’s also not impossible. Start small to build the habit; one page a day might feel like a chore for those first few weeks, but it doesn’t take much for a good book to sucker you in. Even if it does feel like a chore, you’ll at least have the accomplishment of one finished page every day—you’ll finish your first book pretty quickly afterwards!
Don’t discredit the power of novellas or graphic novels either. If you need to ease your way back into reading, there’s no shame in keeping the material accessible. YA fiction is also a good stepping stone; it doesn’t challenge you as much as other novels, but it still provides a sense of accomplishment when you’re done. You can also hold yourself accountable with buddy reads or book clubs! And who knows, you might even make new friends as an adult.
Invest in Screen-Free Hobbies
No one said you had to take up knitting or learn a new language (even though they’re viable options). Screen-free hobbies can mean any number of things, and with so many options available, you have a whole world of possibilities—and they don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either.
Now’s the perfect time to get out and enjoy nature! The world is so much larger when we finally peel our eyes from the screen, and you can invest in anything from hiking, bird watching, fishing, or gardening. Don’t let the cold weather stop you from enjoying hobbies; you can still work up a good sweat hiking in the winter, and plenty of herbs or plants survive in the cold.
If you’re more of a homebody, you can do any number of fun activities. Buy a crossword puzzle book. Learn how to cook. Grab some mementos from any excursions for a junk journal. Draw and cut your own stickers. It’s okay if you don’t find your niche right away; the important thing is to dabble in a few options and see what sticks.
Keep Yourself on a Schedule
The biggest problem people encounter is quitting cold turkey—but no one said you had to toss your phone in the toilet. It’s about moderation, not a nomadic lifestyle. Instead of picking up your phone 100 times a day, schedule times throughout the day to check your email or reply to text messages.
You can also ditch your phone for the ol’ pen-and-paper method. Sure, you can stick appointments in your phone, but you can also keep a weekly planner to track your to-do list. You can also keep a notepad by the bed or in your bag for any reminders (writing it down will actually help you remember, too).
Building habits is the best way to implement a sustainable lifestyle. Instead of quitting cold turkey, invest in smarter hobbies, put your phone in airplane mode, and grab a handy notepad. You’ll be surprised by just how quickly your phone becomes less important!
