How to reduce phone usage and screen time.

Are you tired of being glued to your phone? Try these simple, effective ways to reduce screen time and phone usage massively.

Introduction

For about a year and a half now, I’ve kept my average weekly screen time on my phone under three hours. This might sound easy for someone who barely uses their phone, but it’s been a big change for me. Back then I used to spend six to eight hours a day on my phone, mindlessly scrolling through social media and apps. It wasn’t easy to reduce my phone usage, but the benefits have been worth it.

I've made some progress, but I still spend a lot of time on my laptop, mostly for work. This balance has helped me stay productive without being distracted by my phone. If you want to reduce your screen time and take control of your day and focus, these practical strategies can help you achieve similar results. Here's how I did it, and how you can too.

How to reduce screen time and break phone addiction in 3 levels

There are lots of ways to cut down on screen time, depending on how much of a change you’re ready to make. By tackling it in three stages from simple tweaks to more challenging changes you can progressively get better in your phone habits.

Like all habits, you need to take time to form them and especially destroy them. I used mostly habit-breaking techniques from the Atomic Habits book by James Clear.

Easy

Turn off notifications

One simple way to reduce screen time is to turn off notifications. Notifications pull you back to your phone and break your focus. To stay focused, just disable all notifications except for those from your most important contacts and for messages that you need to see and hear. This means turning off alerts for social media, games, and other non-essential apps. If you keep only the most important notifications, like calls and texts from family or important work messages, you’ll only be interrupted when it matters.

Alternatively, start by disabling notifications for one or two apps each week. You might not see a big change right away, but as you get used to it, you can gradually turn off notifications for the apps that distract you the most. Over time, this will help you significantly reduce your screen time and you will see the difference

Clean up your home screen

Start by getting rid of all the apps on your home screen that aren't essential or that you use for fun. Social media, games, and other time-wasting apps should be moved to less accessible folders. Keep only the apps that you need for work on your home screen. This way, you'll have less temptation when looking at your screen, and you'll be less likely to automatically open distracting apps.

Set-up Screen Time, Do Not Disturb

Set up automatic Do Not Disturb and Downtime settings on your phone. Set your DND to turn on about an hour before bed and turn off about an hour after waking up to make sure you get a good night's rest. Screen Time is a great way to set limits on the apps you use the most. You might also want to create an extra screen with an empty home screen and lock screen. This approach helps reduce visual/sound triggers and can be very effective once you get used to it.

Medium

Utilize Airplane mode as much as possible

When you go to sleep, turn on Airplane Mode and try to keep it on for a while after you wake up. This helps you cut down on unnecessary phone usage and distractions, so you can start your day focused and clear-headed for heavy tasks. You can even set up automation in Shortcuts (e.g., when Downtime starts, Airplane Mode turns on)

Place Your Phone in the Hardest-to-Reach Spot

Before starting work, put your phone in the next room, on the tallest shelf, or give it to a close person and ask them not to give it back until X. If you have a safe, heck, put it in there. The key is to make it as difficult as possible to access your phone. When your brain realizes the effort required to retrieve it, you’ll start to see the benefits of being phone-free. This simple yet effective trick can help you stay focused and reduce screen time significantly.

Don’t Use Your Phone in the restroom and While Eating...

It's a good idea to leave your phone behind when you head to the restroom. You'll save a lot of time if you do this. And try not to bring your phone to the table when you're eating. Enjoy your food and eat mindfully. This habit also gives you more time to communicate with the people around you, strengthening your relationships.

Hard

Delete all social media

I know it's tough, but it's an easy way to save time if you spend too much time mindlessly on social media. You might be worried about how you'll communicate with others. My answer is that those who are interested in you and who are close to you will always find a way to reach out. By eliminating the biggest time-killers, you can save not only time but also improve your mental health, transforming that wasted time into more focused and productive work. I'm sharing more about quitting from social media here.

YouTube Fine-Tuning

You'll need to uninstall the YouTube app from your phone. Instead, just view it in your browser and disable your watch history. This way, YouTube won’t show any recommendations on the main page. The idea is that it makes it harder to watch something mindlessly. Instead of one easy tap, you’ll have to open the browser, go to YouTube, and type in what you want to watch. Also, if you use an iPhone, you can play a video, turn off the display, and still play the video in the background without needing a premium subscription. This is particularly helpful when listening to long videos like podcasts or informational content.

Turn on "Monochrome" mode

As I mentioned before in the article about Atomic Habits, monochrome mode is effective. At first, you might find it tough to look at your phone because the images are no longer colorful, which can make objects feel flat and uninteresting. This is the key. Over time, you’ll find that you make more mindful decisions about what you need from your phone. But be prepared for the side effect: you might find it impossible to switch back to colors!

Turn Off/Delete All Stuff Causing Fast Dopamine

This is related to the previous points. You should delete all games and apps that aren't useful to you. Try to avoid content that gives you a quick dopamine hit.

Don’t Use Your Phone Before Sleep and After Waking Up

I have to be honest, this is the hardest thing for me. I still find it tough to control phone usage during sensitive times like before sleep and after waking up. But if you get a handle on all the other problems listed above, it'll become easier to manage this as well. By tackling these habits first, you'll be in a better position to reduce phone usage during these crucial times, which will ultimately improve your sleep quality and morning routine.

Conclusion

It takes time to cut back on screen time and break phone habits. Start with small changes, like turning off notifications and tidying up your home screen. Then, you can move on to moderate changes like using Airplane Mode and putting your phone in hard-to-reach places. Finally, you can tackle more challenging habits like deleting social media and avoiding phone use before bed. This will help you regain control over your phone usage. These steps will save you time and help you be more productive and mentally well.

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