Do you currently limit your screen time? These days, everywhere you look someone is interacting with their phones. Whether you’re playing Candy Crush while waiting in line at Starbucks or scrolling through TikTok, screen time builds up.
In fact, the average American spends an average of 4 hours and 23 minutes on their phone every day. This is time that could be better spent on creating a self-care routine or with your family.
To improve your mental health and reduce your phone usage, below we’ve outlined 4 tips to help you limit screen time.
Turn Off App Notifications
When you feel that familiar vibration in your pocket, it can be hard to resist checking your phone. You might think to yourself, “What if it’s a text from so-and-so? What if it’s an emergency?” But when you go to check your phone, you find it’s just a notification from Instagram.
If this only happens a couple of times a day, it’s probably not something to worry about. But if you’re like most people, this situation happens regularly and you don’t just look at your phone for a second and then put it away. A notification could send you down a rabbit-hole of flipping from app-to-app on your phone for overwhelming amounts of time.
To stop this cycle before it starts, turn off any unnecessary notifications in the settings app on your phone. You may even want to turn off all app notifications for a week and see what you can live without.
Keep Your Phone Out of The Bedroom
The blue light emitted from phones inhibits your ability to produce melatonin, reducing your quality of sleep. This can leave you feeling groggy and irritable the following day.
To achieve a better quality of sleep and limit your screen time, leave your phone in another room when it’s bedtime. Invest in a digital alarm clock so you can wake up at a decent time without being tempted to browse TikTok first thing in the morning.
Embrace New Activities
It’s tempting to reach for your phone when you don’t have anything better to do. When your life is rich with calming activities, however, it’s easier to keep your phone at bay.
Pick up new hobbies with friends and family. Maybe you start going on walks with your kids or go to yoga with your friends. This gives you an opportunity to strengthen your relationships while you limit your screen time.
Practice Mindfulness
It’s easy to live life on autopilot. When you’re not connected to the present moment, you can mindlessly scroll on your phone without even thinking about it. Practicing mindfulness can help you regain control of your time and cope with anxiety.
Establish a meditation routine in the morning or before bed. Simply sit down and follow your breath. If you find your thoughts wandering, take note of the thoughts and redirect your focus back to your breath.
With consistent practice a couple of minutes a day, you’ll start to recognize the thought patterns that govern your life. Becoming more mindful of what triggers you to reach for your phone and how it affects your mood can empower you to limit your screen time.
Closing Thoughts
Smartphones are convenient tools when used in moderation but can negatively impact your life when overused. To limit your screen time, turn off notifications, keep your phone away from the bedroom, embrace new hobbies and practice mindfulness.
The more you distance yourself from phone overuse, the more time you can spend on self-care and your relationships. To find out more about smartphone dependency, take a look at Clario’s infographic below.
Author’s Bio:
Rhett Rivera was born and raised in the small, farm-town of Waterford, California. His extroverted personality led him to pursuing a degree in Public Relations at California State University, Fullerton, where he discovered a passion for digital communications. After interning at Social Wise Communications creating content for social media and pitching stories to newsrooms, Rhett found his way to Siege Media, where he creates top-notch content that drives traffic for clients.
