This article explores effective strategies for managing excessive smartphone usage, focusing on app blocking features and third-party applications designed to promote healthy screen time habits.
It's that time of year again; where promises of self-improvement flurry around, settle and melt away like snow. Your iPhone or Android has tools to block apps and notifications for select periods of time. On iPhones, you can schedule Downtime to occur at the same time every day, such as bedtime or when you wake up. On Android, you can set app timers to limit how long you lose yourself to doomscrolling each day.
Similar to iPhones, Android owners can also schedule Do Not Disturb to switch on automatically at bedtime—to avoid scrolling late into the night.Adding a Screen Time widget to your home screen can force you to confront just how much time you're wasting on doomscrolling. Go to the Home Screen. Find the Home Screen page where you want to add the widget, then touch and hold the Home Screen background until the apps begin to jiggle. The different sizes display different information. While the apps are still jiggling, move the widget where you want it on the screen, then tap Done. Be it doomscrolling or microscrolling - it all adds up. Many people can spend even more time scrolling, chasing short-lived dopamine hits from one app to the next. Let's say you're averaging three hours per day across the apps you're most addicted to—that is roughly 45 days out of your year. Crunching the numbers can certainly offer a much-needed reality check. So do the math - check out your screen time figures and see how much time that consumes each week, each month and each year.If you need a blockade that is more convenient than switching your phone off or deleting the apps—try focus apps like Opal and Forest. The app blocks you from using your 'problem platforms' - the apps you just can't stop yourself from spending hours on. Whenever you go to open one of these platforms, an Opal pop-up appears, stopping you from diving headfirst into a zombie scroll. You can take breaks for up to 15 minutes—though each break you have, the longer you have to wait for the next. Users can unlock and collect opal crystals based on goals like focusing for 10 hours, focusing during work and inviting friends. Adding friends on Opal means you can see who has clocked the most screen time — and there's nothing quite like a bit of public accountability to whip you into shape. But for those wanting to be more ruthless with their app blocking, there is Opal Pro. The Opal Pro subscription is quite pricey, and will set you back £89.99/ $99.99 per year—the equivalent to £7.49/ $8.29 a month.Forest encourages users to spend less time on their smartphone altogether—not just on addictive apps. Over that timespan, a tree of your choosing will grow—helping you to visualize your progress. There is even a calming selection of sounds that can play in the background, like rain, a Parisian cafe, a beach, or a forest at nighttime. You can cancel the downtime at any time if there's a task you need to complete or a message you need to reply to. There are no subscriptions involved either—I bought the app for a one-time fee of £3.99 in 2016 and have used it ever since
SCREEN TIME APPLICATION BLOCKING DIGITAL WELLBEING PRODUCTIVITY FOCUS
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