Whether you admit it or not, most of us are guilty of reaching for our phones the second we wake up, and while catching up with all the notifications and emails that have been sent to you overnight isn’t a bad thing, we rarely let go of the phone until it’s time to go back to sleep again. As a result, everyone’s just gradually increasing their screen exposure every single day, with some even going as far out with more than twelve hours on their clock.
Of course, we understand that given the whole remote work situation, there’s not much leeway between cutting back on screen exposure. Still, it’s also a poor generalization of what’s eating into your productive hours once you get into the little details. So, to help bring back some balance and keep our eyesight relatively decent, we’ll be going over some solutions you might’ve overlooked.
Productive Screen Time Vs. Passive Use
First off, the one thing you need to square away from your screen time checklist is the difference between productive screen time versus passive use. The distinction between the two is that the former dwells with activities and responsibilities you need to get done because of work or project-related matters. The latter falls under the category of mere recreation and entertainment. So, for example, it would be unwise to cut back video-editing screen time usage if you work as a freelance content creator.
- Keep Track Of Your Active Working Hours: Sometimes, we can’t avoid slacking and unproductive episodes when working because it’s just near impossible to crank out 100% of our creative brainpower all the time. Therefore, we recommend that you keep track of when you’re most active against your usual slowdown times to highlight schedules when you’re better off just taking a break. As a result, you get the same amount of work done but less exposure to blue light.
- Limit Screen Time Spent For Entertainment: Everybody enjoys their fair share of binging films, scrolling through Instagram, or even playing a few online games with their buddies. However, since you’re not getting much out of these entertainment choices, it would be wise for you to limit the screen time explicitly spent for recreation. Sure, it might sound a bit too self-righteous to cut back on personal enjoyment, but you could use that extra time to do some last-minute planning for Thanksgiving dessert.
Shift Your Attention On Other Activities
Realistically speaking, trying your best to follow strict rules and time schedules often end in a fiery disaster. So instead of relying on sheer willpower alone, shift your attention with the help of other activities to keep you busy. Of course, that goes without saying any other recreation or hobby you introduce must not include any indirect screen usage because that undermines the purpose altogether.
- Get Your Body Moving And Break A Sweat: Although you could insert your workout routines early in the morning, you might find it a lot more helpful to squeeze them when you need their help the most. For example, if you’re prone to way too much screen time during the afternoon slump, it’s much better to get your body moving around that time instead to keep you from using your phone a lot. Plus, it helps keep your mind focused on a goal like finding out Jeremy Renner’s secret to staying Hawkeye lean.
- Clean Up Around The House: Likewise, not everybody’s a gym buff or fitness enthusiast that can pull a workout regimen from out of the blue, but if you’re interested in moving around and breaking a sweat, then cleaning up can do just as good. What matters most is keeping those hands busy doing something else so that you can’t think of picking up the phone, plus you get to finish up some long-overdue chores in the process.
Review Your Screen Time Habits Regularly
Last but not least, regardless of how much effort and time you invest in making your screen time moderation impeccable, you must never forget to review your screen time habits regularly to ensure that you’re making progress. You see, the body has a weird way of making you fall back down and enter a withdrawal state, and you wouldn’t want to be tricking yourself about cutting back on screen time. So, practice due diligence in making sure you’re getting things right.
- Cut Out The Least Helpful Fluff: One of the biggest culprits in amounting to way too much screen time is all those hours spent scrolling through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok aimlessly. And if you find yourself in the same predicament, that should be proof enough for a social media detox. However, for things like telecare services or timely news updates, you can keep them because they are essential by nature.
Screen Time Can Be Good And Bad; It’s How You Use It
Look, whether screen time is good or bad is all up to you, so try your best to highlight the positives and advantages of technology. And while screen time, in general, can harm our health, it’s the habits we reinforce that make the most out of double-edge swords, especially with healthy moderation.
