To not know how to cut down my phone use

[Efferlunt]

I’ve been terrified by the screen time app that shows I’ve been averaging five hours a day last week! While a lot of that is maps and job hunting it’s an awful amount and after really trying the last couple of days I have it down to around three by leaving it plugged in downstairs in overnight and only picking it up when I go out

Does anyone have any tips on how they reduce their screen time? Any ideas appreciated, although I may not reply immediately as I’m going to put it down and talk to my family now!

No tips I am afraid but i want to try and cut down too. Me and my Partner are about to move in together so will try and actively out the phones down for the majority of the evening.

I took up knitting to cut down on my evening phone time. i have to have something to do with my hands, and knitting + tv works better than half-heartedly looking at something on the phone + tv.

Get a hobby?

I only have my phone on when I'm at work or if I'm out and about. At home it's always switched off and in my bag.

buy a cheap non smart phone so you can only use it for calls and txts

Shut it off. Leave it off. Problem solved.

What are you using it for? Maybe start with a really gripping book or getting in to a very long series on Netflix?

depends what your on there for

my kids dont sleep so we are up all night but still in bed watching telly

i average 10-11 hours per night on my phone but its reading as i got through a lot of books

from 1st of jan till now im on 215 books,i ahve been know to do a ebook a night

I deleted Facebook as my New Years resolution - it was getting quite depressing. I recon I've saved days of my life, this year. You don't realise how much time you actually spend on them.

Get a proper watch and a proper camera so you are not constantly getting the thing out. Delete apps like FB.

Switch it off and put it away when in the house (you will need to have a landline to do this, obviously).

Or go cold turkey and get a dumb phone with no internet access, like I do!

I would agree with a previous poster that getting a basic phone is the biggest helpm

If not though, delete any apps that make things user friendly and easy to check, like Facebook, Twitter, Mumsnet etc. I used to find that on the Facebook app for example, auto playing videos and easily clickable links would have me lost in a bit of a rabbit hole.

Start off by looking at it in smaller pieces - plan to go phone free for one hour, or one afternoon, or one day etc. first so that it doesn't seem as daunting.

Have you tried the Forest app? It lets you lock the phone for a period of time of your choice. You can unlock it early if really needed but you kill the tree you are growing. I have found it good for cutting down on mindless web browsing when I should be doing other things.

Disable all social media apps if you can't actually delete them.

Turn off all notifications apart from calls and text messages (that way you look at it when you choose, not when it demands).

Switch off and leave in another room.

Get other devices e.g. a real watch, a standalone camera, an actual satnav, a proper stopwatch/timer, a real torch etc etc rather than relying on your phone for these things.

Have your photos printed out so you can look through them and hold them physically rather than mindlessly swiping on the phone.

If you have them, disconnect things like hive or whatever and use the actual, physical light switch rather than your phone. If you don't, don't get them. They're a bit pointless anyway, really, and will just further feed your smartphone habbit.

Find a hobby that will occupy your hands and your mind so you're not bored.

Turn off your Wi-Fi or set a timer for it to only be on at certain times in the day. Turn off your mobile data too.