Episode #145 Reduce Screen Time

Seven Problems

• Screen time is more harmful to our relationships than it is to our productivity.
• Most of us look at screens more frequently and for longer periods of time than we intend.
• Without proactivity, we will inevitably increase rather than decrease our screen time.
• We are far too uncomfortable being alone, sitting in silence, and doing nothing.
• Screen time reduces our ability to engage in restful and reflective activities.
• We tend to use social media to delay difficult conversations and distract from frustrating situations.
• When we use screen time as a reward for hard work, we lose the momentum we have gained and even reduce our stamina moving forward.

Three Principles

• Although we can never reverse the last hour, we can always reclaim the next hour.
• As we learn to reduce screen time, we will find ourselves with more time to do other, more meaningful things.
• Putting our screens down allows us to lift our eyes up to appreciate and engage with the world around us.

Ten Practices

• When you can’t seem to pull yourself away from a screen, ask yourself, “Is this helping me to achieve my most important goals in life?” and “What is happening in my heart?”
• Move the apps around on your phone every week to prevent yourself from opening them without thinking.
• Invest in a smart watch so that responding to a notification doesn’t lead to unintentional searching and scrolling.
• Commit to reserving screen time for alone time so that it doesn’t infringe upon your time with others.
• Read the book How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell.
• Next time you are standing in a line, waiting for something, or walking past others, take in the environment and people around you rather than filling the time with a screen.
• Make a practice of spending one commute each day in complete silence.
• Consider listening to podcasts (or even watching TV) on 1.5x speed to reduce the total amount of time spent on those activities.
• Review your phone’s weekly Screen Time report, and take steps to cut it in half over the next 7 days.
• Reflect on the question, “Who do I want to become?” to motivate and inspire creative ways to reduce screen time.