8 Easy Tips to Reduce Screen time! Works for Adults and Kids

Tip 1Track Your Screen Time

Working in the pandemic era has made it inevitable for individuals to stay connected and turn to their screens more often while working remotely. Sitting all the time before a laptop or PC has a direct impact on an individual’s mental and physical health. You might not even have an idea how much time did you spend before the screen today unless you start monitoring.

Hence, the first tip you should follow to reduce your screen time is by tracking it using different screen tracking software and apps. Based on your work requirements, you can make adjustments and set usage limits accordingly. Parental monitoring apps like FamiSafe also help you apply screen time restrictions and block games or apps that seem inappropriate for your children.

Tip 2Keep Your Phone Out of the Bedroom

A smartphone is probably the most time-consuming device in the world. It is the first thing we see as we wake up in the morning, we use it all the day, and we see it at night before sleep. This means we spend much of our time doing different sorts of tasks on our phones. To reduce it, keep your phone out of the bedroom and try to use it for necessary tasks only such as making phone calls, using WhatsApp, and checking your emails. Commit yourself to not using your phone 30 minutes after your wake up and at least one hour before you sleep.

Tip 3Avoid Video Fatigue

Over the years, the trend of virtual learning has become very popular. Students are taking their classes online while employees working remotely are attending meetings virtually. While this new trend helped us a lot during the pandemic, staring at screens for long periods badly affects our health. Students and remote workers spending hours and hours on video calls or virtual meetings are likely to develop video fatigue that makes them uncomfortable and tired. Hence, if you want to remain healthy without losing your productivity, limit the time you spend on virtual meetings or reschedule your timings so that you get enough time to get up and move around.

Tip 4Take Regular Breaks

If you are a programmer or IT professional who has to spend ample time sitting before computer screens, you might face health issues. Since you can’t avoid staring at your workstation, you have to reschedule your work routine and take regular breaks. For example, once you’ve spent 1-2 hours working in front of the screen, take a small break, stretch a little bit, and move around. If your workplace has an indoor sports facility, go there and play a few games. This activity will not only release your mental stress but will also help you optimize your screen time.

Tip 5Establish Tech-free Zones

The idea of tech-free zones is relatively new, but it’s become inevitable today. Tech-free zones are areas within your workplace or home where the use of digital devices is restricted. This practice promotes digital well-being and helps us a lot to reduce our screen time. For instance, when you come back home from your job, put your smartphone on silent and spend more time with your family members. Go to your TV lounge and sit down with your children painting something or having a small party. Establishing tech-free zones is a great way to reduce your screen time. Try it now!

Tip 6Remove Unnecessary Apps

Mobile apps are very useful and have different functions. However, our phones are bombarded with unnecessary mobile apps that have no benefit at all. Instead, these mobile apps are very time-consuming and encourage you to spend hours and hours before your phone doing nothing. It is, therefore, necessary to instantly remove all such apps instead of staring at screens and wasting your valuable time. Removing unnecessary mobile apps will make you more productive and help you maintain a healthy work-life balance. Only keep those apps on your phone that are extremely useful.

Tip 7Turn off Notifications

One way phones keep us engaged is by sending notifications at regular intervals. Suppose you are sitting with your family or friends and your phone keeps sending you notifications, you will get distracted every time and won’t be able to focus on your work. Instead, your will check your phone and tap the notification to see what’s the message. To avoid this, turn off your phone’s notifications and disable all those apps that keep sending you notifications. If your phone is bombarded with telemarketing messages and phone calls, ask your service operator to disable all such calls and messages.

Tip 8Stop Eating in Front of a Screen

One common habit among adults and kids is that they like eating in front of screens. Whenever they sit together even at their dining table, they take out their phones and start doing unnecessary tasks. Some lazy workers even prefer eating in front of their computer instead of going to the canteen or leisure area. This habit can be changed if you commit to never eating anything in front of a screen. Be it your lunch, dinner, or any other meal, just focus on your food and keep your device aside.

App 1Forest – Focus Timer for Productivity

Whether you are working at your office or studying at a library, the last thing you would want is a continuous distraction that may hinder your focus. This tiny little device called the smartphone is the main source of distraction and prevents us from focusing on what we are doing.

To solve this problem and manage your personal screen time, try Forest, an easy-to-use productivity app that allows you to optimize your device usage and increase your productivity. With Forest, you can enjoy a customized experience using your mobile phone and focus on your work without getting distracted. The app works by asking its users to plant a tree in the app and start focusing on their work while the tree grows. If you use your phone during this period, the tree will die. This small activity prompts you to focus on your work instead of checking your phone.

App 2FamiSafe – Parental Control App

If you want your kids or family members to reduce their screen time and limit using phones for long periods, use FamiSafe. This most reliable parental control app has a screen time feature that allows you to track your child’s usage of their phones, instantly block apps or websites containing inappropriate content, and limit the time kids spend using their phones.

With FamiSafe, you can set smart schedules and secretly monitor the time spent on different activities. For instance, you can check how much time your child spent today using social media and playing games. The statistics are presented in colorful bar charts for better understanding and clarity. You can also apply screen time restrictions on your kid’s device and enabled daily or recurring screen time limits.

Try FamiSafe today to reduce your kids’ screen time and make them more productive.

Here is the video to enlighten about screen time control.