I am on my phone way too much. Between mindless scrolling on Instagram and Tiktok to binging YouTube, my screen time was an absolutely abysmal number that I am not proud of. 

 

It got to a point where I found myself mindlessly checking my phone when I was hanging out with friends, even when I knew there were no notifications waiting for me.

With the new year comes an opportunity to make changes, and my number one goal was to make a significant change to the amount of time I spent glued to my phone. 

 

Here are some of the things I’ve implemented (or plan on implementing) to decrease the time I spend on my phone and make my life more analog. 

 

When I say more analog, I generally mean decreasing the time on my phone, and if I can, finding physical replacements for things my phone does. 

 

Social Media

I found that social media was the number one culprit when it came to being on my phone too much. I spent so much time scrolling and scrolling and scrolling on various platforms, and none of it left me feeling good after.

The very first thing I did when I decided to take on my goal was purge my phone of all the things I hated. Snapchat was the first app to go, and I can’t describe how much happier I’ve been without it. 

For social media that I wanted to keep, I made it more inconvenient for me to use it. For starters, I deleted Instagram off my phone. However, I liked using it to keep up to date with my friends. I set a rule for myself that I am only allowed to access Instagram from my laptop. 

 

Using Instagram on my laptop makes me far less prone to scrolling, because quite frankly, it feels stupid to watch reels on a laptop. I have decreased my Instagram time to roughly 30 minutes to an hour every day.

 

For social media that I wanted to keep on my phone, I found apps that set time limits. I do enjoy using TikTok, but I felt like, again, I was on it way too much. I only allot myself thirty minutes a day to use TikTok, and I have felt immensely better ever since I started doing that.

 

There is some social media that I use that I consider “healthy scrolling”. Pinterest, Letterboxd, and StoryGraph are all social media-esque apps that I leave on my phone accessible at any time. I find that these apps stimulate me in a way that Instagram and TikTok don’t, and that I don’t feel anywhere as bad after using them. 

 

Unfortunately YouTube is still one of my greatest vices, but we all have them. 

 

Physical Media

 

I am a passionate user of the Google Calendar. However, I have been trying to be more intentional about indulging in physical things.

 

I got a dupe of the Hobonichi Weeks planner, which I’d had my eye on since last year. Over the years, I’ve collected various physical journals, and I’ve decided to be more intentional about how I use them. I’ve got one I use for quickly jotting down ideas, one I use to write in every day, and one that I use to keep anything pertaining to religion and spirituality. I’m also hoping to get a blank recipe book so that I can write down recipes that I really like and want to remember, instead of staring down at my phone while I’m baking.

 

I enjoy the intentionality behind using physical journals. It makes me take the time to think more about what I’m writing, saying, or doing. I’m totally a nerd and love trying different pens. There is really nothing more satisfying than scratching off a physical to-do list with one of your favorite pens. And this is not to say that you need a separate journal for everything you need in your life – I just found that this is what benefits me and makes it easier for me to keep things straight. 

 

I also have always been a huge fan of having physical copies of books. And before you get on to me about consumerism, let me say that as big of a fan I am of physical books, I’m an even bigger fan of libraries! 

I was fortunate enough to grow up with a fantastic public library in my hometown, that not only offered books but various programs for different age groups. If you can, take a trip to your local library and get a physical copy of a book instead of reading it on your iPad. Even if you don’t frequent a library, go get a library card! It’s free, and it shows your local government that the library is being used, which can prove its importance.

 

If you love music, try collecting vinyls or CDs again. I really like having a physical copy of my favorite albums. 

 

Hobbies

 

It’s sad to say, but with the more time I was spending on my phone, the less I was spending with my hobbies. I love to do things like read and write, but I was neglecting those activities to spend more time on my phone.

 

I’ve been trying to mark out time to spend on these hobbies. If I am reaching for my phone, I think about reaching for a book first, or spending time on my laptop working on my writing. If I’m watching a TV show and need something mindless to do to keep my hands busy, I have markers, coloring books, and sketchbooks I can absently doodle in. Instead of watching YouTube on my computer, I think about how much more fulfilled I’d feel if I spent that time engaging in a good story game, or playing a fun co-op with friends. 

 

If I’m out in public, I keep things like a book, my DS, or my Switch in my bag. Instead of staring at my phone when I'm hanging at a coffee shop, I try to make myself spend that time doing something interesting. 

 

The easy thing to do, and the gut instinct you get, makes you want to just grab your phone in every free moment. If you’re used to spending a lot of downtime staring at your phone, it will be hard to break that habit. However, once you do, you find yourself feeling much more fulfilled doing things you truly enjoy rather than feeling like a zombie glued to the Internet.

 

Camera

 

Typically, I do much prefer the convenience of having a camera on my phone that is quickly accessible and takes good pictures.
 

I do love a good digital camera, and though it may not be what I reach for all the time, I am so happy when I do use it. It gives a certain quality to the images that you can’t find on your phone camera. 

 

I also like that extra bit of effort it takes to get pictures off of a camera like that. It’s nice to spend time after a night with friends uploading my pictures to my laptop. It’s nice to put more thought into the pictures I get. 

 

Alarm Clock

 

As of right now, I use my phone for my alarm clock, which is great. However, because of that, I’ve found that I keep my phone very close to me at night so that I can assure it wakes me up (because trust me, I’ve slept through some alarms before). 

 

While I am balling on a budget right now, I am hoping to get an alarm clock in the near future. My youngest sister was gifted a dupe of the Hatch alarm clock for Christmas, and after a few weeks with it she said she loved it. It had a nice soft light, a sound machine with various different sounds, and of course, did the slow sunrise and alarm.

 

I’m hoping to get my own in the next few months, because I think having both an alarm clock, a light, and a sound machine all in one will be incredibly beneficial to me. However, you may get that same amount of value from an alarm clock you thrift for two dollars! 

 

I’m hoping once I do invest in an alarm clock, I will begin plugging my phone in across the room. That way, I’m not on it when I’m trying to fall asleep or have just woken up.

 

If you haven’t noticed, my biggest goal with all of this is that I want to be way more intentional with everything I do. So much about being on your phone is unintentional, mindless, and draining. More than anything, I want to be more thoughtful about how I spend my time. I don’t want to look back in fifty years and regret how much time I spent staring at my phone. I want to know I used the time I had in a way that was useful and benefited me.