Use Android’s Built-In Settings to Cut Your Phone Usage Time in Half

“There’s something wrong with my phone.”

I used to be speaking to a pal about how the battery life on a Google Pixel 9 Pro was degrading slowly over time. Normally, my cellphone lasts all day, however by mid-evening, I used to be having to recharge. That’s when it dawned on me: I’m the issue. Between doomscrolling on Instagram and obsessively checking my e-mail, I used to be utilizing my cellphone manner an excessive amount of.

Android has some built-in instruments grouped below the banner Digital Wellbeing, together with a bedtime mode, a notification supervisor, and timers that allow you to set limits on how lengthy you’re allowed to have every app open. I’ve recognized about this characteristic set for years; in spite of everything, it was first introduced way back in 2018. Was I utilizing these things persistently? Not actually.

For years, I practiced a number of productiveness hacks. I deleted the Facebook app on my cellphone and now use that service solely on my laptop computer. I additionally cost my cellphone in the kitchen, which helps me keep away from utilizing it in mattress. Yet, these strategies weren’t sufficient. My cellphone was nonetheless dying round 8 pm every day due to an excessive amount of senseless scrolling. I wanted to take management of my utilization. Here’s how I lastly broke the spell.

Set Timers on Your Most-Used Apps

Google consists of app utilization timers on all Android telephones which permit you to set arduous limits on particular person apps. To entry the timers, go to Settings, then search for Digital Wellbeing. The options look a bit totally different on a Samsung Galaxy cellphone than they do on Pixels and different Android handsets, however every thing works the identical. I often examine at night time to see my day by day stats. On the primary settings display, there’s a dashboard displaying you whole utilization time for the day and which apps are the primary culprits. You’ll additionally see the full variety of cellphone unlocks and the full depend notifications obtained for the day.

To cut back your utilization time, begin with app timers. Setting arduous deadlines might sound a bit Draconian at first, however the timers work as a result of they routinely shut the app for us and knock us out of our stupor. We notice we’re doomscrolling on TikTookay all day lengthy or shopping the online an excessive amount of. In his guide Hooked, productiveness knowledgeable Nir Eyal says we’re not really addicted to our telephones. That’s a scientific time period that must be reserved for extra critical issues. Instead, we’re obsessed. The dopamine hit we obtain from nearly each “like” or touch upon social media fuels our obsession.

I began with an app timer on Google Chrome and, to be trustworthy, it was painful. I set the time restrict at 45 minutes and appeared to attain that threshold by lunchtime every day. With one minute to spare, the display turns grey as a warning that the app is about to shut. I bumped the timer up to 90, minutes and that appeared to work higher. When you attain the restrict, you have got to reset the timer or use a browser on a unique machine. It works to curb your utilization as a result of you have got to exert effort to overcome a limitation you imposed and have to dwell with. I additionally set limits on the Gmail app, Messages, Instagram, and TikTookay.

Lo and behold, setting deadlines meant my whole utilization time went from 4 hours and half-hour per day down to 3 hours and half-hour. I obtained an hour of my life again every day. That’s not dangerous, however I wished to cut back my display time much more, so I turned to a number of radical strategies.

Take a Few Radical Steps

Google consists of another settings that make your cellphone much less interesting. For instance, Android’s bedtime mode dims the display and turns every thing black and white. To discover this feature, go into the Digital Wellbeing settings, search for Bedtime mode and set the utilization interval to begin round 8 pm. This additionally disables notifications till the following morning. For me, bedtime mode helped as a result of it was a visible reminder to put the cellphone down and cease scrolling. I lowered my utilization by one other hour.

Sadly, I used to be nonetheless utilizing my cellphone an excessive amount of. For me, there’s at all times the attract of notifications about new textual content messages, Discord chats, and emails. Who’s contacting me? What do they want? Again, we crave the dopamine hit that comes after we hear these dings. We really feel helpful and productive after we reply, however the draw back is that we’re glued to our screens much more.

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