Tips to Support Conscious and Balanced Screen Use

• Postpone picking up your phone first thing in the morning. You can use this time to envision how you’d like your day to go, practice mindfulness, or do a gratitude list.
• Turn off any unnecessary notifications and alerts.
• Postpone checking texts immediately.
• Leave a room without your phone.
• If you always take a device outside with you, consider going out without a screen, or taking it but turning it off for a little while. You can use the opportunity to practice being present with your body and your surroundings.
• Set reminders, alarms, or an intention to check in with your body when you’re screening or scrolling.
• Look for opportunities to put your devices on airplane mode with wifi off.
• Avoid multitasking. Multitasking can lead to excess stress, memory problems, and, ironically, decreased productivity.
• Consider deleting any apps that you find depressing or depleting.
• Move apps that you consider time killers to the second or third page on your devices so you don’t see them as frequently.
• Set digital limits with yourself. Most smartphones have settings that allow users to choose when certain apps will automatically close.
• Set a timer to be online for a certain amount of time and then take a screen break.
• Set a timer to be offline for a certain amount of time before you go back on.
• Browse in a craft or hobby store and see if anything looks like something you might want to try. It could be an old hobby you used to enjoy, or a new hobby, craft, or project.
• Purchase a book or workbook on a topic of interest.
• If you always eat with a screen, try a screenless meal, or even part of a meal.
• If you use screens at night, the blue light can disturb your sleep so consider changing the light on your devices to a different color and reducing the brightness.
• If you use screens right up until you fall asleep, try turning them off earlier than you normally would.
• Set reminders to ask yourself if you are time-killing or spirit-filling.
• Create a list of healthy non-screen activities that might fill your spirits.

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

How do you reduce your screen-time?

#ScreenTime #SocialMedia #LoggingOff

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