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

“There’s one thing incorrect with my cellphone.”

I used to be speaking to a good friend about how the battery life on a Google Pixel 9 Pro was degrading slowly over time. Usually, 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 electronic mail, I used to be utilizing my cellphone manner an excessive amount of.

Android has some built-in instruments grouped underneath 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 identified about this characteristic set for years; in any case, it was first introduced way back in 2018. Was I utilizing these items constantly? Not likely.

For years, I practiced a couple of productiveness hacks. I deleted the Fb app on my cellphone and now use that service solely on my laptop computer. I additionally cost my cellphone within the kitchen, which helps me keep away from utilizing it in mattress. But, 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 let you set onerous limits on particular person apps. To entry the timers, go to Settings, then search for Digital Wellbeing. The options look a bit completely different on a Samsung Galaxy cellphone than they do on Pixels and different Android handsets, however every little thing works the identical. I often verify at night time to see my each day stats. On the principle settings display screen, there’s a dashboard displaying you whole utilization time for the day and which apps are the principle culprits. You’ll additionally see the overall variety of cellphone unlocks and the overall depend notifications obtained for the day.

To cut back your utilization time, begin with app timers. Setting onerous deadlines may appear a bit Draconian at first, however the timers work as a result of they robotically shut the app for us and knock us out of our stupor. We notice we’re doomscrolling on TikTok all day lengthy or searching the online an excessive amount of. In his e-book Hooked, productiveness skilled Nir Eyal says we’re not really hooked on our telephones. That’s a scientific time period that must be reserved for extra severe issues. As a substitute, 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 succeed in that threshold by lunchtime every day. With one minute to spare, the display screen turns grey as a warning that the app is about to shut. I bumped the timer as much as 90, minutes and that appeared to work higher. While you attain the restrict, it’s important to reset the timer or use a browser on a special gadget. It really works to curb your utilization as a result of it’s important to exert effort to beat a limitation you imposed and need to reside with. I additionally set limits on the Gmail app, Messages, Instagram, and TikTok.

Lo and behold, setting deadlines meant my whole utilization time went from 4 hours and half-hour per day down to three hours and half-hour. I bought an hour of my life again every day. That’s not unhealthy, however I needed to scale back my display screen time much more, so I turned to a couple radical methods.

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 screen and turns every little thing black and white. To seek out 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 place the cellphone down and cease scrolling. I diminished 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? Once more, 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.