Discover some practical tips to reduce your daily iPhone screen time for a productive yet healthy digital lifestyle.
Note: While these tips are for iPhone users, most of them are equally helpful if you use an Android device.
Also see: 15 built-in wellness features to keep track of your health on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
Problems with using iPhone for several hours daily
Too much of anything is bad, and phones are no exception. Staying glued to the bright, big phone or tablet screen can have these negative effects:
- Headache
- Eye strain
- Pain in the neck and back area
- Improper sleep with headache and unfreshness in the morning
- Chances of insomnia in the long run
- Risk of depression
- Hearing problems if you use earphones at a high volume for long periods of time
- Finger and shoulder pain from holding the device for long
- Less time and attention for family members, office colleagues, friends, etc.
- No time for sports and other outdoor activities
- Desire for attention on social media and sadness if things do not go well
See how many hours you use your iPhone for
There is no exact answer for how many minutes or hours an adult must use their phone. But if you are using it for more than a few hours on unproductive work, that’s a troublesome sign.
You can go to Settings > Screen Time to see your Daily Average usage. From here, tap See All App & Website Activity to know more, including how many times you pick up your device and the number of notifications you get each day.
Use this information to reflect on your usage and take measures to cut down the screen time. We have also listed several tips below to guide you.
Set daily app and communication limits
The first thing you can do to use your phone less is set a daily limit. For instance, you can set Instagram and Twitter to work only for 30 minutes. After you hit this limit, the app will be blocked until midnight.
Secondly, you can set up Downtime to only allow a few essential apps while blocking everything else during a specific time period like 10 PM to 5 AM.
On top of that, you can also set communication limits to talk and text only with important people and not everyone else.
Ask someone in your family to set your Screen Time password
App usage is blocked when you hit the above-mentioned App Limits or Downtime. You are asked to enter the Screen Time password to circumvent this blockade. Now, if you know the password, chances are you will be tempted to type it in to bypass the limit.
To address this, you can have a close family member or friend set the Screen Time password on your phone and not share it with you. Ask them to remember it, but in case they forget it, you have the option to reset your Screen Time password.
Extra info:
- Screen Time’s alternative for Android is called Digital Wellbeing and parental controls. You will find it in the Settings app.
- Additionally, you can use third-party apps like Opal, Refocus, Jomo, and Flipd to take care of your phone usage.
Uninstall Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and such apps
Social media apps are the worst when it comes to getting glued to your smartphone screen. If you’re addicted to swiping your Instagram, Twitter, YouTube Shorts, Facebook, TikTok, or other such feeds, I’d recommend deleting those apps. You will be surprised how much free time you can reclaim.
To make this even stricter, you can block the installation of apps on your iPhone so you are not tempted to re-download them.
Use social media in Safari
I find that I can browse Twitter for hours in its app but it gets cumbersome when I use it in Safari on my iPhone. You can try using the services in web browser instead of their respective app to cut down the usage.
Limit Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu for your TV
Along with social media, streaming sites are another factor that increases your daily screen time. So, remove them from your phone and use them on your TV instead.
Turn off autoplay next episode
Most streaming sites automatically start playing the next episode when the current one ends. This often leads to binge-watching for hours in bed. Turn off Netflix autoplay and similar settings in your streaming app of choice.
Use Focus
You can create custom Focus modes to make your iPhone less distracting and focus on what you’re doing.
Set up a sleep schedule
Sleep schedule will mute notifications, change the Lock Screen, and cut distractions to help you fall asleep.
Don’t keep your iPhone in your bedroom
If you have the habit of browsing for hours before sleeping, keep your phone out of the bedroom. If that’s not an option because you use your iPhone as an alarm clock or you may get an emergency call from family members, you should at least keep your phone away from your bed so you aren’t tempted to pick it up while lying in bed.
Another thing you can do is not plug your phone into charging near your bed.
Gather strength to turn off the Internet
Cheap Wi-Fi & cellular data and our desire to stay online continuously means your phone beeps for every notification and update. So, turn off the Internet, and you may not be as tempted to use the device.
Turn off app notifications or have them delivered quietly
If turning off the Internet is not a suitable option, you must turn off notifications from gaming, news, and other such apps. Alternatively, you can set your apps to send the notification quietly without sound, vibration, or waking up the screen.
You can also use the Scheduled Summary feature to see all non-urgent alerts at a suitable time of your choosing.
Have a clean one-page Home Screen
Do you have many Home Screen pages full of apps? Hide less productive apps in folders or just have a simple one-page Home Screen with a few essential apps and widgets.
Use widgets
Widgets give you the information without going inside the app, thus helping you use your iPhone less. You can add useful widgets to your iPhone or iPad Lock Screen and Home Screen.
Use an Apple Watch
I often get the urge to reply to a chat message from my iPhone. But if I get a message on my watch, I mostly ignore it as I don’t find it comfortable to type on the small screen. On that note, here are 14 reasons to buy an Apple Watch if you already have an iPhone.
Turn your iPhone screen black and white
iOS Grayscale Accessibility setting provides a simple way to remove all colors from your iPhone or iPad screen, making it less tempting to use. Activate it, and hopefully, it can help reduce your screen time.
Keep your iPhone away when you are socializing
Putting aside your phone when you’re talking to people is not only the right thing to do but also cuts your daily usage.
Define your work hours and let others know
This may not apply to all kinds of jobs, but if possible, try to limit email, Slack, Teams, and other work apps to a defined hour. Do not attend to their alerts during off hours, and also let your office colleagues know of your work schedule.
Manage in-app settings
Apps like Slack offer in-app notification settings to turn off alerts outside of work hours. Similarly, Instagram has built-in options to limit your daily usage.
Explore the settings of the apps you use a lot and look for options to cut down the usage. If you’re a part of several WhatsApp or iMessage groups, I recommend muting alerts from most of them.
Not every moment is worth capturing
While your iPhone camera is incredible, it doesn’t mean you should pull it out of your pocket to capture every little thing. Curbing your enthusiasm to take fewer pictures means you engage less with your phone, do not clutter the Photos app, and also keep local and iCloud storage free.
Engage in offline activities and take up other hobbies
Lastly, the most important tip that can surely cut down your smartphone usage is engaging in essential household chores, talking with people around you, and taking up hobbies that do not involve using the screen at all times.
Check out next: 15 child-focused features on iPhone and iPad