[HN Gopher] A guide to reduce screen time
___________________________________________________________________
A guide to reduce screen time
Author : nullderef
Score : 90 points
Date : 2025-04-09 10:34 UTC (12 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (speedbumpapp.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (speedbumpapp.com)
| nullderef wrote:
| Another tip is that even HN has some screen time features. If you
| go to your profile, you can play around with the "noprocrast",
| "maxvisit", and "minaway" options.
|
| When noprocrast is on, you may only view HN for maxvisit minutes
| at a time, and must stay away for minaway minutes before
| returning. (taken from
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3677504)
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| I find that it's hard to waste time on HN after your first
| salvo of the day since the day's frontpage topics are kinda set
| early on and they change pretty slowly. (Unless, of course,
| someone is wrong about one of Your Topics and needs your
| corrections throughout the day.)
|
| And I don't see the point of going past the frontpage unless
| you want to bicker with someone on yesterday's topics that
| nobody will ever see. So just get it out of the way early.
|
| -- Suddenly selfaware guy who realizes he writes 5 comments a
| day on HN, kinda like a fat guy giving you weightloss tips. You
| see, the trick is to not moderate your intake at all.
| nullderef wrote:
| I've had issues with checking HN every too often. News
| overload is definitely a problem, too. It's also fun to go
| check the new posts sometimes.
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| Yeah I went to my comment history after writing that and
| clearly I'm full of crap.
| scyzoryk_xyz wrote:
| Well, all of us are full of crap thinking that we can
| resolve our screen time problem by talking to people
| through this screen thing.
|
| But hey, since I'm here, I'm gonna give it my shot at
| hypocrisy as well: something worth looking into is how to
| feel OK with yourself not reaching for the screen
| compulsively. On your own, with your thoughts
| barbazoo wrote:
| It's so funny to me to see people trying to solve their
| screen addiction with ... an app
| Zambyte wrote:
| My cell phone lives in my sock drawer with the only exception
| being when I take it out for GPS. Otherwise, I have fully
| replaced my mobile computing with my Daylight Computer tablet. I
| feel like I have a much healthier relationship with this thing
| than I had with my cell phone. The lack of color and the lack of
| notifications has made my usage feel way more intentional.
| Before, I wanted to kick my habit of scrolling social media
| before I got out of bed in the morning, but I didn't actively
| work on that. One day, I simply realized I had kicked the habit
| without even trying!
|
| Not having a phone on me at all times to cope with boring or
| awkward moments has really been eye opening, and I believe very
| healthy for me. Especially as someone who has had a phone on me
| for my teenage years and throughout most of my adult life thus
| far.
| nullderef wrote:
| It's awesome to see a Daylight Computer user in the wild :)
|
| Did you also try out an e-paper phone at some point? And how
| are you doing in terms of connecting with friends and so on?
| Zambyte wrote:
| The only other e-paper device that I had was a small nook
| many years ago. As far as connecting with people, I think
| quite well? The only social media I really use is bluesky,
| which has been really nice. Otherwise I keep in touch with my
| meatspace friends either over SMS (I use JMP Chat for SMS
| over XMPP on any device) or Signal (I use the molly.im
| client, which is easier to use without a cell phone
| (particularly because you can't scan QR codes on the
| Daylight)).
|
| Ironically I actually feel like I experience far less FOMO
| than when I was hyper connected too :P
| throwaway243123 wrote:
| This looks so intriguing. How is it at keeping on top of
| stuff like email and text? Any lag with a bluetooth keyboard?
| Zambyte wrote:
| I have always had trouble keeping on top of email, but
| probably as good as anything? I don't use a Bluetooth
| keyboard, but I use a USB keyboard (ZSA Voyager) and a
| Bluetooth mouse (Logitech MX Anywhere 3S) and it works well
| for me. For some reason I have to re-pair the mouse often,
| but I think that's on the mouse side. My headphones have no
| trouble staying paired.
| jajko wrote:
| The issue then wasn't phone specifically, but social media apps
| installed there. I have phone at home around on the desk (but
| then again not always sitting by it), but since having 0 social
| apps its just a tool for emails, calls, whatsapp, navigation
| etc. and I quickly check it maybe every 1-2h for new
| emails/calls and thats it.
|
| I still check FB on desktop from time to time if somebody close
| doesn't have anything interesting, but that is 1-3 mins max. FB
| has a very hostile UI on desktop these days (Firefox and ublock
| origin) and a lot of bugs on their sites, so I quickly get
| disgusted and close it.
|
| The best part is, it completely refreshes whole timeline with
| new stuff every few mins, so anything I was just reading just
| blips out of existence, never to be seen again. So even if I
| manage to stay 3 mins it literally kicks me out. Thanx FB.
|
| Another issue with that social media (don't use any other, why
| ffs its all mind cancer) is being overflooded with fake AI
| generated bullshit posts full of half truths and outright lies.
| Normally via suggested groups, cesspool of scum. So I have no
| idea what friends actually do, and not missing it.
| atemerev wrote:
| Most of these tools are focused on blocking apps. I read
| everything through browser.
| nullderef wrote:
| Many of the tools mentioned also support blocking websites,
| fwiw. This includes ScreenZen on Android and pretty much any
| app on iOS (it's easier to implement it there)
| cush wrote:
| For this very reason, I uninstalled the browser on my phone. No
| joke
| yapyap wrote:
| I've scrolled through the article and another tip would be: Have
| an alternative.
|
| You can't just go from screentime to no screentime if you have
| nothing to do off the screen, plan some activities.
| StefanBatory wrote:
| Been there, done that. Listen to the person above me.
|
| I tried to do that in the past when I my depression was more
| severe. I thought that'd help me, but I replaced staring at my
| screen with staring at wall or just sleeping.
| nullderef wrote:
| What do you mean -- you couldn't find something else to do?
| StefanBatory wrote:
| Yes, exactly. I had no idea what to do with myself, and
| thus all I did was browsed Internet. I thought that getting
| rid of it will "fix" me (to be honest, I think I confused
| cause and effect). And so, I tried.
|
| But I had nothing to replace this with, and I didn't
| magically became a disciplined or productive person. And
| then I would go back to my bad habits, just feeling even
| stronger self-hatred.
| nullderef wrote:
| How did you end up overcoming the problem?
| StefanBatory wrote:
| I didn't, honestly. In the end, it was just a gradual
| step for me. I got more things to do, I became slightly
| more social, talked to more and more people, and it just
| happened. I still deal with it, just on a lesser scale
| where it's managable unless I have a bad day - in which
| case again I'll turn to screens for comfort. But it's
| rare.
| Funes- wrote:
| >I replaced staring at my screen with staring at wall or just
| sleeping
|
| So you just tried to replace your compulsive use of your
| devices with nothing, like the poster you replied to advised
| against. Great.
| StefanBatory wrote:
| Yeah, which is I'm saying that's why you should listen to
| the poster above - to prove their point.
|
| Unless I wrote it in a confusing way, in which case I do
| apologise
| yunwal wrote:
| "Been there, done that" usually implies that it didn't
| work or that you're repeating old, no longer useful
| information.
| StefanBatory wrote:
| Ah, sorry then. I thought that idiom has different
| meaning, thank you for correcting me.
| Funes- wrote:
| On top of that, which is absolutely true, saying "listen
| to the person above me" (instead of something along the
| lines of "guys/to anyone reading this, listen to...")
| while replying _directly_ to someone makes it seem like
| you 're exhorting them--that you're advising them to look
| for some other reply that runs counter to their point,
| instead of addressing the general HN crowd. "I thought
| that'd help me, but..." also seems to counter their point
| further instead of agreeing with it.
| sureglymop wrote:
| These apps are interesting. Another good one is "Block" (with a
| green icon).
|
| But, does anyone know of any alternatives for degoogled phones?
| E.g. from F-Droid?
| nullderef wrote:
| There's TimeLimit on F-Droid. I found it hard to set up,
| though.
| chadhutchins10 wrote:
| You probably see it enough already in your ads, but this has been
| the most effective app blocker for me: https://getbrick.app
| vintagedave wrote:
| I've ignored it because it's advertised :) What's your
| experience with it?
| chadhutchins10 wrote:
| Ha, I do the same for most advertised things. It is as
| advertised. I've easily gained back more of my time than the
| $59 that it costs. Game changer if you make a habit to
| "brick" your phone every morning.
| Gasp0de wrote:
| I already moved away from the reddit app, but now I have the
| problem that I can not set up time-based constraints that don't
| block the rest of the browser.
| nullderef wrote:
| Some apps like ScreenZen allow you to block websites, if you're
| on Android. Pretty much any iOS app will let you restrict
| websites (because it's easier to implement there).
| lotophage wrote:
| I've used NextDNS.io in the past and setup schedules to block
| the reddit domain during work hours.
|
| The problem that I found is that sometimes it's not just a
| place of procrastination but the place you want to search for a
| useful answer to your question.
| Gasp0de wrote:
| I could live with not being able to access reddit from my
| private phone, I am not logged into my personal reddit
| account on my work PC.
| CalRobert wrote:
| Leechblock for Firefox works well, but sadly doesn't work on
| iOS.
| metalman wrote:
| I have gone in a slightly different direction, where I use my
| device to sell goods and services, and aquire parts,components,
| and specific information to facilitate my selling, and the
| maintanence and upgradeing of my own personal things. Also I use
| my screen time to seek out real world events and activities. This
| has led me to have expectations, as to what I get, as a real
| reward, and, also forces me to follow through with comitments
| made on line, in the real.world, therfor the whole thing, becomes
| self regualating.
| master-lincoln wrote:
| Title talks about screentime, but article only focuses on mobile
| phones and doom scrolling. I was surprised to see the
| recommendation of max 2h screen time per day for an adult at the
| bottom. The link leads to a page not mentioning this though.
|
| I spend already ~5h staring at screens for work. At home my
| biggest screen time is watching videos on TV. I don't think I
| ever doom-scrolled on my phone. I do read lots of news articles
| on it though. Article seems to not be addressing people like me.
| nullderef wrote:
| The link mentions: "Health experts say screen time at home
| should be limited to two hours or less a day" --
| https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/reduce-sc...
|
| Maybe doomscrolling is reading too many news for you? Or do you
| think it's not too excessive?
| steve_adams_86 wrote:
| When I'm doom scrolling it's almost exclusively news. I'm not
| all that interested in short videos, social media, or other
| scrollable things. News is my weakness. Last month I was
| pretty bad about reading news about the USA. I've mostly
| recovered. It's easy to convince yourself it matters
| (especially compared to watching shorts) but the reality is
| that for me, it's bordering irrelevant. I live in Canada.
| There's nothing I can do about the USA. Just focus on what's
| here and now.
| codethief wrote:
| Which Android apps for limiting screen time does the HN crowd
| recommend? Is there one that doesn't sell your data or request
| network access? (Ideally of course the app would be open-source
| but I'm not getting my hopes up.)
|
| I've been wanting to try Digital Wellbeing but it looks like it's
| still not available for non-Google devices. Or at least it's
| shown as "not compatible" when accessing the Play Store from
| GrapheneOS.
| yamrzou wrote:
| I recommend this one for Android:
| https://github.com/markusfisch/ScreenTime
|
| It doesn't limit apps, it just displays your screen time in a
| permanent notification and allows you to view and export past
| statistics.
|
| I've found that to be very effective. From a systems
| perspective, it amounts to adding a new feedback loop, similar
| to this leverage point described by Donella Meadows[1]:
|
| _There was this subdivision of identical houses, the story
| goes, except that for some reason the electric meter in some of
| the houses was installed in the basement and in others it was
| installed in the front hall, where the residents could see it
| constantly, going round faster or slower as they used more or
| less electricity. With no other change, with identical prices,
| electricity consumption was 30 percent lower in the houses
| where the meter was in the front hall.
|
| We systems-heads love that story because it's an example of a
| high leverage point in the information structure of the system.
| It's not a parameter adjustment, not a strengthening or
| weakening of an existing loop. It's a NEW LOOP, delivering
| feedback to a place where it wasn't going before._
|
| [1] Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System -
| https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-t...
| codethief wrote:
| Thanks! That app looks quite nice (especially the
| virtualization) but I already know how much I use my phone
| (too much :)) and that obtrusive feedback will only get me so
| far. So I do need an app that goes a bit further and allows
| me to track & block usage of applications.
| bcye wrote:
| My solution was to only allow free-software and no
| browsers/"content" apps on my phone after a fresh install. It
| somehow worked wonders.
| gchokov wrote:
| My guide to cut down screen time - have kids, play with them
| every day after work.
| throwaway243123 wrote:
| Yeah but then after they're asleep, you're brain fried and
| doomscrolling anyway :')
| evrimoztamur wrote:
| I started doodling on pen and paper again, like on the back of
| those yahtzee papers. Killed my screen time like nothing else,
| it's so much fun just drawing random nonsense!
| AStonesThrow wrote:
| Look, why should it be the individual consumer or their parents
| who regulate screen time when it's not our fault?
|
| Computers have become an unprecedented scourge and curse to our
| attention, our moods and our very souls, but radio, telephone,
| and TV led up to this.
|
| It is time that the architects of consumer communications
| technology took responsibility for the utter grind and drain
| they're causing us in every waking hour--literally--because these
| days, my smartphone knows exactly when I begin to stir in the
| morning and dumps a fresh deluge of pings before I can make it to
| the bathroom...
| ivan_ah wrote:
| One thing that has been working really well for me this year is
| the "internet Shabbat" rule: 24 hours of no TCP/IP every week.
| Friday night I pull the plug on the modem + turn off data on my
| phone, then enjoy all of Saturday in a disconnected mode. I can
| still be on the computer, just no internet.
|
| It's amazing how much things I get done... it literally feels
| like I have two days instead of one. If I put a item like
| "outdoor exercise for 30 mins" in my TODO list, then I actually
| do it! Close friends and family can still reach me by phone/text,
| but all the chat groups and other messaging app distractions are
| silent.
|
| I can still end up zoning out watching a movie in the evening,
| but it's more intentional: I had to pick the movie in advance and
| download it so I can view it offline.
|
| The contrast with Sunday when I turn the internet back on is very
| notable. Suddenly the next day is disorganized and end up wasting
| hours on youtube recommendations, and following rabit holes, and
| hacker news of course.
|
| My conclusion is that it's not the apps or the internet, it's the
| feeds (when information is being pushed down to you) that are the
| problem. It's just too convenient and we end up staying in it.
|
| Highly recommended.
| golly_ned wrote:
| Great idea -- do you live with others who do the same thing, or
| on your own?
| ivan_ah wrote:
| I'm living on my own now so I don't have experience with the
| group version of this.
|
| I try to be proactive if I know I'm meeting someone to remind
| them to call/text and not expect Signal/Telegram comms. The
| only thing that has been a problem are RCS text messages
| since my iPhone assumes if RCS was used once to communicate
| with someone, it should always be used. I can manually use
| "send as SMS" for outgoing, but I don't get the reply.
| Geeek wrote:
| My family and I keep the Shabbat, which includes no electronics
| usage and I can not imagine doing it any differently.
| MarcelOlsz wrote:
| I'm going to pivot into being a full-time techno shabbas goy
| if this movement gets large enough. I'll join the legions of
| dog-walkers and apartment-sitters.
| Geeek wrote:
| Or just go hang out with friends, that's what I do. I get
| to hang out with people I like, people I like a little
| less, people I agree with, people I disagree with it. It
| makes me for a more humble and understanding person.
| MarcelOlsz wrote:
| It was a joke.
| andai wrote:
| I used to do this every morning, for the first hour of the day.
|
| I started doing it to cope with severe unmedicated ADHD. I
| found the only way I could get any work done was to turn off my
| phone and unplug the router.
|
| (I downloaded offline docs, and if I got really stuck, made a
| note of what to Google later and just switched tasks.)
|
| I then found that I enjoyed getting stuff done so much, that
| I'd usually keep it off until after lunch.
| ivan_ah wrote:
| Very interesting.
|
| I was thinking of scaling this up by adding Sunday too, but
| offline mornings might be even better... I'll look into
| adding a schedule in the router. I think it might be helpful
| to program the rule to start in the desired bedtime in the
| evening to make the pixel devices unexciting and incentivize
| reading old school books (the most efficient technology for
| getting me to sleep).
|
| I've heard the advice don't touch the phone/email first thing
| in the morning so many times, but I can never stick to it,
| but if my "habit" is enforced at the network layer, I think
| it is doable ;)
|
| UPDATE: Apparently iOS has a built in automation tool
| Shortcuts app, which allowed me to schedule this, see
| https://imgur.com/a/TsQJak3 I added similar rulesets to the
| router. Watch out world, Ivan's productivity is going to
| skyrocket!
| sdsd wrote:
| > 24 hours of no TCP/IP every week
|
| But streaming, games, and all the other distracting stuff is
| mostly UDP! /s
| n8cpdx wrote:
| - Yes it is possible to live without using social media (except
| hacker news of course) on a daily basis. TikTok is the easiest to
| do without. Instagram and Snapchat can be deleted. Use the web
| app for those rare moments you need to check hours for a business
| that doesn't have a website (sadly this happens)
|
| - iOS Focus Modes is underrated in this article. When I arrive at
| work all my apps except teams and outlook disappear, my phone
| turns into a work dashboard. After work my phone shows my journal
| and the clock app. I never get notifications at work, they queue
| up until I leave. My watch is synchronized and does similar,
| showing exactly what I need and nothing else for different stages
| of my day. Focus Modes has sadly not been copied by Android so I
| can't consider stitching until there's a good answer (a well
| supported HealthKit alternative being the other deal breaker).
|
| - iOS screen time is busted af, it is known. Might as well be a
| random number generator. I recommend avoiding. Apple workers
| reading this: pls fix
| doright wrote:
| It's not like TikTok has a 100% chance of hypnotizing you into a
| zombie that can only spend its waking hours thinking about
| dancing people and positive vibes. Only a very high chance,
| depending on how anxious/bored you are, amplified by the hard
| work of psychology PhDs.
|
| It's so difficult to imagine the mindset of a person who can
| approach TikTok from a healthy perspective and not need to rely
| on what used to be called "parental controls" in the past to
| artificially prevent them from doomscrolling all day. They would
| just never need to consume advice like this. Surely those people
| must exist? Who are they?
|
| But when you're slapped with something like C-PTSD from an early
| age, you aren't afforded the ability to address anxiety
| effectively. You have to turn to something to soothe your anxiety
| all the time or it will drive you insane.
|
| If you were to try to go the complete or semi-aesetic route, you
| have to consider what lies on the other side of doomscrolling
| when there's just too much anxiety to function correctly: endless
| hellfire.
|
| I have a hard time believing doomscrolling _or_ needing to
| restrict screentime at every corner are effective ways to address
| a completely unrelated inbuilt source of boundless anxiety.
| andai wrote:
| I've been doing a lot of mindfulness meditation lately, and
| also learning about self soothing, emotional processing etc.
|
| I found that now that I can access blissful and peaceful states
| at will, and deal with difficult emotions without getting
| overwhelmed, my "need" for compulsive behaviors has dropped
| massively. There's no longer so much pain to medicate.
|
| It's like you say, we use this stuff because we don't know a
| better way.
|
| As for social media, there's also the systemic issue of
| atomization in modern society. People spend so much time alone
| now, so that's another great pain to cope with.
|
| I wonder why that is. How did we get here?
| MarcelOlsz wrote:
| How does one get started? I've been doing 20 minute wim hof
| breathing sessions that help and I've been looking into TM
| due to David Lynch but nothing beyond reading.
| wonger_ wrote:
| Not OP, but seeing a therapist, journaling, breathing
| exercises, and spending time lingering outside (e.g.
| walking), helped me regulate emotions and access peaceful
| states. Anxiety is the source of lots of problems for me,
| including doomscrolling, and unmanaged thoughts and
| feelings are a big source of anxiety for me. So once I
| learned some techniques for tending to those thoughts and
| feelings (instead of ignoring them), everything got a bit
| better.
|
| So I guess keep reading, keep breathing, find more
| techniques that help you, and consider finding a
| professional if you need more help.
| f_allwein wrote:
| I don't use TikTok at all. AMA.
| grigri907 wrote:
| I think the challenge is to use TikTok, but to use it in
| moderation.
| RadiozRadioz wrote:
| I don't think that's a worthwhile challenge. Either you
| fail and get addicted, or you succeed and... what? Spend
| some of your free time watching low quality micro videos
| and being advertised to by teenagers? I don't see the
| upside here.
| dopidopHN wrote:
| HN and signal groups are my only social media.
|
| I'm very social. I don't think I miss much notification of
| "stuff to do"
|
| ( signal groups : large groups hitting the 1000 member limit.
| With drastic moderations. Example : only music flyer.
| Anything else is deleted under minutes )
| Wojtkie wrote:
| Something minor that I found to greatly impact my screen usage
| was to remove all the icons from my phone so that I am forced
| to search for the app. That minor bit of friction was able to
| reduce my habitual usage by 70~80%
| brainzap wrote:
| I found that a 2 minute forced pause is enough to kick me out
| of the hypnose. I need an app for this.
| pseudocomposer wrote:
| At least on iOS, I've found ScreenZen (https://www.screenzen.co)
| to be pretty ideal. I'll definitely try SpeedBump if they add me
| to the beta, though.
|
| Like SpeedBump, ScreenZen also has a "wait before using addictive
| apps" function (though, it doesn't have the "wait a bit longer to
| get 15mins vs. 2mins" - that would be really nice).
|
| ScreenZen also keeps track of "streaks" of days not going over
| your overall limit in addictive apps. Unfortunately, that limit
| is counted by number of sessions, not the actual overall app
| screen time (by default, if you set your limit to 1 hour, it
| gives you 6 sessions of 10 minutes per app). It would be nice to
| combine this with SpeedBump's different-time-limit feature: if I
| want to quickly check a post or show a friend something on
| Instagram, I could use only 2mins out of my overall hour limit,
| instead of 10mins.
| cush wrote:
| I tried every kind of focus app and focus mode on iOS, and
| nothing stuck. After years of trying, this approach worked well
| for me:
|
| 1. Delete any app with any kind of algorithmic feed (YouTube,
| TikTok, etc)
|
| 2. Uninstall Safari
|
| That's right, I've been rocking a browserless phone for about a
| year now, and I'm never going back. AMA
| _kush wrote:
| Great article! I've noticed that most screen time discussions
| focus heavily on mobile usage, which makes sense given the data,
| but I think we underestimate how much desktop screen time also
| affects our health.
|
| As someone who's been building LookAway[0] (a mindful break
| reminder app for Mac), I've seen firsthand how easy it is to slip
| into hours of continuous screen time at a desk resulting in
| things like eye strain, posture issues, and even productivity
| dips.
|
| Would love to see more awareness and tools around managing
| desktop screen habits!
|
| [0]: https://lookaway.app
| sshkhr wrote:
| Earlier this year, I decided to set up a couple of software based
| systems to reduce my screentime. They have been largely been
| successful. I have reduced my average daily phone screen time
| from 5-6 hrs to 2-3 hrs, around 1.5 hrs of which is 'wasteful'
| (reddit, HN, instagram) and the remaining 1.5 hrs is actual
| communication time (email, calls, chat). On my computer, my
| screen time is nearly all productive time by my standards. Some
| of the things I did are:
|
| For my phone:
|
| - Deleted all apps for social media, all browsing has to be via
| browser.
|
| - Used SocialFocus (https://socialfocus.app/) to remove feeds and
| recommendations from all apps, any post access happens via shares
| or search
|
| - Also turned on a timer for social media (45 minutes each for
| reddit/insta).
|
| - Turned social media black/white instead of color.
|
| - Used dumbify launcher (https://dumbifyapp.com/) to turn my menu
| bar into a text based one instead of icons.
|
| For my computer:
|
| - Used Cold Turkey (https://getcoldturkey.com/) to set up blocks
| for various websites, subreddits etc.
|
| - Locked up my Cold Turkey block with a long random text string,
| which increases friction if I want to unlock and as a result
| reduces my inclination to do so.
|
| - Use News Feed Eradicator (https://github.com/jordwest/news-
| feed-eradicator/) to remove feeds from websites which have some
| utility for me (e.g. LinkedIn) but can be a time sink.
|
| Honestly, these steps have worked quite well for me thus far. I
| have managed to get back into reading (both fiction, non-fiction
| as well as academic textbooks), freed up time to spend with
| family and friends, and also gotten into watching TV shows -
| something I had not really done in the last 2-3 years due to
| being hooked on short form media
| mglvsky wrote:
| > Completely quitting social media is getting less and less
| realistic. Platforms like Instagram or TikTok can be essential to
| connect with friends
|
| I doubt it. Trying to not to use all of popular social for some
| time (for 30 days) was inspiring to me, so I don't have any idea
| why those apps so important.
| anzerarkin wrote:
| I also made an app to fix my scrolling issue -- it's called
| EvoCat.
|
| The idea came from wanting to combine the best parts of all the
| focus apps I used: scheduled block sessions like Opal, mindful
| breathing interruptions like One Sec, and some light gamification
| to make it feel less like punishment.
|
| EvoCat is a small animated character (a cat-phone hybrid) that
| evolves as you stay focused. The longer you avoid distractions,
| the stronger it becomes -- and the harder it gets to cancel your
| focus sessions. It turns screen time control into something a bit
| more playful, but still effective.
|
| I currently have a beta available on iOS and I'm happy to share a
| TestFlight link if anyone wants to try it out. You can also check
| it out here: https://evocat.app
|
| Would love feedback from fellow builders and focus-app nerds :)
| MisterTea wrote:
| After a Psilocybin trip I found that anxiety was driving a vast
| majority of my desire for screen time. Post trip for the next few
| days my mind was perfectly calm - no thoughts were forcefully
| intruding, constantly causing distraction and frustration leading
| to seeking screen time.
|
| During that time I could go to work, consume tasks, complete them
| without stress or distraction and feel a sense of accomplishment
| and fulfillment. Same when I went home and did chores around the
| house. That is a feeling that has been elusive most of my life.
| The big thing that stood out to me those few days: little to no
| desire for screen time.
|
| If you think you have anxiety then do yourself a favor and seek
| professional help. Otherwise these life hacks are useless as they
| are ignoring the root cause of your desire for screen time.
| matthewhartmans wrote:
| I switched to a basic Nokia phone for a couple of months and this
| put a stop to it :)
| chaosprint wrote:
| https://github.com/chaosprint/twice
|
| this is a tool I use for Chrome. works for me
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