Tag: Screen Time

SCREEN TIMES

The last three days I’ve been putting my phone away. Out of site. Going for walks without. Reading a book while making coffee. Checking for anything urgent when I get home from the gym or grocery shopping.

My average for the week us under an hour, a definate improvement from the week prior of five hours per day. It all adds up, watching YouTube clips while eating lunch, checking emails while on a walk, or getting off the treadmill, or getting in the car from the gym, or then checking again when I get home. Too. Much. Input.

I’ve been sleeping like a champ, and I think lower the level of inputs has been good for recovery from my runs. I ran over 5 miles on the treadmill the last two nights, when in the previous few runs I could barely muster 3. I was just wiped out.

All that to say – put your phone away. Delete stupid apps. Stop checking for emails. Read a book while waiting for your water to boil.

Hours Add Up

Been thinking lots of “screen time,” as the past few months have been a killer. Trying to keep up with *everything* has been exhausting. I’m not trying to beat myself up over this, or anyone else. Just trying to be more mindful.

“The trajectory of your life bends in the direction of your habits.”

James Clear

There’s been day where the hours add up, and by the end of the day I’ve stared at Twitter for four hours.

Four hours.

Of course that’s not four hours straight. But time adds up.

I want to get better at making music. That starts with making music. Not writing songs. Not releasing an album. Making music.

Today I ran five miles in about 55 minutes. It’s my 57th straight day of running. The goal wasn’t win a marathon. Or a gold medal. Just run.

Now, I know I need to some other exercise. More planking. Lifting more weights. For whatever reason I haven’t “found the time” to do any of those. The time is there. I just don’t wanna. It’s not a habit, and 10 years from today I bet I’ll wish I did a few more sit ups.

Ten Hours

I think my new favorite app on iOS is Screen Time. It reminds me that I spend way too much time looking at social media, and I’ve been actively trying to look at it less. Lately I don’t use my phone when making and eating breakfast. Or an hour or so later when I make my french press coffee. Each of these moments might amount to 10 minutes per day, but over seven days that’s.. 70 minutes. Instead, I’ve been slowing replacing the every-so-often dopamine rush of anger / sorrow / terror with nice things:

  • Reading books on my Kindle
  • Stretching
  • Looking out the window at the vast beauty of the changing leaves

The minutes, the time is still the same. I can’t make the water boil any faster. But I can choose how I spend those moments. Am I feeding my body and mind with good things? Or am I giving away my time and energy to a company overrun with trolls and nazis under the guise of “staying current?”

Ten hours is too much.

More Screen Time Thoughts

In a week I looked at Instagram for about seven hours. Before I get out of bed, have a look. Waiting for my french press to brew. In line at the bank. After a run. These tiny moments add up.

And maybe it’s not all about all the OTHER things I could have done with that time, like worked, or read a book, or stretched, but all the nothingness I could have done.

To stare out the window, look at the trees, a late night walk. Life can’t just be about maximizing every single hour, right?

Screen Time is Eye Opening

Over the past few months I’ve done my best to use my time better. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks, “where did the time go?” at the end of the day. And since I work from home, it’s easy for Parkinson’s Law to kick in and then I find myself working at 9pm.

I started using Pomodone App, which syncs with my tasks from Todoist. I then focus on one task at a time, in 5 / 15 / 20 minute bursts. Then when I’m wasting time scrolling through websites when I should be working, Pomodone alerts me. I really like that.

Then I installed the new iOS 12 and started using the Screen Time app. GULP. I averaged 2 hours and 43 minutes of screen time this week. Almost three hour a day, and most of it social media. That’s 21 hours a week.

That’s a lot of billable hours, or reading, or hiking.

I’m still using the iPhone SE – I just like how it fits in my hand, and in my water bottle pouch when I go running. Sure, the new iPhones look amazing, and then paired with a shiny new Apple Watch? But… I think the Screen Time app will actually keep me from upgrading anytime soon.