If the televisions and smartphones in your life are taking up all of your attention, try these 10 practical tips to reduce screen time for adults today!
Let me just get this out there: I love television!
There is something so beautiful about watching the creativity of someone else’s brilliant ideas unfold before me.
Stories have always had a place in my heart, and every form of storytelling is a joy for me.
Television can bring you to places and spaces that you would otherwise never see. It presents new ideas and opinions that can expand your mind and teach you to think more critically about the things around you.
I can tell you now that I will not in any way be advocating for you to get rid of your television forever.
I will, however, be pointing out a nasty little side effect of television (or any form of excessive screen time) and how to ensure that it doesn’t affect you.
As wonderful as screen time is, it is altogether too easy to get addicted to it.
Especially in this day and age.
In a world where our televisions are no longer singularly planted in the living room, it can be hard to set boundaries on our screen time as adults.
You can watch it at hotels, restaurants, waiting rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and anywhere else in the world where you can bring a phone.
No area of your life is protected from the temptation to sneak a peek at your screen throughout the day. And with streaming programs so available to us, we don’t even have to wait a week for the next episode.
We can binge show after show to our heart’s content. We can receive endless entertainment from YouTube, Twitch, and Tik Tok.
And I’ll admit, on occasion, that can be a great thing.
But all the time? Not so much.
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What happens when we watch too much television
I’m not going to throw some magic number out there of the ideal amount of television to watch in a day.
I don’t believe that any area of life has a one-size-fits-all solution, so you’ll have to experiment to see what feels like a good amount for you.
But here are some warning signs that might be telling you that you are watching too much TV as an adult:
- Feeling like you don’t have enough time to do other hobbies you enjoy
- Sacrificing sleep to watch another show
- Cancelling plans to watch TV or scroll social media
- Feeling lonely more often
- Feeling like you’re not engaging with the shows- you’re just staring at the screen with a numb mind
- Starting and ending your day with TV
- Watching TV shows you don’t like
You may not see all of these signs in your own life, but if you’ve noticed a change in your own life that may be attributed to a TV addiction, it’s best not to ignore it.
Additionally, it might not be that you’re addicted, but simply that you have a desire to cut back on your TV time so that you have time for other activities in a day.
That’s great, too!
I’m going to be sharing with you 10 tips to help you reduce screen time as an adult.
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10 tips to reduce screen time for adults
Tip #1: Know Your ‘Why’
When you aim to cut back on screen time, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t know why you’re doing it.
Why do you, personally, want to reduce your screen time?
And don’t say because it’s bad for you.
No, you need a REAL, TANGIBLE reason to motivate you.
How is it going to help you on a daily basis? In what way is it going to improve your life?
If you don’t personally think that your screen habits are a problem, then you don’t need to try to cut back.
Until you can think of a real reason to reduce screen time as an adult, don’t do it.
Want some reasons to cut back on screen time? Check out this post: 15 Things You Could Achieve Tonight Instead Of Watching TV
Tip #2: Have a Planned Activity to Replace your screen time
When you are trying to give up anything, it is a good practice to think of what can replace what you’re giving up.
It will give you more motivation and lessen the chances of you giving up.
If you don’t make a plan, you’ll end up being bored and wanting to go back to your screen.
On the other hand, if you come up with some fun things you have wanted to do for a while, you will immediately see the benefits of less TV time.
You will be having so much fun with the other activity that you won’t miss watching TV.
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Tip #3: Make your TV and screens less visible
It can be so much harder to ignore something when it’s right up in your face all the time.
Instead of displaying your television, try to keep it covered somewhere.
Maybe you have it in a little wardrobe so you can close the doors on it. You could just as easily put a cloth over it. Anything that keeps the TV out of sight will help.
Additionally, you could take measures to add steps to the television power.
Simply unplugging the TV is going to make you have to get up and manually plug it in every time you want to watch it. It will likely make you think twice about whether or not you actually want to watch anything.
Make your television a little bit inconvenient, and you will find yourself watching it less.
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Tip #4: Limit screen time to one (or two) rooms
In the same vein as the previous tip, it might be a help to you to designate screen time to one or two rooms.
This will help reduce screen time more naturally.
Once you’ve decided on a room you want to designate as the ‘screen viewing room’, you cannot watch television in any other room.
Whatever place you choose, I would advise you NOT to make that place your bedroom.
You will get better sleep if you keep your bedroom screen-free.
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Tip #5: Remove ‘TV’ from your smartphone
I’ll be honest, I don’t follow this one all the time, but when I catch myself falling back into addiction territory, I use this tip to get myself back on track.
This is the most effective tip to help you cut back on excessive screen time.
Our smartphones are wonderful things, but they are also huge contributors to our growing screen addictions.
It’s so easy to watch a show without feeling like you’re watching too much, and the distraction is always one touch away.
For those times when your own willpower just isn’t enough, temporarily remove any video apps from your phone.
Remove YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and whatever other distractions may be there.
When you feel ready, you can easily re-install these apps, but until then it helps to have them completely removed from your phone.
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Tip #6: Decide on a limit of shows you can watch at a time
This is one of my personal favourites because it is fun and an easy way to monitor your television viewing.
Personally, I allow myself to be watching one drama and one sitcom at the same time.
Once I finish an entire series, I give myself a break before choosing a new show to watch.
Here’s an example…
I had previously been working on Kim’s Convenience and Breaking Bad.
I finished with both of them within the same week and took a break before picking up Ratched a couple of weeks later.
Now, I do make exceptions for social shows.
My family really likes to watch game shows together, so once a week, I watch The Masked Singer with them. It’s more of a social event than a TV time, which makes it feel more fulfilling.
I find that choosing specific shows is good for multiple reasons:
- Cuts back on time you would normally spend browsing shows or ‘flipping channels’
- Makes you more invested in the shows you are watching
- Gives you a more accurate understanding of how much TV you are watching
- It’s easier to pace yourself when you’re only watching a couple shows at a time
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Tip #7: Only keep one streaming subscription at a time
I love this tip because it does more than cut down on your TV time.
Additionally, it saves you money!
First, cancel all of your streaming subscriptions. Second, decide what shows or movies you would like to watch that month.
Decide on ONE streaming service that can provide that entertainment for you, and only pay for that subscription.
This might mean that you will have to wait some more time before you can watch certain shows, but what’s the rush?
It will still be there in another month, so there’s no need to watch everything at once.
Here’s an example…
My husband and I did this with Disney+ just recently.
We wanted to see Artemis Fowl and the Star Wars cartoon series, so we paid for a subscription for one month.
We watched the shows we were interested in and then cancelled our subscription after the month was up.
Eventually, we will want to watch The Mandalorian, but there were new shows we were excited about that were coming out on Netflix, so we switched to that subscription for the next month.
It has been really fun to intentionally talk about what shows we’d like to see each month, and it keeps things fresh! I’d highly recommend this strategy!
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Tip #8: Schedule specific times for television
Another way to reduce screen time for adults is to actually schedule the times you can watch TV.
For myself, I allow one short YouTube video in the morning, one sitcom in the afternoon with my lunch, and three hours of either a drama or a movie on Friday nights.
I’m naturally drawn to routine, so this schedule works like a charm for me, but that doesn’t mean you should do it exactly the same way as me.
Experiment for yourself to see what feels like the right amount of television for you!
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Tip #9: Track your TV time- be honest!
This is a tip that can be useful before you decide to intentionally reduce screen time, but you can also use this tip to check up on your progress.
Sometimes it helps to get a real understanding of your habits so that you are not missing anything.
For a whole week, take note of every time you watch TV.
This doesn’t just mean a TV show, though.
Record every time you watch a YouTube video or have a TikTok session. These count, too!
At the end of your week, take a look at your results.
You might notice patterns that you didn’t see before, and it might even give you ideas on how you can solve some of those pesky areas of difficulty.
It will also be encouraging for you to see your progress over time!
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Tip #10: Schedule Screen-Free Days
Occasionally, it’s a good idea to do a bit of a digital detox.
I like to do this once a month for one full day, but this is a matter of preference for each person.
You decide how often and for how long you would like to do a detox.
Do you want to get rid of all screens, or just television? Would it be permissible to use screens if it’s with friends, or will you strictly abide by the ‘no screens’ rule no matter what?
Again, this is for you to decide. What will serve the best purpose for you?
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A Quick Note on Relapses and Failures…
I wanted to put this out there right now before you go and try these tips for yourself.
I personally use these tips to keep myself from going too nuts with my screen time, but I’ll tell you right now that I’ve failed many, many times before.
My relationship with television goes in cycles.
I start with a reasonable amount of TV, and over time, I start to desire the comfort of television.
Eventually, I feel like I always need to be watching something, and then I catch myself.
I instill a detox routine, use all of my tips, and get back on track…only to end up in the same cycle all over again.
BUT…over time, I have noticed a pretty exciting pattern.
Every time I go through this cycle, the ‘addiction phase’ has gotten shorter and shorter.
I notice my problem sooner and fix it faster.
I believe that, given more time, I will eventually get to the point where I no longer reach the addiction phase at all, and I am excited for when that day finally comes!
And in the meantime, I’m enjoying the journey, and I’m not comparing myself to people who already have it ‘figured out’. I hope that I can encourage you to do the same.
Have patience for yourself and enjoy the process!
Like everything at In Its Season, there is no singular solution that is going to magically reduce your screen time as an adult.
This is just a collection of ideas to get you started on the road to self-discovery.
Now it’s time to take what you know and develop it further so that it can work for your individual needs.
Take it one simple step at a time, allow lots of room for failure (remember: failure is just a learning opportunity), and let yourself share your journey with authenticity.
There is no need to compare; we are all on our own unique path to improvement. You can move at your own pace!
Good luck, and have fun!
Do you have any tips to reduce screen time for adults?
I love these tips. I need to schedule no screen times more!
I’m glad you liked them! I definitely benefit from getting less screen time 🙂