How do I Keep a Check on My Screen Time as a Creator?

As a medical science graduate and a creator, I tell you, it’s hard to keep up with creating online, especially when you know the ins and outs of the digital screen hazards.

We, creators simply don’t have the luxury to spend days without looking at the screen at all. We need them to create, to learn, to connect with our audience and finally to make our work get noticed beyond boundaries.

But that doesn’t mean we have to be slaves to our screens. We may not reduce the screen time as much as 3–4 days a month without screens, but it’s possible to limit it on a daily basis.

The first step is awareness. The online world is so vast and dense, that it’s easy to get immersed in the constant rage about learning, creating and connecting. And before you know it, you’ve already wasted hours doing nothing but what you thought was learning.

To really check on your screen time, you need to be aware of the time you tend to spend looking at screens. Ask yourself- How can you reduce it?

The first step to any development is to push yourself to find the answer.

1. Deep work

I started doing this almost 10 months ago. So many Twitter gurus rave about doing deep work. I had to try it. And oh boy, work gets done like magic.

There was a time when I’d need at least 2 days to write a perfectly edited article, and still, it’d not be up to the mark. Today, I just got the first draft done in an hour.

Deep work every day not only reduced my screen time, but it also helped me improve my writing tremendously.

I don’t think I’d be able to put up 56 articles on Medium, if not for this one practice.

I put my phone on airplane mode on a table on the other side of the room, and write in 20 minutes sprints. After every sprint, I take a 5-minute break- not only from writing but from all screens. I read, take a nap or just sit with my thoughts, but strictly no screens. If it's a good day, I end up writing the entire first draft of the article in one go!

It has drastically changed my approach towards writing, work and life in general.

I get asked so often how I manage my dental clinic as well as writing, and this approach is my only answer. Doing deep work just 10X your creating output while reducing your screen time to half.

Efforts to deepen your focus will struggle if you don’t simultaneously wean your mind from a dependence on distraction. — Cal Newport

Today I use this approach for almost everything- articles, scheduling Tweets and threads, LinkedIn posts, client work etc.

Try it out. It just helps you get more done in less time staring at screens.

2. Make your phone as boring as you could

Now that we have mobile phones and TVs which claim to be smarter than humans, screens are not limited to just our work life. They have occupied a large part of our personal life as well!

But let me tell you, these smartphones and TVs are not as smart as we think. We can be smarter.

My strategy to reduce my screen time in my personal life is to make my phone as boring as possible. I don’t have Instagram- energy sucker- on my phone so that rules out the biggest hurdle in achieving reduced screen time.

I download my IG on my phone when I'm travelling and otherwise log in from my Desktop to wish birthdays to my friends. Endless scrolling gives nothing but cheap dopamine which screws your mind big time.

Other than that, almost every app on my phone is related to work- LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. and a shopping app. This just forces me to curb the urge of indulging in distractions, by reducing my screen time.

Another thing I started doing 10 months ago was to turn off notifications. Notifications are designed to make you restless about what’s happening and what you’re missing, but they really damage your focus and prompt you to unlock your phone, repeatedly, without a good reason.

What follows is an endless parade of notifications, comments and likes on your creations, and well, now there’s no going back from it. You feel dutiful to your followers to reply and engage.

My notifications being off, I get to choose when to open an app, and when to indulge in scrolling. It just gave me back a lot of control over my screen time.

Does this mean I never engage? Of course not. I reply to almost every comment on my post and engage and network with creators at the same time every day. Again, this helps me do more in less time.

3. Strong work boundaries

I spend almost 8 hours in my clinic, while I focus on my writing business for 3–4 hours of them. Knowing my hectic schedule, I initially thought setting strong work boundaries would be so difficult for me, even though, I desperately needed them.

Surprisingly, over time I realized, I didn’t really have to take any effort. Being at a workplace for almost all of my day, I didn’t really have it in me to sit and scroll through my phone after I was home. All I can think of is having a peaceful dinner with my family and hitting the bed.

As I improved my routine a bit more in these last few months, I’ve even stopped engaging with the community after work. I do it in my clinic itself.

Once I get home, my phone is lying in some corner, while I’m enjoying some family time.

Boundaries protect the things that are of value to you. — Adelyn Birch

Just the other day, I met someone who has to take work calls even after working in a corporate firm for 10 hours a day. How pathetic is that!

Preset work boundaries force you to optimize your work schedule in a way that compliments your health and personal life.

Lastly,

Excess of screen time not only screws your mental health and eyes but also robs you of the precious time you should be spending on the things that matter.

I’m not quite where I want to be in terms of limited screen time, but using these techniques has largely impacted my mood, my work, and my overall well-being.

The crux of this entire article is a concept called moderation. Yes, I still watch YouTube and Netflix, but in a fixed time frame.

As a creator, it’s even harder to limit your screen time, and it’s even important that we do that, because as much as we love our work, it’s not supposed to screw your health in exchange for some bucks.

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