1-1-1: screen time habits that work
read about the five habits which actually got me to stop scrolling and take back control of my time *and* mental capacity.
june, 2025
edition 80.
eighty. editions. that’s eighty weeks where I have sat down and found a quote which resonated, completed a prompt in my journal, and poured my heart out in the advice column. if this is the first edition of 1-1-1 that you’re reading, or if you’ve been around since the very beginning, thank you. it’s such a honour to be a space where people ask questions and I think through the answers out loud.
(I will get more sappy in 20 editions but it does feel surreal to change the first number in ‘edition xx’ so I’m having a moment).
I’m actually writing this ahead of time, and if you read the front part of the newsletters, you know how rare this is for me! but it’s because when you’re reading this, I am celebrating my childhood friend who is getting MARRIED. now, marriage is somewhere I thought I’d be in a few years but tragically is not where I am now (explanation here). I’m going to have Big. Feelings. about this and you knowww that I will be sharing ‘em all over here + on my instagram.
for now — happy tuesday <3 enjoyyy!!!
finally, this edition is free but some of my editions will not be. if you find my writing valuable and you want to support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber — a monthly subscription is $6, around a price of a coffee. you’ll get access to all of my previous editions, free and paid.
you can expect one email from me every week containing:
one quote that has been inspiring me
one journal prompt
one piece of advice*
* = if you want to submit a question for my upcoming emails, you can find the form here.
podcast
there are tons of guest episodes on the podcast from 2024 that are worth checking out — listen to them here <3
one quote
one journal prompt
what does ‘controlling my screen time’ look like for me? how do I want to use the time I gain back?
one piece of advice
“I am eagerly trying to reduce my screen time and break my addiction to short form content. it has hindered my life in ways I am beginning to feel and I suffer from adhd due to it. I have screen time limits on my phone but often go over them. I also work at a computer so this doesn’t help but please any advice you can give I will take!”
I am struggling with the exact same thing! I felt like I had a pretty good handle on my screen time at the beginning of the year (which led me to write this and this mini essay about it) but I have slowly slipped into the abyss of a 6+ hour screen time again. I’m reminded, though, that Big Tech purposefully makes social media platforms and phones extremely addictive because the attention economy is the new hot commodity. if you’re struggling with your tech usage, you are not alone! and please recognize that it is not your fault and does not make you a failure — we are literally all slaves to Big Tech at this point. (side note, the incredibles 2 were really onto something by calling their villain ScreenSlaver).
I have a few strategies that I’ve implemented (and a few I want to implement) which you may find helpful. apologies that all of these newsletters have been in bullet point format, but I find them the best way to provide tips and action points without droning on and on (which I tend to do):
have no phone zones: this isn’t something I’ve implemented for myself (yet) but I’ve seen people talk about the power of having phone-free spaces or treating your phone like a landline. the first would look like not bringing your phone into the bathroom, your bedroom, and the kitchen (examples). the second would look like having a designated space where your phone ‘lives,’ and if you want to go check something on your phone, you have to walk to that space to do so (just like a landline). either way, both of these strategies target phone usage and physical space.
lock your phone, and truly lock it: again, two different strategies. (1) I use an app called forest which basically shuts your phone down for a set period of time. when you navigate away from the app or try to open an app which isn’t on your ‘allow’ list, you kill a virtual tree that you’re planting. this got me through so many hours of studying in high school and college, and there’s a chrome extension if you want to use it on your laptop as well. (2) give someone else your screen time passcode. it’s so much harder to cheat on your screen time if you truly don’t have access to the ‘allow for 15 minutes’ button! this basically means you hand over your phone and let someone else type in a passcode for you (settings > screen time > change screen time passcode (or turn on passcode))
delete distracting apps from your phone: for me, I deleted tiktok, youtube, and most streaming apps (netflix, amazon prime video, etc) from my phone. deleting tiktok alone slashed my screen time from 8 hours to 4 hours immediately. if I wasn’t posting on instagram as a side ‘thing,’ I would probably delete that too.
pick up off-screen hobbies and, if possible, build a community around it: this is why I picked up knitting (amongst other reasons), going on screen-free walks, and running. some other ideas: puzzles, anything crafty or creative (crochet, colouring, etc), any form of movement (yoga, pilates, weights, etc), in person classes, reading, writing.
recognize that not all screen time is bad: going off of the no-screen hobbies, I find that my ipad screen time is up because I’ve spent time watching netflix on my ipad while knitting. could I switch this to an audiobook? perhaps. but I’m okay with watching netflix while I knit. maybe your screen time comes from looking at maps in a new city, or facetiming your friends/parents for a few hours. either way, just like your weight doesn’t tell you anything useful, don’t rely solely on the number of hours you spend on your devices.
these are just a few little ways I’ve been able to become conscious of, and control, my screen time in the past 6 (!!) months. I hope some of these help you even a little bit :) if you have any other strategies, pleaseeee feel free to drop them in the comments and start a conversation around this!! I’m always looking to hear new strategies or feel solidarity in my experiences.
reading updates
currently reading: the culture of narcissism by christopher lasch, great big beautiful life by emily henry
finished this week:
n/a
reading challenge: 15/50
if you want to keep up with my reading throughout the week, this is my goodreads :)
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enjoyed this edition?
until we meet again,
katie
for me, discontinuing the use of addictive social apps is separate from phone screen time. once i replaced the instagram app on my phone with my libby app, so when my thumbs automatically tried to scroll i ended up with an ebook instead. i also think it moves in seasons for me, where at times i will be on those apps a lot, and at times i will delete them for weeks at a time. and remembering that no matter which phase of the season i’m in, that it’s not permanent and that level of tiktok or what have you is not a permanent fixture in my life but a thing that’ll ebb and flow like everything else! but honestly? i’m gonna look at my phone! it’s just a matter of making the things that are there to look at just better for my brain in whatever way i can.
I don’t struggle with phone time anymore, as I have deleted all of the apps that made my phone addictive. What I have found though is that it has just transferred to my iPad and I find myself watching either YouTube or Netflix while doing anything and everything and I think it’s because we’ve become such a lonely society. The only way for me not to feel lonely is through watching YouTube or escaping into a series or movie. My latest series has been Gilmore girls and I have thought a lot about the 2000’s because of that and although I acknowledge the many benefits of technology it’s also got me wishing back to a time where things seemed much simpler.