How I reclaimed back my time from social media in 6 months
This guide shows how you can do the same, too.
This isn’t about deleting social media from your life, but about how to use social media mindfully with tools that limit screen time.
I’m sharing what I’ve learned from a 6-month experiment using digital tools to apply the 3rd law of Behavior Change from Atomic Habits: Make it easy and its inverse: Make it difficult.
I’m a content marketer, so completely blocking myself from social media isn’t a good option because I handle multiple accounts for both work and personal projects.
My goal then is to change the way I use social media, from
- Passive mindless scrolling → Active mindful scrolling; and
- Consuming meaningless content → Consuming AND creating meaningful content.
A typical day before lockouts
Someone sends you a funny meme, you open it and the next thing you know you’ve been scrolling on Facebook or Twitter for an hour. Sound familiar?
It’s not entirely your fault. Social media is literally designed for endless scrolling. As Cal Newport describes it in his TED Talk about deep work, social media is like a dopamine slot machine. It’s meant to grab your attention and give dopamine boosts with every notification or interesting content that pops up on your feed.
This was how it typically went for me until I saw how little progress I’ve made towards my goals. I kept pushing back tasks for days, weeks, and even months!
Where did my time go?
Well, the data doesn’t lie so I looked at my phone’s digital usage stats. One day, I saw that 6 hours of my time went to Facebook and that’s when I decided that 🚨 drastic times call for drastic measures 🚨
Becoming more mindful of what I actually consume, I observed the following behaviors:
- Scrolling away on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Refreshing repeatedly until I find something I like.
- Letting one video autoplay to the next one, usually travel videos, art videos, and trending memes.
- Catching up on drama of the day through a web of Twitter threads, Facebook posts, and Reddit recaps. (You’re also guilty of this aren’t you?)
Yes, I also use social media for productive things like managing my personal profile and business accounts, but surely those won’t take me 6 hours to finish!
It clearly shows I’ve been spending an unhealthy amount of time on distractions and shallow work, so I set out to change that for the better.
Applying the 3rd law of Behavior Change
Essentially, this experiment is about applying one of the Four Laws of Behavior Change from Atomic Habits, specifically the 3rd law and its inversion.
How to create a good habit: Make it easy.
How to break a bad habit: Make it difficult.
Note that I’ve already turned off most of my notifications following the first law, so the next step is to increase the friction between me and my time wasters like social media apps.
On my phone: Banning myself from social media apps
First things first — I searched the web for the most effective app blocker for Android. I first tried AppBlock but uninstalled it after a few days for two reasons: (1) blocking doesn’t work all the time on my phone and (2) the free version features were not sufficient for my needs since it does not allow scheduled lockouts.
Lock Me Out on the other hand, works 100% of the time. The free version allows scheduled lockouts and its strict rules leave me with only two options: (1) pay to end early or (2) wait for the restrictions to end.
After using the free version for a week I decided that it was the perfect app for me, so I bought the premium version (one-time payment!) which lets me set unlimited scheduled lockouts as well as usage-based lockouts.
As of writing, this is my list of blocked apps and websites:
I often find myself mindlessly scrolling on these platforms the most. I’m considering lifting restrictions on LinkedIn sometime this year for professional purposes, but until then I’m staying off it.
Here’s my blocking schedule:
This is designed to help me achieve the following goals:
1. Eliminate soc med scrolling first thing in the morning
2. Limit access during work hours
3. Restrict scrolling before bedtime
I really appreciate how Lock Me Out is not something I can dismiss easily, unlike built-in features like Facebook’s Quiet Mode where you can easily press a button to extend your screen time. Again, 3rd law: Make it difficult.
In addition to closing the blocked apps, I went one step further and toggled the option to turn off the screen and lock my phone. So every time I try to open any of these apps, Lock Me Out turns my phone into a black mirror that reflects my tech-addicted face, taking me back to reality.
Now what if I really need to use these apps? Then I can access them on my laptop! Fortunately, I also added restrictions there to control my desktop screen time.
On my laptop
I’ve set up 4 layers of restrictions that don’t lock me out completely but nudge me back to what I need to do.
I set these up on my personal profile only so that when I’m using my work profiles on Google Chrome, I can browse and work freely without being interrupted by gray screens.
No more newsfeed scrolling
Sometimes I feel like I curated my feed too well since most of the stuff that end up on my feed are interesting. However, this also means it keeps me scrolling for hours on end.
(1) News Feed Eradicator for Google Chrome
This is where my favorite extension comes in! News Feed Eradicator removes the most addicting part of social media (call it the newsfeed, timeline, aka the page you constantly refresh) and replaces it with an inspiring quote. You can also add your own favorite quotes to be displayed randomly.
It’s such a simple solution to mindless scrolling and I’m surprised at how effective it is. I like how I can keep the functionality of Facebook without the temptation to click on articles that will take me down another time-wasting rabbit hole.
Edit: I switched to Safari and found a similar extension called Burnfeed.
(2) Delayed Gratification
The second layer is a Chrome extension that puts you in a waiting room before you can access the sites on your list.
I set it to the maximum waiting time of 30 seconds and it’s been effective in making me think twice whether I really need to open Facebook or Reddit at that moment.
Edit: Found a Safari alternative called OneSec.
Scheduled website and app blocking
Moving on to the third and fourth layers, I’ve set up scheduled restrictions similar to Lock Me Out on my phone (though much easier to bypass).
(3) StayFree Chrome extension
I usually have dinner at 7 PM and end work at 9:30 PM. At this time I block myself on social media and email for 30 minutes as a reminder to leave my work desk.
I also like that it has usage-based limits like Lock Me Out with a choice to show a notification or block the site.
(4) Screen Time for Mac
Sadly, I still go overtime often. I say I’ll start wrapping up my work at 9:30 but that doesn’t always happen. Now this is where final gray screen comes in at 10 PM with Downtime under System Settings → Screen Time.
No matter what device you’re using, I encourage you to check your digital usage settings because you might already have similar tools built-in.
Note: The last two tools are easy to dismiss so I don’t recommend depending on them entirely. Their main function is to remind me that it’s time to have dinner and to wrap up my workday.
How it changed me for the better
I can confidently say that the experiment was successful and here are the main reasons why:
1. Freed up time for the things that matter
I built a consistent journal writing routine which replaced the habit of scrolling after waking up. This blog post too is a result of deliberately choosing to write instead of checking my feed.
Locked out of social media, I write on my phone while on my commute, in waiting rooms, and other idle times. I no longer say “I don’t have time to write” because now I do!
2. Higher level of creativity
I get ideas more often than before! They arrive throughout the day and I jot them down for later. Letting my mind wander allows me to come up with new strategies and solutions to problems that I face in work and life.
3. Mindfulness
It’s a liberating feeling knowing I’m not glued to my devices for most of the day. Limiting what I can do makes it easier to put the phone down and just live in the moment. On a nice day out, I snap a photo or two then go back to interacting with people or observing my environment.
Will this work for you?
Disclaimer: This method and schedule is not guaranteed to work for everyone. It takes time to find the most effective blocking schedule without compromising quality of work and responsiveness.
Since I started my soc med ban in January 2023, I’ve adjusted my restrictions several times, learning from trial and error along the way.
Thinking of doing the same thing? When starting out, I encourage you to test different tools and try varied schedules at your own pace.
I also recommend gradually increasing the restrictions so that you don’t get overwhelmed with the changes. Ask yourself these guide questions on a regular basis:
1. Does this specific restriction significantly affect my ability to deliver outputs?
(ex. no FB during work hours)
2. Am I still able to communicate and maintain a healthy relationship with family, coworkers, and friends?
(Note that messaging apps are not part of the ban and you can stay connected this way.)
3. Is this schedule aligned with my ideal day? Does it nudge me toward good habits?
(ex. strict ban after waking up and during mealtimes)
Final thoughts
As for me, I’ll keep this self-imposed social media ban until the end of 2023. I also plan to adjust restrictions on platforms I want to be active on like Linkedin and IG.
Changing the way I use social media was not easy but it sure was worth it. Here’s what my phone usage looks like now:
I went from 6 hours a day on Facebook to only 3 hours a week! Not bad right?
—
Thanks for reading until the end!
I write about conscious living in a fast-paced world and I believe that developing a healthy relationship with technology is an important part of this lifestyle. 🍃
➡️ Follow me here on Medium to read more of my thoughts on social media, tech, and productivity.
➡️ Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-morfe/
➡️ Help me reach more people! ️Boost this story with a clap 👏 or share it with someone you think would find this helpful.
