“Alexa, reduce my screen time”
Every time I look at my phone, I want to toss it into a river. All those notifications from irrelevant group conversations are overwhelming. The solution? Voice Activated Digital Assistants ( like Amazon’s Echo, Google Home, or Apple’s HomePod). Yes, more tech to elimate tech :)
The problem is that, too often, we pick up our phones to accomplish a simple task. Setting an alarm, checking the weather, looking up a word. And, many times, even before we finish what we began to do, our minds wander off, distracted my notifications and involuntary habits. This is wasted time that we can use to get that extra 15 minutes of sleep we always complain about not getting. So, let’s jump right into it.
Waking up
Your digital assistant will wake you up. You can ask it to stop and even snooze like an infinite amount of times. I have an echo dot and I use it to “Start my day”. It then tells me the important things that I would generally use my phone for. The breaking news, stuff on my calendar, the weather. It can even play me a motivational speech for that extra push I need to get out of bed.
(Extra) My day begins so much better when I accomplish at least 2 goals before picking up my phone in the morning. First, getting out of bed and the second goal can be anything. Brushing my teeth, making my bed, drinking water, making coffee. None of those things require a phone. Once you are up and moving around, the chances of you wasting time on your phone while lying in bed are low. Don’t let social media and other’s opinions take precedence over your morning.
During the day
I use my digital assistant to play music when I am getting ready or cleaning my room. It’s good for setting timers or reminders, adding items to your shopping or to-do lists and creating new calendar events. Little things like that present many opportunities for distraction if you’re using your phone. It’s simple! Out of sight, out of mind.
The Night
We all know that looking at a screen right before bed is not a good idea. Stop saying you just can’t help it. YOU CAN! Honestly, you don’t even need a Digital Assistant to develop that habit. However, Digital Assistants can be very helpful, not gonna lie!
When you go to bed, you can ask Alexa or Siri or Google to set an alarm for you. Just remembered something important? Set a reminder for tomorrow morning. Need some music to fall asleep? Want to listen to a book? Do sleep meditation? You can use your Digital Assistant to do the most basic things that you would otherwise use your phone for.
Conclusion
Do this and it’s a good start. The goal is not to stop using phones completely, that’s not possible, but to replace them with Digital Assistants for just simple tasks. You look at your phone fewer times in a day -> Fewer opportunities for distraction -> More time gained.
If you have other creative ways to use your digital assistant in replacement for your phone, I would love to know! Thank you for reading!
