014: How I Lowered My Screen Time by 31%

If you find yourself constantly opening Instagram moments after closing it, especially when trying to focus, this episode is for you. I’m sharing how I finally gained control over my worst digital distractions with compassion and understanding, not more self-discipline. The solution isn't willpower; it’s building a better system.

This is for the creative business owner who is ready to stop fighting the endless scroll and reclaim their focus.

In this episode, we get real about:

• The automated system I used to decrease my screen time by 31%.
• My exact settings in the Freedom app for “Focused Work” and a digital Sabbath.
• Why willpower is a limited resource 

If you’re ready to trade distraction for deep focus by relying on automation, this episode is for you.

🤍 

Explore the Resources Mentioned: 

Freedom App Free Trail Here (Not Sponsored):

https://freedom.to/guest-pass?code=4A951HN

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Music: "Great podcast intro (both short and long version included)" by Lundstroem. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

If you find yourself opening the Instagram app right after closing it when you're trying to focus and get some deep work done, this is the episode for you. Welcome to the Flourish Foundry Podcast, a show all about meaningful conversations that encourage and inspire business owners, specifically women. I want to approach this conversation of distraction with a lot of compassion and grace for slipping up. We live in an age where the average attention span for an Instagram post can be as short as two to three seconds. Our attention span has been on the decline for years now. This isn't new information, but what does this mean practically for you? If you and I both know that it takes about 20 minutes to regain focus, true focus, after a distraction, even if it is just a quick two, three seconds looking at one Instagram post or notification, why are we so easily distracted? Why are we so willing to give up our precious resource of time? So whether you're driving or getting ready for your day, I just want you to take a moment to acknowledge what steals your attention the most. When I asked myself this question, the first things that came to mind as common distractions, especially when working from home, were Instagram, a mess around my house, my dog, text, phone calls, notifications in general, and just feeling tired, like it tempted to like take a nap. This is not a new revelation for me. I've known this for years now, but I finally feel like I've gotten a grip on limiting some of my worst distractions. And spoiler, the things that have helped me are not self-discipline or reliant on my own willpower. So I hope that is good news for you. I know it's good news for me because my self-discipline runs out super, super fast. I would be sucked into Instagram right this very minute instead of recording this show because the temptation to scroll is just so appealing. Let's start with talking about what most likely distracts you the most too are cell phones. I started using an app called Freedom to essentially shut down my social media from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. The way this app works is it blocks me from accessing whatever apps I tell it to at specific times. The time restrictions from Apple are just too easy to bypass, and the Freedom app doesn't give me a 15 more minutes option. Also, this isn't sponsored. I just truly love this app and feel like it's changed the way I operate as a business owner. Now, the Freedom app will allow me to end a session early, and I found myself doing this multiple days in a row. Fortunately, the app noticed two, and it prompted me to change my settings within the app to only allow one in session early button per week. So I changed the setting and have only ended a session early once since doing so, and that was maybe two months ago. Now, I don't think that anything that I just said is that earth-shattering or groundbreaking, but once I was accustomed to that better sleep little session and saw the benefits of this automated shutdown, that was based on the time of the day rather than the amount of time I'd already spent on Instagram. I kicked it up a notch, okay? I took a peek at my screen time on my phone and took note of what apps were taking up the most of my screen time. And then past that, what time of day I was the most tempted to be on those apps or to be scrolling. My screen time has decreased 31% after setting up these exact sessions. Before I tell you those sessions, I have to tell you what is on each block list. So the way the app works is you create block lists and then create sessions. So the session is the time and the block list is what apps are being blocked. So on my full rest block list, I have Instagram, Messenger, Threads, Facebook, TikTok, Gmail, Honeybook, Mail, Target, Curtsey, Pinterest. So that's all blocked on the app itself and on the browser. So I can't open up a TikTok if someone sends me a link because I don't have the TikTok app, or can't look up Facebook Marketplace on Safari because you know I would. Now that you know what my block lists are, I can tell you my exact sessions. So every day my session is named Better Sleep, and that puts my phone into the full rest mode, and that starts at 9 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m. So that's 30 minutes after I wake up. I really don't go on my phone before that, but just you know, that's just what I have it set up. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday, my session named Focused Work blocks just social media and that starts at 7 a.m. and ends at noon. So even though I don't typically go on my phone right at 7 a.m., I have it blocked all the way until noon, three work days a week, just so I can make sure I get work done before I ever even get on Instagram. And I think that truly has helped me so, so much. The next session that I have is named Decompress and Unwind, and that puts my phone into full rest mode again from 4 p.m. to 6 30 p.m. every day. Lastly, on Sundays, my phone is basically useless all day, and that's how I like it. This protects what I have of a Sabbath, keeps me focused at church, and limits any distraction or temptation to go on my phone. The focused work and decompress and unwind sessions are strategic and have helped me limit distraction the most. I picked apps and websites that have me scrolling instead of working. At 4 p.m., I like to unwind from work and get into a headspace of fun, rest, relationship, and scrolling Instagram or even online shopping is just not going to do that for me. That time block still feels the most itchy, I will admit. I want to show my husband something on Instagram when he gets home from work or want to scroll on Pinterest just to relax. But I know those things can wait and they don't actually add value to my life. The focused work session gives me, again, that dedicated time for creativity or admin work, yet requires zero self-control or discipline and still allows margin on Mondays and Wednesdays for content creation. So it's not so rigid where it's every day I'm not going on social media until noon. It's just I know two days a week, okay, I will have social media those two days, and I will be able to use it strategically to grow my business and to move forward instead of just consuming a bunch of content that I know honestly won't make me feel too great at the end of the day. This is definitely the biggest game changer for my focus, but I also want to share a few more tips and tricks that have made my life easier. Another automation that just keeps me in line is actually my vacuum cleaner. I know, kind of random, but Polly, our vacuum cleaner, spelled P-A-U-L-I-E, is scheduled to start vacuuming at 8 30 a.m. and she does a quick sweep of just like the kitchen at 4 p.m. Again, this just reinforces my work hours. When I hear her whirling around, I know it's time to either get in my office or get out of my office. As for the distraction of dishes specifically, I unfortunately do not have an automation for that besides my dishwasher, I guess you could say. But I just try my best to tidy for 15 minutes after my morning routine and before sitting down in my office. You'd be surprised how much gets done in just 15 minutes. I cleaned my entire bathroom in under 10 minutes yesterday before work, and it felt lovely having a clean bathroom to shower in that night. I hope this episode helps you get serious about your time, your hobbies, and your fun, and rely less on your self-discipline and more on automations. Take your willpower out of the equation as much as possible. That is the biggest takeaway I could give you. Check out the show notes for links to the resources mentioned in this episode, and I'll chat soon. Not ready to say goodbye? Me neither. Follow along on Instagram at flourish.boundry or join the email list for freebies, fun links, new episodes, and more.