LOGOFFMOVEMENT.
ORG @LOGOFF_MOVEMENT
A Guide
To Improve
Screen Time
Education Edition
AN IN-DEPTH GUIDE
Struggling to balance screen time with work
time? In this guide we take an in-depth look at
some of the tools to help you improve your
screen time and be more productive!
Table of
Contents
On Your Phone
Grayscale MEET HOOTIE
Notifications
Focus/Modes
Apps For You
Clearspace
Freedom
OneSec
AppBlock
ScreenZen
THE SCREEN
Habits To Make TIME OWL
Individual
Group
On-Phone
On-Phone
Big Concepts
NOTIFICATIONS
The ability to adjust where & how
you receive notifications. Disable
sounds, badges, etc. Some
devices may allow to receive
notification summary at
designated times.
FOCUS/MODES
The ability to modify notifications
you receive when toggled (or to
schedule). Customizable. Can be
used to hide distraction apps.
A 2019 UNL study found that college
students spend, on average, roughly
20% of their class time "using a
digital device for non-class
purposes".
On-Phone
Grayscale
IPHONE
Settings > Accessibility > Display
& Text Size > Color Filters
GOOGLE & ANDROID
Settings > Accessibility > Color &
Motion > Color Correction
SAMSUNG
Settings > Accessibility > Visibility
Enhancements > Color
Enhancement
By switching to grayscale, you decrease
the visual stimuli on your phone that
keeps you attached to your screen.
On most devices, you can even create an
automation to toggle grayscale for when
you need it most.
On-Phone
Notifications
DISABLE BADGES
1
Badges seek to draw you in to check
notifications in an app. The color red is
used to promote a sense of alert/urgency.
On most devices, you can disable badges.
SILENCE NOTIFICATIONS
The sound or vibration of a notification
habitually releases dopamine, which our
brain craves. It often leads to reacting fast
to interact with the notification. Silencing
notifications helps regulate use by
stopping this cycle.
DISABLE NOTIFICATIONS
Notifications are attention-grabbers. You
are more likely to use your phone if you
see a notification. So especially when you
want to focus, why not just make it so you
don't have to worry about them?
On-Phone
Focus Modes
SILENCE NOTIFICATIONS
1
When enabled, the focus mode will filter
notifications to your whitelist/blacklist. It
can be enabled for both contacts and
apps.
HIDE DISTRACTION APPS
Depending on your device, you can
either change your home screens to
change what apps you see or blocks apps
when activated.
SCHEDULE
You can schedule your focus modes, or
setup various presets for different
occasions such as school, work, etc.
Apps For You
ScreenZen OneSec
ClearSpac Freedom
e
AppBlock
Apps For ScreenZen OneSec
You
ClearSpac Freedom
e
AppBlock
Big Concepts
CYCLE-BREAKERS
There are several apps out there
that were developed with a
unique idea. Excessive social
media can become a habit, and
there's a cycle that can be broken
to prevent that.
FOCUS SESSIONS
Sometimes you just need to
completely block social media in
order to get work done. Utilizing
features in your phones, there are
apps that create a digital
environment that is easier to
focus in.
Apps For You
ClearSpace
Clearspace helps redirect impulse clicks
by implementing a time buffer to
designated apps. This buffer breaks the
impulse habit of opening apps and getting
instant access to the content, which can
reduce excessive checking.
To help prevent doom scrolling,
Clearspace utilizes session lengths that
are customizable to your needs that will
kick you from the app when the session
ends.
The user-friendly interface helps directly
tackle social media and phone addiction
by enabling you to align intentional use
with actual use. It assists in making
independent and conscious decisions
about your phone usage.
Apps For You
Freedom
Freedom is an app that allows you to
create focus sessions that block out
distraction apps and sites. During a focus
session, you will be unable to open the
blocked apps. You can set them for either
a set amount of time or until a designated
time.
Additionally, Freedom offers ambient
sounds for background noise. There are
audios from coffee shops, offices, nature,
and tunes.
It is argued that background noise brings
your brain activity to a capacity that helps
block out distractions around you;
helping you focus when you need it most.
Apps For You
OneSec
OneSec recognizes the triggers in apps
that create our social media habits via
instant gratification. By using a time
buffer, OneSec delays gratification,
making your brain lose interest in these
"short-term dopamine hits".
On the free plan, OneSec also offers
"Don't get lost" notifications which alert
you if you've been on a selected app for a
period of time to help prevent doom
scrolling.
OneSec supports both short-term and
long-term changes in social media use. In
the short-term, it can reduce unintentional
use. In the long-term, it changes your
behavior interacting with the app due to
the friction added when opened.
Apps For You
AppBlock
AppBlock is an app that allows you to
block out distraction apps and sites. You
can enable based on previous usage,
location, and time.
Depending on your subscription, their are
additionally factors and barriers you can
implement.
This is what you see while an app is blocked
Apps For You
ScreenZen
ScreenZen is another app that uses the
buffer system to delay gratification. It
encourages you to consciously think
about whether you want to continue to
the app. You also have control over
various settings such as session length,
strictness, scheduling, etc.
It additionally uses the gamification of a
streak (much like social media) to help
ecourage you to stay on track with your
screen time goals.
"According to statistics, gamification
increases content discovery and activity
feed engagement by 68%." -StatusBrew
Habits To Make
Habits To Make
Big Concepts
INDIVIDUAL
There are several apps out there
that were developed with a
unique idea. Excessive social
media can become a habit, and
there's a cycle that can be broken
to prevent that.
GROUP
Sometimes you just need to
completely block social media in
order to get work done. Utilizing
features in your phones, there are
apps that create a digital
environment that is easier to
focus in.
Habits To Make
Individual
LEAVE IT OUTSIDE
Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Research shows that our
dependence on our phones is at
No Phones
Allowed a level that they actually take
some of our attention even when
we're not explicitly using them.
DIGITAL SABBATH
Though often used to reflect or
relax, it may also help you focus.
If you have a designated "work
day", consider designating that
day as one where you avoid your
phone.
CUP OF PEACE
Not using your phone during your
morning routine may actually help
you be more productive that day.
Using your phone breaks the
natural waking cycle and primes
you for distraction.
Habits To Make
Group
PHONE STACK
Studying and doing work with
friends? Consider placing your
phones in a pile at the beginning
of the study session. You can
even make it a game.
ALTERNATIVE
COMMUNICATION
Try to do in-person study
sessions with friends. Doing so
puts the phones aside and
reduces the likelihood of getting
distracted by it.
ACCOUNTABILITY
BUDDY
Getting distracted during a virtual
study session? Make a pact to
admit digital distractions to each
other. Your friend will likely lend a
hand in your screen time journey.
In Closing
Thank you for checking out "A Log Off Movement
Guide To Improve Screen Time: Education Edition".
We sincerely hope that this guide was able to equip
you with the information and tools you need to help
focus and be more productive. Every person who
struggles with excessive screen time may struggle for
a different reason. That is why there is not a one-size-
fits-all solution. Maybe it's one tool, maybe it's a
combination that is your strategy to improving screen
time.
Our phones are powerful tools, and as we all know
"with great power comes great responsibility". But it is
up to us to be the change we want to see in our lives.
It all starts with a spark, and from there, we just have
to take things one step at a time.
Until next time:
Stay aware, be prepared, and take care!