As we continue our New Year’s series on how to curb your screen addiction, I’m excited to share our next tip since it’s been one that’s been so helpful in managing my own tech habits. Plus, it’s a change you can make in literally 5 minutes or fewer, without getting up from your chair. Yay!
Related: Curb Your Screen Time series: Make a tech-free sacred space in your home
Tip 2: Use the grayscale setting on your phone.
I’ll admit that when our editor Kate first wrote a tutorial on how to turn on your phone’s color filter, I was skeptical. Surely the pretty colors weren’t the only thing keeping me engrossed in my phone. How much of a difference could it actually make?
Turns out, a really big one.
As you probably know by now, our phones are engineered to be hard to put down, and the bright colors are part of the appeal. So turning on grayscale is a simple hack to help you regain control over your screen time and refocus on the world around you.
And look, if you rely on your Instagram feed for recipe inspiration or need color on your phone for work, we get it. Try turning on grayscale during times you’re most likely to start mindless scrolling, like right after work or before you go to bed. Or just go grayscale for a day as a way to detox from a screen time overdose and reset (like after all those holiday Instagram stories, perhaps?). I think you’ll be surprised at the difference it makes. Thankfully, Kate’s tutorial makes it something that you can do whenever you need a tech break.
Top image: Marjan Grabowski via Unsplash
Other posts in our Curb Your Screen Addiction Series:
