Time to value your time (The simple shift that makes you more productive)

Before my day looked mostly like this:

Wake up, work, eat dinner, go to the gym.
It seems like a normal routine, and I thought I was having a busy day.
The one thing running through it all was one simple thing: my phone.

During the 16 hours I was awake on average, I spent about 8 of them on my phone, mostly after work, watching videos and scrolling on social media. It didn’t make me productive or happy at all. When I realized that, I changed it with one simple habit that led to a snowball effect of better habits, making me a happier and more productive person.

That one simple change was reducing my screen time and, more importantly, investing the time I “saved” in useful things instead of scrolling or even looking at my phone.
Reading a book, writing this story, being actually efficient at the gym instead of scrolling for five minutes between sets; just very simple and small changes that gave me so many more benefits.

When I started to value my free time, my productivity skyrocketed. Nowadays I feel like I have all the time in the world and rarely stress about anything, because I’m productive and immediately start doing the things I need to do, mostly things that have become important to me because the positives greatly outweigh the negatives.

From reading books, I’ve learned a lot of valuable things about my mind. Books like Atomic Habits, The School of Life, and The Let Them Theory have given me insights into how my brain works. In turn, this helps me think more clearly and truly live in the moment, while still dreaming big about helping others do the same through the app I built.

That app is, to me, my biggest accomplishment since I started spending less time on my phone. With zero coding experience, I built a fully functioning app, one that has benefited me so much, even though it focuses on one simple thing: reducing screen time.

Many people today struggle mentally, and it’s really no surprise. On the surface, it’s quite obvious. We can all agree that excessive social media and phone use is bad for you. It can massively contribute to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and sleep disruption, as well as social problems such as addiction, cyberbullying, isolation, and exposure to misinformation.

The technology in your pocket is causing countless problems for people all over the world. And the world could become a much better place if we all just did one simple thing: spend less time on it. It sounds simple, and it mostly is, but many people are simply addicted. The signals in your brain subconsciously tell you that you need your phone to feel happiness and get instant rewards for whatever you’re doing.

This has become normal over the past 15 years or so. We look at our screens and feel more connected than ever, yet more isolated and depressed at the same time. Something doesn’t add up in that sentence.

We humans are social creatures. We need to live and work together to accomplish great things. You’d think your phone would be the easiest way to do that, but the opposite seems to be true. The negatives are massive. The more unstable people become, the crazier the world gets.

Just look at the news; you’ll probably see something that makes you angry, sad, or frustrated. No matter what political side you’re on, any rational person can see that something is causing this massive divide and widespread mental instability. People are losing touch with themselves and with the world around them.

And how can you be happy if you don’t even love yourself or think positively?

So I’ll ask you to try it. Value your time, and you’ll see the benefits it brings. Feel the mental clarity.
Reduce your screen time to under two hours a day, and start being the person who actually does what they say. Then see what happens to your life.

Boaz, Founder of FocusBubble

Download FocusBubble on the App Store and start reducing your screen time today:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/focusbubble-app-blocker/id6742646493

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