The best/worst things that ever happened to the world are the cell phone, televisions, the internet and social media.

Because of these influences, we are always available, reachable, trackable, distractable, pingable, and advertisable ( I don’t believe that’s word, but I’m sure you understand what I mean).

Understanding that requires vigilance against those inevitable’s.

One of the first things I changed on this minimalist journey was my cell phone/technology habits:

1. I’ve cancelled my cable and removed television from my bedroom.
2. I’ve cut down on the apps. I went from over 110 apps to 89 apps on my phone. In the last 4 weeks I’ve only used 35-40 of those apps. Obviously there are a few more that could go.
3. I spend less time on social media. Outside of using social media to promote my blog, I try not to spend more than 20 hours a week on my phone. This requires me to bring reading material for down time or get really comfortable with silence and my own thoughts.
4. I have disabled push notifications for things that don’t help me achieve my goals. There are some apps, like my fitness apps, WordPress (blog site), and others that are directly correlated to my goals. Those apps are still allowed to send me push notifications. All others are silenced.
5. I’ve unsubscribed from most email lists.- Of all the applications on my phone, email is the peskiest and sent the most notifications. In the beginning I had 43,574 emails (40,333 unread) in my inbox. Now I have 300.

These changes have already given me more reason to go outside, read a book, or just decompress. I did, however, keep my Wi-Fi….because how does anyone live without wifi? #firstworldproblems #imclearlyamillennial

Want to track your own usage? Check out the QualityTime (Android) or Moments (Apple) apps. Brace yourself before you review your usage.

Are you working on cutting back on screen time? How are you doing it?