We are starting this article with a little challenge for you. Can you name your biggest guilty pleasure?
I will bet my phone on it; your biggest guilty pleasure is stalking people on Instagram and Facebook. For 95% of you, this statement is true, and do not try to deny it. The remaining 5% out there, well, lucky you! But you surely would not be reading this article if you are not spending too much time on social media, right?!
To be fair, you are not alone! If it isn’t the new lover of my ex, then I would stalk celebrities and people I know. And we think we cannot help it, it’s addicting. Social media is so infiltrated into our lives that sincerely it is very hard to spend a day without it.
For that reason, we wrote this article that will serve as a guide to better time management and help you limit your social media use.
Image Source: Unsplash
Get the Most Out of Your Social Media Time
How much time do you spend on social media each day? For most of us, it’s too much, and although it’s not realistic to completely eliminate your usage of social media, there are plenty of things you can do to ensure that you’re effectively managing your time on these sites. Here are six strategies and apps that will help you do just that.
1.Disable Notifications
The amount of time you spend on social media is only as good as your self-control. If you want to limit social media usage, one simple way is by disabling notifications. Smartphones can be a significant source of distractions, so consider turning off all notifications, except those from crucial apps for your business, like email and banking apps.
This will prevent constant interruptions while also ensuring you’re focused on what’s most important (work). After disabling notifications, consider setting some time aside every day to check in with these programs and respond promptly when needed.
2.Timeboxing
Timeboxing means allotting a set amount of time for a task, then setting reminders so that when that timeframe is up, so are you. Because it’s so easy to get sucked into social media while working, timeboxing can help keep your focus sharp and limit distractions from friends and family who want your attention.
The process of sharpening any skill takes time. A big reason why time management is so crucial to limiting social media use is that it forces you to be more conscious of your day. That’s why a time management course from Acuity Training can help you effectively manage your time. This forces you to be more mindful of the time you spend on social media.
Another approach would be simply using a time-tracking app or service that can help keep you from checking social media during less important times (like, say, 9 p.m.). It also helps you feel like you have more control over your time and encourages you to stick with tasks for shorter periods of time—keeping your workflow high.
3. Activate Time Limits on Social Media Apps
Limiting social media use is an excellent way to regain control of your time, but it doesn’t work well when you are constantly checking for updates. For that reason, most psychologists recommend using time limits—that is, setting a time interval during which you can check social media and then putting it away until later.
For example, some experts recommend checking your feeds every 30 minutes—with a self-imposed limit of 10–15 minutes per session. This will help ensure that you are not spending too much time on social media without robbing yourself of valuable personal time.
4. Avoid Sleeping With Your Cell Phone
This is a step most people never consider, but it could have a massive impact on your productivity. For starters, your phone emits blue light, making it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep. The blue light also prevents our bodies from efficiently releasing melatonin (the sleep hormone).
Melatonin has been linked with many benefits, including better memory, mood stability, and even a reduced risk of cancer! Avoiding exposure to blue light before bed should also help you avoid waking up during your REM cycle in the middle of the night—for those that do wake up in the middle of their REM cycles often don’t remember their dreams, making them feel groggy upon waking up.
5. Get A New Hobby
If you want to improve your time management skills, nothing is more effective than a new hobby. Hobbies can teach you all sorts of valuable skills like being creative or developing better organization habits.
Plus, they’re fun and interesting—two great ways to get yourself motivated! It doesn’t matter what type of hobby you have, as long as it’s something that you enjoy and will take up at least an hour a day (or multiple hours over the course of a week). To get started with time management on social media, follow these guidelines.
The Best Social Media Time Limitation Apps and Programs
Here is our list of apps that will help you spend less time on social media:
1.Social Fever
This app will track your social media usage, help you limit it, and send you alerts every time your set app usage duration exceeds. It has an intuitive UI and can help you set a balance between digital and real-life.
It works in the background and keeps track of how many times you unlock your phone. Apart from setting healthy goals, the app reminds you to have a break or drink water from time to time.
2. Offtime
Offtime is an easy and effortless app that schedules timeouts to help you limit your social media time. It tracks and compares device usage while enabling you to set personal goals. You can have people joining you to Offtime and it can be synced across all devices. It offers different modes: work, family, or me-time and has wake-up calls to restrain your habits.
3. StayFree
StayFree is a screen time and app usage tracker that helps you enhance your productivity. The social media blocker helps you focus on the more important things in life. StayFree offers reports and statistics of usage history and sends notifications for overuse. It is extremely fast and modern and one of the highest-rate apps.
4. Moment
The app Moment is one of the best apps for limiting social media use. It monitors your and your family’s phone screen and schedules screen-free dinner time. Keep track of how many times you pick up your phone and set goals to have more family time, better sleep, and reduced anxiety.
One, the pro side, the app runs in the background so you won’t need to open it to access its features.
5. Flipd
Flipd is an accurate app made for both iPhone and Android phones. It hides your social media apps to help you focus. You can schedule reminders and set healthy goals. It can track both usage time and the time you don’t use the apps.
6. QualityTime
QualityTime is a very fun and visually engaging app. It offers real-time reports on usage as well as a set of tools to prevent addiction, such as alerts and scheduled breaks. It is an accurate and reliable app that offers an app blocker that will hide notifications, apps and reject phone calls.
Why is Time Management Important?
All of these apps will help you develop better time management strategies and training for employees. Time management is essential for better control of your day and improving performance.
Source: Pexels
There are plenty of time management tools that can help you prioritize tasks and increase the quality of your work. Once you get used to it, you will know how to set the focal point for your career. Focusing your time on acuity training will help you become a more reliable employee and improve your future career opportunities.
Conclusion
Many addicted users try to cut out social media in a day. However, they don’t realize that it is a self-punishment method that doesn’t have the right effect.
Instead of punishing yourself and deactivating all of your accounts, learn how to effectively manage your time and limit social media usage little by little.
Limiting phone usage will immediately boost your confidence, level, reduce your stress and anxiety, and help you focus on what really matters – real life.
However, remember to keep it slow. No one goes from 0 to 100 straight away. Take baby steps and start by lowering the time you spend on social media by 20 minutes a day.