Balancing Tech Use and Well-Being

Technology is a very useful tool, but it can also be very distracting. In my daily life, I am not on my phone that much, as I have, on average, three to five hours of screen time each day. However, some days, I find myself getting too caught up in various apps and news, making it difficult to put my phone down. In my daily life, the main apps I use are Facebook, TikTok, and Duolingo. While I mainly use them for leisure, I recognize that they could also be valuable for academic purposes. I also occasionally use Snapchat and Instagram, but not very often. Although these apps are helpful and enjoyable, they often lead me to procrastinate and decrease my homework productivity.

I am easily distracted and face tech-related distractions on a daily basis, especially when I am working on homework. Whether it is notifications popping up on my phone or computer or getting lost in an app for too long, these distractions can really throw me off. To minimize these distractions, I turn on do-not-disturb mode on both my phone and computer to avoid seeing or hearing any notifications. 

To help myself stay focused and organized, I rely on my phone and computer calendars, to-do lists, and do-not-disturb functions. All of these help me to stay organized and ensure that I stay on top of assignments and due dates while minimizing distractions. It has also been helpful for me to categorize all of my classes into different folders on my computer, where I store my notes and assignments. This makes it incredibly easy to locate what I need.

Balancing screen time between academic purposes and personal well-being is crucial for mental and physical health. I balance the two by setting specific times for school work and times for social media usage, which has been helpful, even though I do not use social media very often. I will often plan my days around my assignments so I know how long I need to work on things, which has been very beneficial, especially for helping me stay off my phone. One thing that I will not allow myself to do is to download any games onto my phone, as I know they would only serve as another distraction. By structuring my day around school and work, I have most definitely managed to reduce my screen time, which in turn has improved my mental and physical health.