Can I tell you something embarrassing?

Hi, it’s Aakanksha 👋

I need to tell you something that felt embarrassing to admit for a long time.

My screen time used to be 7 to 8 hours a day.

It started sometime ago. I wasn’t feeling great, so I wasn’t going out much, and I’d just…be on my phone. And that’s such a dangerous cycle because it sucks you right in. Two hours became three. Three became four. Every free second outside of work, instead of actually interacting with the world, I’d spend scrolling 😬

And look, I was still living my life, still meeting friends, still doing my normal things. But I could feel this craving. This urge to pick up my phone for NO reason, open Instagram or Youtube, and just scroll. No reason at all. I didn’t even know why I was there…but suddenly I was just there.

If you have any kind of phone addiction, I think you know EXACTLY what I mean 😭

And that’s when I knew something wasn’t right. Because you can feel it. It was messing with my sleep. It was quietly making my conversations and relationships a little less deep. And it was stealing the happiness I used to get from normal things, because nothing could compete with that dopamine-filled world in my hand.

The moment it really hit me? I watched a reel of someone lying under their blanket at night, scrolling, talking about the harms of doom scrolling. And I saw MYSELF in them. I was like…oh my god, I don’t want to be this person 😅

So I decided to do something about it. And then I made every mistake possible trying to fix it 😂

What doesn’t work (trust me, I tried it all)

Before I get into what worked, let me save you some time. Because you’ve probably already wasted time on some of these…or you’re wasting it right now 😅 Let me buy that time back for you.

Having two phones. My first idea was a “dumb phone” with no apps at all, plus my main phone. The problem? Every time I got my hands on my main phone, I was so deprived I’d just binge social media even harder. Nights were still a disaster. It solved nothing. And now I was lugging two phones around everywhere, which is honestly just not a productive way to live 😂

Basic app limits. You know the ones built into your phone, the app blocks after an hour, then you punch in a passcode to keep going. But guess what? Our brains are just TOO good at adapting. Very quickly, “oh I just need to enter this passcode” became part of the routine. Passcode to unlock the phone, passcode to open Instagram, scroll. Didn’t help at all 😬

Deleting apps periodically. I’d delete Instagram and YouTube, get them back for a few days, delete them again. But as a content creator? That’s genuinely hard. I do need these apps. Not to check them constantly, but I need them.

And here’s the thing…social media isn’t just posting and consuming brain rot. It’s how I connect with friends, stay up to date, build real relationships. I’m not saying everyone NEEDS it, but so many of our connections live there now and we can’t really deny that. Social media has genuine benefits, it’s literally why I’m a creator in the first place. I see what it does for people 🤍

So that’s when it hit me: the thing I couldn’t strike was BALANCE. I was either going too extreme (delete everything!) or too soft (a basic app limit). I needed something in the middle. Something that built a healthier relationship with my phone, and went from there 😌

What actually worked

Break the impulse: the ScreenZen app

Here’s the thing about social media: it preys on our IMPULSE behaviour. You’re not deciding to scroll, your hand just…does it. So if you want to win, you have to break that impulse. Give yourself a beat to actually catch up with yourself.

That’s exactly what the ScreenZen app does, and I’m obsessed with it 🤍 You set a timer for how long an app takes to open, up to 30 whole seconds. And it’s SO annoying (in the best way) because nothing can override it. You press Instagram, and you wait. But those 30 seconds are weirdly reflective. They give you the space to actually ask: do I even want to scroll right now?

And mostly? The answer is no. So you just close the app 😌

It also gives you a streak, how many times you can unlock the app before it blocks you for the day, which I LOVE. It’s insanely effective, it’s completely free, and it’s called ScreenZen. Highly recommend.

Move apps off your home screen

We’re so used to our apps just being THERE. You open your phone for WhatsApp, and right next to WhatsApp is Instagram…so you open Instagram. That’s the loop you need to kill. Get those apps off your home screen so you actually have to search for them. More friction = less mindless opening. Simple, but it works 😌

Turn off your notifications

Honestly, it shocks me how few people do this. When I hear someone has WhatsApp AND Instagram notifications constantly pinging in? No. Shut them off.

Notifications create SO much distraction. You can’t do proper deep work, you can’t be fully present in a conversation, because there’s always something buzzing at you. It’s like those slightly annoying little kids going “listen, listen, listen, LISTEN” and tugging at your sleeve 😂 That’s your notifications. Make them stop.

The grayscale trick at night

Okay this one sounds weird but PLEASE try it. Switch your phone to black and white mode after a certain time at night. Our brains LOVE the colour and stimulation on our phones…a big part of that dopamine hit is actually visual. Take the colour away and it gets boring SO fast 😭 I’ve had friends go from 5 to 6 hours of daily screen time to under an hour from this one change alone.

Charge your phone OUTSIDE your bedroom

This is the one that protects your sleep and your mornings. For most people, the longest scrolling happens right before bed and right after waking up…and both wreck your sleep quality and your morning energy. The fix is stupidly simple: if your phone isn’t in your room, you can’t reach for it.

I now go the first 5 hours of my day without touching my phone. I’ll open my laptop after the first hour to work, but the phone stays away. The amount of deep, focused work I get done in those morning hours since making this change is genuinely insane 🤯

Build a dopamine menu

The reason we scroll when we’re bored or right before bed? We’re chasing a dopamine hit, and our phones are the easiest way to get it. So the fix is having other options READY to go. Make a list of things that give you that same feeling. Mine would be: Sudoku (I’m OBSESSED), reading a book, going for a walk 😌

Then keep that list somewhere accessible. So instead of reaching for my phone at night or first thing in the morning, I reach for my dopamine menu instead 🤍

The mindset shift that ties it all together

Here’s what I’ve realised: it’s SO hard to break a negative habit just by telling yourself to stop. Willpower alone doesn’t work.

The thing that actually works is breaking the pattern. You add friction so the autopilot stops (that’s your ScreenZen pause, your phone in another room, your apps off the home screen). And then you swap the reward for a healthier one (hello, dopamine menu 😌).

Because here’s the real truth: all these apps and hacks ONLY work if you genuinely believe you’re in control of your device, not the other way around.

Right now, most of us have a relationship of guilt with our phones. We scroll, we feel bad, we put it down, we pick it right back up. That cycle doesn’t break from willpower. It breaks from redesigning your environment so willpower doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting.

Unpacking Your Question 💌

SO currently i’m in PERU & let me tell you, i’m blown away by the diversity and beauty of this country! I haven’t even seen Machu Picchu yet and i’m already in loooove! Plus the warmth, the chaos, the music - it all feels so familiar to India, I feel like I’m home hehe!!! ALSO WOW it’s SO AFFORDABLE! flying here is expensive, but everything else here has been almost India/Vietnam prices, crazyyy! Will share more soon

One Cool Thing I Did This Week 💕

Spent a week exploring and eating our way through New York City before leaving for PERU!! I loved the food, hated the crowds & tolerated the concrete jungle hehe but I’m so grateful I got to create amazing memories with my family! I miss them already

Tell me…what’s your screen time right now? And what’s the one app that steals the most of it?

Hit reply. No judgment 😂 I genuinely want to know.

That’s it for this week’s Unpacked…see you next Wednesday with something new to unpack 👋🏽

Lots of love & sunshine,

Aakanksha