You Don’t Need Willpower to Use Your Phone Less
TL/DR:
Greyscale turns your phone screen black and white
It reduces screen time by ~20% without willpower
Force-multiply by scheduling it (e.g., late night or work hours)
Try it as a test: short, low-commitment, high potential payoff
The Whole Shebang:
Imagine this:
You’re laying in bed, scrolling on your phone. As one does.
All of a sudden, in the middle of that Instagram reel, your phone screen switches from full color to black and white.
Ugh.
You do finish watching the reel because, well, you’re invested.
But as you scroll to the next video, you realize it’s not quite as compelling.
You take the hint.
You stop scrolling.
You go to bed.
Or maybe:
It’s the middle of the workday and you’re feeling a bit antsy.
You pick up your phone; your Pavlovian response to the slightest boredom, friction. As one does.
But, you notice everything’s in black and white.
You can’t remember what you were going to do when you picked up the phone, so you put it back down.
The urge to “check” is less intense.
What happened?
Well, you had the foresight not only to “greyscale” your phone, but to do it on a schedule that works for you.
What’s greyscale?
It’s when your phone’s in black and white instead of color.
Every phone can do it. It’s a simple setting swap.
Just google your phone + greyscale for instructions.
(Or better yet, ask AI; it’s much better at step by step instructions than Google.)
Why should you try it out?
Studies show that when you greyscale your phone, you use it about 20% less, because it’s simply less interesting.
And, anecdotally, a client of mine recently described her phone as “gross” after implementing greyscale. She said it was VERY effective.
And while there aren’t many things in life that increase in value when you think of them as “gross”, your phone is likely one of them.
If you’re like most humans, you probably have a love/hate relationship with your phone.
You can’t live without it.
BUT, you likely spend way more time on it than you want.
Greyscale is a way to use your phone less.
Without relying on willpower.
If there’s one thing I know, it’s this:
It’s much easier to remove temptation than to resist it.
Set up your environment to support your goals; it’s so much easier than muscling your way through it.
How can you get the most out of greyscale?
I’m a big fan of scheduling it.
Personally, my phone turns to greyscale at 11pm; my personal signal to put it down and get to bed. (Do I sometimes snooze greyscale for “just 5 more minutes”? Yes, I’m human. But it still works more often than not.)
But many of my clients love to schedule greyscale for working hours, to combat workday distractions.
Not sure you’re ready to make your phone “gross”?
How about testing it out for a day, an evening, perhaps a whole weekend?
No long term commitment required.
Think of this like an experiment.
Test it out, evaluate if it worked.
If so, keep doing it.
If not, tweak it, or toss it.
What do you have to lose? (Except hours you’d rather have back.)
When you’re ready, here are 3 ways we can work together:
Enroll in the Time Well Spent course
Bite-sized, shame-free steps to take control of your time, and your life. Built for real people with big lives, big jobs, or both. Learn more, or enroll here.
Get 1:1 Coaching
High-touch coaching experience for people managers, leaders, executives and founders who need a trusted partner to streamline priorities, manage the overwhelm, and focus on what moves the needle most.
Schedule a call to explore if this is the right fit for you.
Explore Team Workshops/Training
Customized workshops and trainings to help your team improve productivity without burnout and create a culture where people (actually) thrive.
Schedule a call to explore if this is the right fit for you.
