My Mobile App Usage Limits
Setting up a app usage tracking app is one of those things that has been extremely helpful when addictive phone usage behavior kicks in. I’m going through it at this very moment (thanks Tumblr staff for setting your site on fire and sending folks to Pillowfort/sarcasm) so here I am, writing about how effective is my medicine when I’m feeling unwell.
I’m using StayFree to time track apps usage on mobile, Desktop, and web browser as well as the stock app usage tracking and blocker on my phone.
This post is a reference sheet for the current usage limits I have on both apps. Stay Free has more thorough usage limit options so I’ll go through those first.
StayFree
- Blocked (Permanent)
This option permanently blocks access to the selected sites. It includes websites and apps. Adding a site to this list means I consider them extremely addictive and treat them as if they are radioactive. To use them, I manually have to unblock them and block them again when I finish accessing them.
- pillowfort.social
- dreamwidth.org
- fermi.chat
- Fediverse apps
- Tumblr
Blocked at Certain Times
this option allows me to block apps and sites on certain schedules. It prevents me from checking social media in the morning.
- Tumblr
- Fediverse apps
Limited Daily Usage
some basic daily usage limits. I consider these as baseline. The idea is to not fiddle with them.
- Ecosia: 3hrs
- Notion: 2hrs
- sakurajima.moe: 1hr
- dreamwidth.org: 1hr
- Obsidian: 3hrs
- Tumblr: 1hr
Variable Usage Limits
the type of limit I use the most. Every time I open these apps, I choose how long I plan to spend there. After all, I open these apps because I have a goal, whether it is to answer a message to roam the web. I try to not go over 30min sessions. After the limit runs out, I set up a cooldown time of 5min.
- Vivaldi
- Waterfox
- Chrome
All in all, I don’t max out all of these limits every single day. I think the purpose of an ap' usage tracker is to build and maintain healthy habits as well as creating a stopgap.
Digital Wellbeing
this is the stock app usage tracker and blocker that came with my phone. It was the first iteration of this whole effort back in 2021. I keep using it alongside StayFree because the blocking feature after the daily usage limit runs out is more effective than StayFree. Plus, it’s nice to have more than one stopgap. Maintaining healthy mobile use habits is like fighting a cheeky pet. My monkey brain just wants that adrenaline and it needs to be stopped for its own wellbeing! ╰(▔∀▔)╯
- Obsidian, Waterfox, micro.blog: 2.5hrs
- CapyReader, Chrome, FairEmail, Fedilab: 30 min
- Vivaldi: 2hrs
Thanks for reading!