Data-driven approach to breaking the infinite scroll
the wake-up call: January 2024 - checked Screen Time app. 4.2 hours daily on YouTube. 29.4 hours weekly. that's ONE FULL DAY per week. 52 days per YEAR. horrified. remembered every time i said "i don't have time" for reading, exercising, learning guitar. i HAD the time - i was just wasting it on shorts and recommended videos. started tracking: daily hours, shorts vs long videos, educational vs entertainment. set limits: 1 hour/day max, block shorts completely, only educational content before 8 PM. 3 months later: daily average down to 1.1 hours. saved 657 hours annually. that's 27 DAYS of my life back. filled it with: reading 12 books, learning Python, actually having conversations with family. YouTube isn't bad - but unconscious consumption is. track it. control it. reclaim your time. ⏰📊
I told myself "just 5 minutes" of YouTube Shorts... and suddenly 2 hours had vanished. This happened daily. I was addicted but in denial. I needed visual proof of my habit to shock myself into change.
After tracking for 2 weeks, the data was brutal: 3 hours 47 minutes daily = 57.5 days per year watching Shorts. Seeing those numbers forced me to act. Data beat willpower.
Aim to reduce by 13 minutes/day
Set daily limit (1h) and scheduled slots (30min after lunch, 30min before dinner). Phone app enforced limit.
Deleted app (use browser only), logged out each time, moved phone to different room while studying.
Bored → Read (kept book in pocket), Stress → 10 min walk, Procrastination → Pomodoro timer.
Daily check-in with friend, public commitment (Instagram story), bet with sister (₹500 if successful).