Reduce Screen Time 101

Reduce screen time by building sticky digital habits without quitting social media

Created byAditi Mandal

Last updated 7/2026

English

What you'll learn

Identify your internet dependency patterns, triggers and understand the fundamentals of content addiction
Learn the slow approach and the AAAA Framework to build small digital habits that balance your offline and online worlds with the weekly tasks.
Get accountability from Take Back Your Time WhatsApp community and help your family and friends to build their digital fitness.
Become aware of the invisible and silent ways content consumption impacts your focus, emotions, and identity.

Course content

4 sections • 13 lectures • 2h 27m total length

Introduction: My Story and the North Star of Digital Fitness5:12
You will know my story and learn about the North Star that will guide your digital habits.
How to track your content consumption?5:56
You will learn how to track your overall screen time over 4 days to identify the unconscious screen usage with the physical tracker, without changing anything.
Content Consumption Addiction: Fundamental 17:49
This video explains why it takes time to build digital habits.
Content Consumption Addiction: Fundamental 2 & 37:43
This video explains the lens that one can use to filter content that adds value to one's life and what should be your goal when building digital fitness. It also explains why going cold turkey or quitting doesn't work.

Digital Platform Cleanup10:04
This video shows the setting changes in Youtube, Instagram and Linkedin to scroll less.
Digital Environment: Setting Changes in Phone and Laptop14:40
This lesson walks you through setting up your phone, browser, and laptop in simple steps to add positive friction and help you naturally consume less content.
The Slow Approach: Identify an Easy Goal4:27
This video walks you through Step 1 of the Slow Approach, showing you how to set a goal that feels easy, doable, and based on your personality.
The Slow Approach: AAAA Framework: Anchor and Add Friction18:33
In this video, you’ll learn the second step—the AAAA Framework. We’ll cover its first and second stages and walk through real examples of how to use them to make your old digital habits inconvenient.
AAAA Framework: Action, & Accountability + Digital Habit tracker9:39
In this video, you’ll learn to build new digital habits using the third and fourth stages of the AAAA framework. You will also learn how to use the digital habit tracker to create the mental tap during unconscious content consumption.

Step 3 & 4 of Slow Approach, Withdrawal Symptoms and How to deal with them?11:05
You’ll learn the final two steps of the Slow Approach, understand the withdrawal symptoms that arise when you de-addict from content consumption, and learn how to manage them.
Content filter and everyday offline practices to restore your attention6:50
You’ll learn how to filter content that builds your attention. You’ll also see how simple real-life rituals can bring novelty back into your life.
For Parents & Families: Shift from Control to Connection9:51
This is the final lecture, where I share resources—books, tools, strategies, and simple physical space changes, to help your family build their digital fitness.

Requirements

Patience and Commitment.
You accept that your screen time is a problem.

Description

This course will start your digital fitness journey. You’ll learn how to build sticky digital habits based on your unique patterns— internet needs, challenges, personality, and lifestyle. You’ll identify your triggers for doomscrolling and binge-watching, and from there, develop small habits you can practice every day without feeling overwhelmed.

This is a practice + theory course. Each module includes daily tasks along with short lectures where I explain the how and why behind each task.

This course will not focus on the harmful effects of content or social media addiction—if you’re here, you’re already aware of them. So instead of repeating what you already understand, we’ll go straight to the solutions.

You won’t be alone in this journey. As part of the course, you can join the Take Back Your Time WhatsApp community for daily accountability, where you can ask questions, share progress, failures, get support whenever you need it and meet other folks on a similar journey.

This course is not for you if you're looking for instant results or hoping to reduce your screen time without putting in consistent effort. But if you follow the course to the point, you will start noticing changes within the first two weeks.

Who this course is for:

Adults who are aware and in acceptance of their high screen time problem. This course is for you if your screen time has become the cause of
1. Fractured Focus: You lose focus every 10–15 minutes and find yourself scrolling WhatsApp, Instagram, News or any other online platform, even during meetings or calls
2. Low Productivity: procrastination or unfinished tasks, and don't have enough time for things you want to do.
3. Poor-quality sleep or an inability to fall asleep without consuming content.
3. Exhaustion: Using scrolling or binge-watching to relax, but ending up feeling drained
4. Loneliness: Using screens as an escape from loneliness instead of building real-life connections
5. Constant need for content in the background to function, to fill silence during routine activities and to overcome boredom.

Reduce Screen Time 101

What you'll learn

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Course content

Understand your Content Consumption Patterns & Fundamentals of Content Addiction4 lectures • 27min

The Slow Approach5 lectures • 57min

Just Do It1 lecture • 35min

The Slow Approach + Guidance for Family and Kids3 lectures • 28min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: