At the start of this year, I began to feel that my free time was disappearing into a screen without giving me much in return. I was not spending every hour online, but I was checking messages, opening short videos, and replying to notifications so often that my day felt broken into tiny pieces. None of these actions seemed serious on their own. However, when I looked back at the end of the week, I realised I had spent a lot of time online without feeling either rested or productive.

Because of that, I decided to experiment with living with less screen time for one month. I did not want to do anything dramatic, such as deleting every app or switching off my phone completely. My aim was to make my habits more conscious, not to prove that technology was bad. First, I turned off most notifications, especially from apps that were designed to pull me back every few minutes. Then I made one simple rule: no phone during meals, and no scrolling during the first hour after I woke up.

The first week was harder than I expected. The biggest problem was not boredom but habit. I would reach for my phone without thinking while waiting for water to boil or standing in a queue. I had not realised how automatic that movement had become. To make the change easier, I replaced some screen-based habits with small alternatives. I carried a notebook in my bag, read a few pages of a novel in the evening, and started walking without headphones once or twice a week.

By the second week, the results became more noticeable. Conversations felt longer because I was not checking my screen in the middle of them. I also slept more easily because I was not ending every evening with bright light and endless short content. Most surprisingly, I stopped feeling that I needed to fill every quiet moment. At first, those empty minutes felt uncomfortable. Later, they began to feel calm. I noticed more details around me, and I had time to think instead of constantly reacting.

This experiment did not turn me into a person who avoids technology. I still use maps, messages, online study tools, and entertainment. The difference is that I now try to choose when I am using a screen instead of letting the screen choose for me. Living with less screen time has not made life perfect, but it has made my days feel more balanced. For me, that is reason enough to continue.