It’s no secret that our lives revolve around screens. Whether it’s your laptop for work, your phone during a break, or your tv over the weekend, we spend too much time in front of screens, and it’s taking a toll on our productivity.

Whether you’d like to admit it or not, we’re addicted to screens. We often take a break from one to get distracted by the other. The truth is, we can be doing so many more useful and productive things if we just learned to manage our screen time better.

If you’re hoping to improve your relationship with your screen time, now is the perfect time to do it. Below are five tips to improve your screen time to boost your productivity.

Use your smartphone features

I was over the moon when I found out Apple was releasing a screen time feature a few years ago. As someone who’s business revolves around sitting in front of the screen, I knew it would be a game-changer. This feature allows you to set limits for certain apps and gives provides a weekly summary of your progress.

Take screen-free breaks

As a society, we’ve built horrible screen time habits. We walk away from one screen only to start scrolling on the next. Taking screen-free breaks can help refuel your energy and help you recharge for your next assignment of the day. Simply leave the phone behind and take an intentional break in the other room.

Turn off notifications

It’s hard to take breaks from your screen if you’re constantly being distracted by incoming notifications. If you’re serious about improving your screen time and boosting your productivity, it might be time to make the change. Just like the screen time feature I mentioned above, updating your notification settings is a simple fix that can make a big difference.

Create boundaries and schedules

As long as you allow your screen to dictate your time, it will. Instead, take ownership of your time, energy, and focus by creating boundaries and schedules. Set specific times to check emails, engage on social media, and get your work done. This will ensure that your time in front of the screen is intentional and purposeful.

Start a brainstorming journal

As electronics replace the classic paper and pen, we’ve grown accustomed to doing simple tasks in front of a screen. While note-taking on a digital device can save some trees, it can be draining on your eyes and energy. When you’re ready for a break from your screen, try doing some work with some simple pen and paper. You can tackle some tasks while taking a break