Four apps to help manage your screen time

Children of the modern generation and most adults can no longer imagine their lives without a computer and smartphone. In fact, devices and gadgets are extremely convenient! After all, in a few seconds with their help you can find almost any information you need, build a track, communicate at a distance, go on video and more.

However, along with the wide range of opportunities, we are increasingly faced with the negative consequences of digitalization - gadget addiction, inability to concentrate, aimless Internet surfing, procrastination and more.

However, along with the wide range of opportunities, we are increasingly faced with the negative consequences of digitalization - gadget addiction, inability to concentrate, aimless Internet surfing, procrastination and more.

How to organize your time in front of the screen with maximum benefit? How to follow timely breaks to relieve eye fatigue? How not to be distracted by third-party sites while working or studying? We offer some extremely convenient programs that will become your reliable assistants!

Stretchly - a timer that systematically reminds of rest

This application monitors your time spent in front of the screen, and depending on the settings, reminds you of short and long breaks for eye rest.

Stretchly is a multilingual program that you can download and install for free on Windows, Linux and macOS.

By default, the basic settings are set to break intervals - short 20 seconds every 10 minutes and long 5 minutes every half hour. However, if you wish, you can change the frequency of reminders, the duration of the breaks, the color and size of the message, as well as choose the sound notification.

StayFree - screen time self-control

Have you ever wondered how much time you spend in front of your smartphone screen every day? A free multilingual tracker application will help you track and manage your own screen time.

StayFree functionality allows you to not only analyze, but also deliberately reduce screen time by setting time limits. In addition, a resource has a mechanism for both full and detailed blocking of certain resources.

StayFocusd is a managed blocker of sites and applications that are "eaters" of your time

This is an extension for Chrome, as well as an application for Android, which helps to combat Internet addiction - aimless Internet surfing and scrolling social networks.

If you find it difficult to concentrate and you check your e-mail at the earliest opportunity, aimlessly browse the news feed or follow the likes of your Facebook articals several dozen times a day, this is a bad sign. Take advantage of blocking the entertainment sites you spend the most time on.

StayFocusd allows you to block a resource once or regularly for a set period of time (for example, while a webinar or online lesson is in progress, or daily during the workday).

Interestingly, rebooting the device does not break the settings, so under no circumstances will you be able to access the previously blocked site before the timeout expires.

Forest - an application to improve concentration

Probably everyone finds it difficult to stop surfing the Internet, put down the phone and finally get down to business. In such cases, the Forest application will come in handy. His idea is to fight procrastination and improve focus in a playful format.

Whenever you need to focus on work or study, you can set a timer in the Forest application for 10-120 minutes. As soon as it is launched, the program begins to "grow a tree" from a small sprout to an adult spreading plant.

Every time you turn on the phone before the timer expires and open any other program, the tree dies. Exceptions - only incoming calls.

If you have never been distracted by the phone during the set time, the tree will have time to grow big. For each new tree you get coins - domestic currency, which you can buy new species of sprouts to grow in your virtual forest.

Application analytics is displayed as a forest, which not only indicates dried and grown trees of different sizes, but also shows the time of work with the application and the set tag of the activity at the specified time (eg, "work", "study", "sports", etc.) .

The biggest advantage of the proposed programs is that they allow you to analyze and understand how you spend your time. Conscious attitude to screen time can prevent one of the biggest problems of today's society - gadget addiction.