What’s a Good New Year’s Resolution?
May I suggest one that probably most people, including most business owners, would benefit from?
There are very, very few people (and let me be clear, I am not one of these very few) in the US who couldn’t use this resolution for a better, more fulfilling, more sustainable year and for years to come.
Ready?
Put your screens away.
Simple, right? But not easy.
Minimize your screen time for a better life (and better productivity)
Screens other than my phone are what get me. I am not dependent on my phone because I just never started using it as entertainment.
In fact, I would regularly go out hiking by myself without my phone. I only started bringing my phone with me a few years ago after I had my “fun” blood clot episode during COVID. I normally have a bag or backpack with me, so the phone goes in there. It’s not in my hand as I walk down the street.
But I will tell you that the Internet is a completely different story for me. I do read and scroll and comment a lot when I’m on my laptop. Because of my dependence on the ‘net, I do understand how people become so dependent on their phones.
I’ve been on the internet since about 1994, I think. Maybe ‘95. About 30 years, which oh man means I’m old. Anyway, I was around before Google, before we even had browsers, before there were https:// protocols, all of it. I started off on “bulletin boards” where you could chat with whoever else was on at the same time.
So I started using the internet as entertainment right from the beginning, the way a lot of people have done with their phones.
I read a lot. I don’t watch TV for news because I haven’t had cable since about 2011. However, I do read online periodicals in addition to books. Also, I’m writing this on Google Docs, so my internet browser is open. (I’m pretty good about not clicking away while I’m writing, but other tasks…)
In other words, I spend a lot of time on my laptop looking at my monitor screen. Some of it is justifiable – just as many texts and location apps and the like are justifiable on your phone – but some of it is just time-wasting. When I’m bored, or procrastinating, or reading just because I don’t want to do a thing.
I’m able to get away from my laptop to do things, like go on trips to Africa or the Atacama Desert, go for hikes, go to the beach, play with my cats, lunch with my friends, and so forth. Still, I know I can spend even less time in front of a screen.
I think the best thing to do when you’re trying to move away from screens is to have alternatives that are fun. Like if you hate cleaning (me too), telling yourself you will step away from the screen to go clean is not going to help separate you from your screen.
I do have fun things I can do instead of scroll: play cello, play with the cats, go out for a walk, listen/sing to music, read a book from my enormous TBR pile.
I have a couple of fun projects going on at the moment as well: I’m working on another book (you can get the first one here) about the cult of corporate, and I am reading a lot of fun material for that. I’m also writing a mystery, and then I have an idea for a horror book after I finish that one. Any time I stop scrolling to write or read a book will both help me reduce screen scrolling time and get me closer to my goals.
If you’re also struggling to get off screens, think about everything you like to do away from the screen and make sure you schedule time for them. Again, chores that you don’t particularly enjoy won’t help. Think of fun activities that you genuinely enjoy and make time on your calendar for them.
To accomplish your goals, put away your phone
Phones have become entertainment centers for so many people. Smartphones have reduced or removed your ability to daydream, your ability to stay focused on one thing to completion, your ability to make good choices about your time, your conversational skills, your empathy.
Your phone probably has made you better able to text with your thumbs (I still can’t, ha ha). It may have helped you see more news than you would have otherwise, but not in a way that provides context or enables you to use that information as knowledge to help you live a more fulfilling life.
It more than likely provides lots of distraction. And to be fair, 2025 was a year that many of us would prefer to be distracted from. (Anyone else stay up on NYE to make sure that 2025 actually left?)
However, all the notifications while you’re trying to work distract you and prevent you from getting $hit done. Not just the buzzes, trills, and pings, but also the visible changes are distracting.
As for multitasking? Fuggedaboutit. When you’re doing two tasks that require some thinking (like driving and texting or reading emails and listening to a presentation) you’re not multitasking. You’re switching between the two tasks very quickly.
It feels like you’re multitasking, but since you’re not bringing your full attention to either task, you’re really slowing yourself down while increasing errors. It may feel slower to tackle one item at a time, but then you get to accomplish things and you’ll get more done than you think.
What’s the first step to no longer being so dependent on your phone? When you’re working, turn off all notifications and put your phone in a drawer. Even seeing it is distracting (probably because you’ve trained your brain to watch for notifications) so just put it out of sight.
In the evening, put all the phones in a basket or charge them (in a room that is not your bedroom) unless you are making phone calls. Not texting. I am saying phone calls, like you pick up the phone and dial a number or hit the little phone icon and have an actual conversation with someone on the other end of the phone.
Human voices are very rich with context even if you can’t see the other person, and your brain recognizes this as socializing (which your brain wants you to do.) If you don’t plan on making any phone calls, then leave the phone in the basket until you’re ready for work the next day. Phones never go into the bedroom.
You can also try out a phone-free day maybe once a week or every two weeks. Leave the house without your phone. Or you can leave it in the glove box if you need to drive somewhere. That way should an emergency happen you’ve got your phone, but if there’s no emergency then you don’t need the phone.
Use your wearables for good, not evil. Don’t put your emails and texts on your smart watch or other wearables. Have you ever been deep in a conversation and the other person suddenly looks down at their wrist? The thread of the dialogue is broken, and it’s usually not anything important either. It’s really rude.
They’re supposed to be used for health, so use them for that instead.
Making resolutions stick (for life and productivity improvement)
Part of being successful is changing your environment to support your goals.
As an example, suppose you, like me, want to lose weight. Keeping highly processed foods, junk food, sweets (if you have a sweet tooth), or chips (if you have a salty tooth) in the house makes this really hard to do. Never having healthy snacks available when you need a little something pushes you away from the goal, not towards it. Always eating out and not having healthy food to cook in the house doesn’t help with weight loss either.
Similarly, reducing screen time is not going to work if you insist that you always must have notifications on. If your phone is constantly in your hand, you won’t be able to set it down. If you don’t have other activities that you can do instead of scrolling, you’re not going to stop scrolling.
The right environment will help you reduce the amount of willpower you need, which in turn increases your chances of success since willpower is limited.
Recap (tl;dr)
Practically every business owner I know (including myself) would benefit from less screen time in 2026. Let’s make it happen!
If you want the basics on sustainable productivity, The Rebel’s Guide to Getting $hit Done: Peak Productivity for Business Owners is an easy read and gives you the basics. Get the book on Amazon.
Photo by Pierre-Etienne Vilbert on Unsplash.