How My 31-Day Screentime Challenge Changed My Phone Habits

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By Holly Trantham

Last week, I wrapped up my January screentime challenge. I was able to maintain basically the same average time spent on Instagram towards the end — 1 hour and 5 minutes a day, slightly up from 1 hour and 3 minutes the previous week, but still noticeably down from the 1 hour and 26 minutes a day I was scrolling on the app before the start of this challenge. (If you’re new here, catch up here, here, here, here and here!)

And let’s take a quick look at the other numbers: I ultimately did yoga 27 out of 31 days in January, finished 4 books (and have since finished another, plus done a ton of textbook reading for my yoga training), and spent 12 nights working on screen-free craft projects, puzzles, or journaling. Here’s my final updated tracker:

Overall, I am happy with this outcome! But the point of this challenge was not really to decrease my screentime, or to accomplish any of the above specifically — it was to decrease my feeling of dependency on my phone, period. I can see that my screentime on this one app has decreased, and I spent a lot more time on activities not involving screens, but does that mean I feel generally less attached to my phone?

To be honest, no, not really. My phone is still the first thing I look at when I wake up, and I still grab it off the restaurant table to keep me busy while I wait in line at the bathroom. I still scroll idly while catching up on an episode of The Traitors with my husband. Yes, I have proven that filling my schedule with activities designed to take me away from my phone helps significantly, but it doesn’t eliminate that default reach-and-scroll. 

Ultimately, I think this is going to take a major lifestyle change that I can’t expect to happen from a month-long challenge. This challenge didn’t correct for the fact that I live in a household where my husband and I spend similar amounts of time on our phones, and where we don’t have restrictions on when/where we use them. What it did do was highlight how much time I really do have in the day to do the things I want to.

I think there are really two major changes that will actually take to be less dependent on my phone:

• Get comfortable not reaching for it. I’ve definitely been more cognizant of when I’m reaching for it out of boredom since starting this challenge; the challenge now will be to recognize when it’s happening, and put a stop to it.

• Establish household rules for phone use. This is going to be trickier because I can tell you my husband doesn’t seem as bothered by his screentime as I do, but I know that if we established specific boundaries (no phones in bed, for instance), it would help me curb this tendency quite a bit.

I’m happy that this challenge brought me more clarity around my phone habit (and put me on the right track to actually read as much as I want to this year!), but I’m also glad it’s over — now I can focus on making those necessary long-term changes without the pressure of tracking myself. But don’t worry, I will certainly report back on my progress later in 2025!

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Q: Do you have financial advice for working women who want to eventually transition as stay-at-home moms?

A: Transitioning from a dual to a single income takes careful planning. Start by creating a trial budget that simulates living on one income. Use the second income to aggressively pay down debt, build a larger emergency fund (6–12 months of expenses is ideal), and boost savings for future goals like retirement or your children’s education.

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About Kellen Thayer

Kellen has dedicated his career to helping clients achieve their financial goals through comprehensive financial planning and wealth management. He holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Advisor Wealth Management, Kellen worked as an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs partnering with clients with $25mm plus in investable assets and later advised high-net-worth clients at Raymond James. His expertise spans a wide range of financial strategies, always with a focus on empowering clients from all backgrounds to build and sustain their wealth.

If you share my dread for applying body lotion after the shower, the Hanni Fatty Stick (name could use some work..) is for you, too. Very hydrating, and great for travel as well!

A friend recently put me on to r/NYCbitcheswithtaste and I am absolutely gobsmacked by the wealth of information on the master thread. As with most subreddits, your mileage will certainly vary. But if you’re new to the city or just feeling overwhelmed, this can be a good place to start. 

I was recently gifted a custom Canvas By Numbers picture of my dog and it was so thoughtful! Definitely going to steal this idea for future gifting opportunities of my own.

🚨FREE WORKSHOP ALERT! Join Chelsea & our friends from Advisor.com on February 19th for The FIREside Chat. This mini masterclass will be a deep dive into what it really means to achieve financial independence (whether or not you plan to retire early). Chelsea & a financial advisor will share all the tools you need to reach financial freedom. This class will contain a 60-minute lesson followed by a 30-minute live Q&A all around the tangible steps towards financial independence. Click here to take our super short quiz and register.

🗳️And join us for our February members-only workshop,Voting With Your Dollars: How To Create Economic Change! Join Kara Perez, friend of TFD and sustainable money expert on February 27th for this very important and timely event! This workshop will cover aligning your value with your spending in a world that often seems to have no good choices. We'll cover topics like ethical spending and investing, mutual aid, and vetting corporations. Join The Society at the $4.99 or up tier to register.

🎥 ICYMI: Our January video essay, Tipping Culture Is Completely Broken is another banger! This video deep dives into the dark evolution of tipping culture in America. And a reminder that $4.99 and up members of the ​Society at TFD​ get an ad-free extended version!

🎬And in company news, we’re thrilled to announce a brand-new YouTube series we’re ~producing~ with our friends at Edelman Financial Engines. The series, Ask The Planners, is exciting for us because it’s the first time we’re in producer-mode for a brand other than ourselves, and we’re thrilled to be working with them on it! With the new year in full swing, we know financial goals are top of mind. But are you setting yourself up properly? This series is packed with expert insights from their financial planners to help you build a solid financial future. New episodes drop every Thursday! We’d love if you would check it out.

🇺🇸Chelsea also dropped 2 impromptu videos on the current chaotic state of American politics recently. Make sure to check out we need to have a serious conversation, and no ethical consumption under capitalism lol if you haven’t already.

✨Make sure to get your hands on our latest guidebook, Your Financial Emergency Plan. We put together this 15 page guidebook together to help you focus your energy on something practical and actionable during these chaotic times. As Holly states inside the guide, "taking care of each other starts with taking care of yourself. Hopefully, this guidebook gives you some of the tools to do just that." This is exclusively available for members of The Society Premium.

📚Don't miss out! We’re still offering exclusive access to an entirely new bonus chapter for those who have purchased our latest book, ​Beyond Getting By​. With the start of a new year, we know how much you all are reevaluating how you spend your money and time. Beyond Getting By is the perfect companion for retooling your relationship with money, your career, and your life in general, complete with dozens of pages of beautifully designed interactive exercises. In order to get access to “‘Working To Live’ In The Face Of Layoff Culture,” please share your proof of purchase with us by filling out ​this very short form​ — once you fill out the form, the bonus chapter will be automatically emailed to you.

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