GOOGLE SPECIAL.... Digital detox without turning off or tuning out

Digital detox without turning off or tuning out

Check out some secret ways of doing a digital clean-up if you use Google products regularly

Most of us use more than one Google product on a regular basis, whether that’s Google Maps, YouTube or even an Android phone or a Pixel. Built into those tools are features to help you wind down and de-stress or take a short break from technology altogether.

If you have an Android phone

Android users have a digital wellbeing dashboard on their device (running Android 9 Pie). The dashboard gives a picture of how each app is used on the handset on a daily basis. Once you figure out which apps you use too much, you can use an app timer to limit how much time you spend on the app each day. There is also a wind-down feature in Android 9 Pie that will automatically switch on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and fade your device’s screen to grayscale once it’s bedtime.

If you watch a lot of videos

You know how easy it can be to get sucked into watching videos on YouTube. But hidden inside its mobile app is a time watched profile, which lets you know how much time you spend inside the app along with a daily average.

The app includes the ability to set goals for how much you want to watch in a given day. Once you set a goal, YouTube’s take a break reminder will pop up. It forces the video to pause at intervals, which you can set yourself.

If you own a Google Home

With Google Home, you can set up bedtime routines to help you wind down at night. If you say a voice command like ‘Goodnight’ or ‘Bedtime’, Google Assistant will run your routine, which could include anything from turning off the lights to playing sleep sounds as you fall asleep.

You can also say, ‘Hey Google, turn on Do Not Disturb’, which will silence all notifications on both your Google Home devices and your Pixel phone.

If you use a Pixel 3

Google’s Pixel phones have all the same ‘mindfulness’ features as other Android devices running Android 9 Pie. But there’s one Pixel-specific feature to help you spend less time on your device: If you turn your Pixel 3 over on the table, it automatically enters Do Not Disturb mode.

If you have Google WiFi

If you are a Google WiFi user, you can schedule internet breaks in your home. Or you can pause the WiFi during certain times, like dinnertime or bedtime, to give your whole family a break.

If you use Google services like Gmail, Chrome, Google Photos, or Google Calendar

For Chrome users, Google offers a Mindful Break Chrome extension, which will give you mindfulness tips and guide you through a short breathing exercise. For Gmail users, you can turn on high-priority notifications. That will limit the number of email alerts you’ll receive and allow you to be notified only when it’s important.

For Google Photos users, the app will send automatic suggestions of photos to archive so you don’t have to manually delete images. For Google Calendar users, there’s the option to create goals inside the app. You can set how much time you want to spend on a goal each week, and then Google Calendar will schedule time for you to work on the goal.

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TOI 20JAN19