Limiting screen time: board games, books and podcasts

I will start by admitting that I spend way more time looking at screens than what is recommended. Besides staring all day at a computer, and handling a blog afterwards, I love watching movies and TV shows. I considered in my other post why we need to stop being influenced by tracking time too much. Equally important, limiting my screen time is my next personal challenge.

Who doesn’t love a little Mystery?

Honestly, I try limiting my screen time. I do that by introducing other sources of entertainment which are not based on electronic devices. I am a big fan of board games. There are some that you can play by solving puzzles and mysteries. I love the ones from Curious Correspondence Club, part of the Mysterious Package Company. Often, I can’t find other people who share my enthusiasm for playing for hours like a teenager. So, it’s a good thing that you can play them by yourself if you want it. It is like playing in an escape room game on your own living room. And just so that you don’t miss the screen too much, it is interactive, but only if you want it. You can get tips from the game’s website and at the end there is a small video confirming the solution.

Books, another strategy for limiting screen time

Now, I really would like your opinion about something. Reading is my passion. I always have more books than I am capable of reading on my TBR queue. My partner gave me an eBook reader for my birthday a long time ago. Instantly, I fell in love with it. Little by little I started transferring my entire library to it. The books from Standard Ebooks are my favorites. It is like going to a cool bookstore and browsing good quality and beautiful books. They are charmingly formatted and corrected. They work so well in an eBook reader that I really forget I am using one. Now, this is my question, do you consider this screen time or not? Should I read only paper books? I mean, is that a valid strategy of limiting screen time? What do you think?

You can always multitask while listening

Lastly, another trick to keep me from looking too much at a screen is listening to a podcast. I usually do that while working on the garden, taking a walk or driving the car. One of my favorite is History of Philosophy without Any Gaps. That is definitely an ambitious project, and I am happy to say that they have pulled it off, so far. They have covered so much ground, starting from Western, and passing through Islamic, Byzantine, Indian, Africana, and now Chinese philosophy. Peter Adamson, the show host, has a refined sense of humor and is extremely learned and well read. The podcast’s other contributors give insight on the topics. Guests that he brings from time to time also offer valuable perspectives.

In summary, I understand that in our modern world avoiding screens is almost an impossible task. You really need to put an effort into it. You need to be creative and disciplined. But it’s possible and rewarding. Let’s come up with other inventive ways of limiting our screen time.