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Comment by extasia | Hacker News Reader

Changing my phone to black and white mode helped, I was previously watching 3+hrs of yt a day as was OP.

Also making a mental note of how long you spend helps, even if you don't have the willpower to stop then and there. Over time You keep making that same note and eventually build up the fortitude to modify your behaviour / fight your addiction. Good luck to you all.

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I did the same thing, I put my phone in Grayscale mode. It seems to help. It's incredible how much more enticing the colored versions of the thumbnails for shorts and videos are. The Grayscale also works as a reminder that I need to pay attention to my Youtube consumption.

However I imagine that I'll have to find a way to temporarily disable Grayscale for taking pictures and some other tasks.

Regarding the shorts, I really wish there were a setting to disable them altogether. They are pure evil.

For addictions I've wanted to get rid of I have: 1. Keep a spreadsheet of the hours I have spent on the activity, or 2. Kept a running log of how many days I have not done the activity - goal is usually 28 days

It seems like you've worked out a system. How many addictions/unwanted behaviors did you manage to eradicate this way?

It helped me get off social media, and computer game addiction and a news site I didn't want to follow. I've used it successfully for alcohol too (but I was never a huge drinker). I also used it to try and promote good behaviours too

Does the desired behavior continue after the initial 28 day period? One problem I encountered when I tried to change my behavior using similar methods is that I don't know how strict I should be with myself. For example if I don't want to quit playing games entirely, and I'd like to enjoy the occasional game, I might set some soft limits, but that opens the door for a relapse in the future.

Or do you find that even temporary abstinence is worthwhile, even if the bad behavior comes back after some time?

I think that temporary abstinence is worthwhile - because what will happen is you find new ways to fill that time. And those new things will really be what helps you move on ultimately. But yeah, you might relapse, it can be hard if you enjoy the activity a lot. But after you've had your fill it should be easier to walk away/ do another 28 days!

Where is black white mode in ios?

Settings -> Accessibility -> Display & Text Size -> Color Filters. Turn Color Filters on and select the Greyscale filter.

It’s in the accessibility settings. Accessibility > viewing and text size > color filters

I have my phone on Dutch so I loosely translated those. Hope it is helpful.

You can also set it so that triple tapping on the sleep button brings up the accessibility menu so you can turn black and white mode on/off quickly if needed

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