How to reduce screen time on PC, even if you work on one

If you work on a computer, less screen time rarely means fewer hours at the desk. It means less of the time you didn't choose: the notification that became twenty minutes, the evening that drifted. Here is how to reduce screen time on PC with what Windows 11 already has, and what to add where it stops.

1. 1.Measure a normal week and find the biggest category.
2. 2.Set a daily goal a little under your usual total.
3. 3.Turn off notifications you don't act on.
4. 4.Pick up your PC less often.
5. 5.Work in focus blocks with Do not disturb on.
6. 6.Put a fence around YouTube and other sites you drift to.
7. 7.Take eye breaks with the 20-20-20 rule.
8. 8.Wind the screen down in the evening.
9. 9.Try grayscale.
10. 10.Clear out distractions.
11. 11.Use a blocker where you need a hard stop.
12. 12.Replace the habit with something you would rather do.

1. Measure a normal week

A guess tends to miss the short visits, and those add up. Track an ordinary week without changing anything, then look for the one category or site that takes far more than you would have said. That is where a cut pays off.

Windows 11 has no proper screen time report for your own account. On a laptop, the battery usage page gives screen-on time and rough minutes per app; a desktop gets nothing. Microsoft Family Safety reports screen time, but for members of a family group, usually children. Our guide to checking screen time on Windows covers what Windows shows and what fills the gap.

We make TimeWell, so weigh our view accordingly. Its Activity page stacks each hour by category, shows day and week totals with the change from last week, and lists your most used apps and sites. Click an hour to see what filled it.

2. Set a daily goal you can meet

Take your usual total outside work and aim 15 to 30 minutes under it, rather than halving it overnight. A goal you miss every day soon stops meaning anything. Treat it as a target, not a wall: TimeWell's Overview draws it as a ring that fills through the day, beside how today compares with your average.

3. Turn off notifications you don't act on

Each notification is an invitation to switch, often one click from a feed. Go through the list once and keep only what you would stop work for.

1. 1
   Step 1: Open the notification settings

   Go to Settings > System > Notifications. Every app that can notify you is under Notifications from apps and other senders.

2. 2
   Step 2: Switch off or quieten each app

   Turn an app off, or select it and turn off Show notification banners so its messages wait quietly in the notification centre.

3. 3
   Step 3: Schedule Do not disturb

   Expand Turn on do not disturb automatically and set your quiet hours. Set priority notifications lets calls, reminders or chosen apps through.

4. 4
   Step 4: Silence the extras

   Under Additional settings, clear Get tips and suggestions when using Windows. In Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors, turn off Show badges on taskbar apps and Show flashing on taskbar apps.

Websites notify too. On a site that does, select the site information icon at the left of the address bar, then turn Notifications off in Chrome, or set it to Block under Permissions for this site in Edge. Microsoft's guide to notifications and Do not disturb explains every Windows option.

4. Pick up your PC less often

A pickup is each time you unlock the PC, wake the screen or come back after being away. Each one usually starts with a quick check, and a quick check is easy to stretch.

• Lock the PC when you leave with Windows key + L, or close the lid, so coming back is a decision rather than a glance.
• When you're done for the day, put the laptop away, not open on the sofa.
• Notice what you open first. If it is always email or a feed, unpin it from the taskbar and open your actual work first.

Most screen time tips assume you can put the device down. When your job is on a screen, the aim is fewer wasted minutes, not fewer working hours.

5. Work in focus blocks

The Pomodoro technique is the classic version: 25 minutes on one task, a 5-minute break, and a longer break after four rounds. The block gives you permission to ignore everything else until the timer ends.

Windows 11 has a simple version. In Settings > System > Focus, set the length, turn on Hide badges on taskbar apps, Hide flashing on taskbar apps and Turn on do not disturb, then select Start focus session; the Clock app's focus sessions add breaks. Microsoft's Focus guide explains each option, and our guide to focus mode on Windows 11 goes further.

For the full cycle, see our Pomodoro timer for Windows guide. TimeWell's focus timer shows the time left in a small pill at the top right of your screen, and a soft chime marks the end of each session and break.

6. Put a fence around YouTube and other sites

A lot of unplanned time can sit inside one browser tab, and an app-level total just calls it Chrome or Edge. Our guide to tracking time spent on websites shows how to see it per site.

• Turn off YouTube's Autoplay switch, at the bottom of the video player, so one video doesn't become five.
• Keep a separate browser profile for work, signed out of video and social sites.
• Give leisure sites a slot, such as after lunch, rather than banning them outright.

7. Take eye breaks

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet (about 6 metres) away for at least 20 seconds. Long spells of concentration with few blinks can dry your eyes out and tire them.

Its other tips are about the desk: set the screen so you look slightly down at it, avoid a room that is far too bright or too dim, and keep artificial tears nearby for dry eyes. It also says eye strain doesn't cause permanent damage. If it carries on after you have adjusted your workspace, see an eye doctor.

8. Wind the screen down in the evening

• Night light warms the screen's colours. In Settings > System > Display > Night light, turn on Schedule night light and choose Sunset to sunrise or your own hours.
• Dark mode darkens Windows itself: pick Dark under Choose your mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors. Not every app follows it.
• Do not disturb on a schedule, from habit 3, so work apps go quiet when work does.

None of these cuts your hours by itself. Treat them as a signal that the working day is over.

9. Try grayscale

Colour makes icons, thumbnails and feeds eye-catching. Small studies have found that switching a phone to grayscale trimmed daily use. Those studies were on phones, not PCs, so treat it as a week-long experiment.

1. 1
   Step 1: Open colour filters

   Go to Settings > Accessibility > Color filters, or press Windows key + U and select Color filters.

2. 2
   Step 2: Turn on Grayscale

   Turn on the Color filters switch and choose Grayscale.

3. 3
   Step 3: Add the shortcut

   Turn on the keyboard shortcut on the same page. Windows key + Ctrl + C then switches the filter on and off, for when you need colour back.

Microsoft's colour filters guide covers Windows 10 too, where the filters sit under Ease of Access.

10. Clear out distractions

Every step between you and a distraction is a moment to change your mind. Add a few:

• Uninstall games and apps you no longer mean to use: in Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select More (the three dots) beside one, then Uninstall.
• Stop chat apps and game launchers starting with Windows in Settings > Apps > Startup.
• Take the Widgets board and its news feed off the taskbar: turn off Widgets under Taskbar items in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
• Sign out of social and streaming sites on your work PC, so each visit starts with signing in.

11. Use a blocker when you need a hard stop

Windows 11 has no setting to cap your own daily use. Microsoft Family Safety sets limits through a family group and is designed with children's accounts in mind; our guide to screen time limits on Windows explains it. For yourself, a blocker is the honest tool.

Block the sites and hours that beat you, not everything. A blocker that gets in the way of real work soon gets switched off.

12. Decide what goes in the gap

Taking something away leaves a gap, and the old habit is the easiest thing to fill it with. Decide what the time is for: a walk at lunch instead of a video, a book by the sofa instead of the laptop, tomorrow's plan on paper before you open the computer.

Then make the new habit visible; our guide to a habit tracker for Windows compares a few. In TimeWell, a habit is a daily check-in you tick, like “Read 20 pages”, or a daily time goal for one app or website, which it counts from your usage.

Windows 11 handles the quieting and the evening well. What it leaves out is a proper measure of your own time, and a limit for your own account.

TimeWell is the screen time app for Windows we make, and it covers the measuring half of this guide. It counts every app and website while it's in front of you with the screen on and unlocked, so reading and watching count, and adds pickups, notifications per app, a daily goal ring, a Pomodoro timer and habits with streaks.

Websites are read by domain only, in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and other popular browsers. Your activity stays in a small database on your PC and is never uploaded. It is free to download and keeps tracking for free; Pro is a one-time payment, with no subscription.

For a wider comparison, free options included, see the best screen time apps for Windows.