Why willpower is the wrong tool here
Most habits have seams. An episode ends, a page finishes, a chapter closes. Those seams are where you notice how long it has been and choose whether to continue.
A feed has no seam by design. There is no point at which the next thing has to be started, because it has already started. Asking yourself to stop is asking for a decision the format is built not to offer.
The built-in tools, honestly rated
Worth turning on, none of them sufficient.
- The in-app daily limit: a screen you dismiss. Useful for a week, then invisible.
- Sleep reminders: mildly effective because they arrive at the hour you are most persuadable.
- Turning off notifications: genuinely worth it. Removes the pull, does nothing about the pull you generate yourself.
- Clearing the recommendation history: changes what you see, not how long you look at it.
Add a seam yourself
Anything that makes the app end rather than continue. A hard block at a set hour is the crudest version and the most effective, because it does not depend on you noticing anything.
Note the difference between a limit and a window. Sixty minutes a day gets spent before dinner and does nothing at midnight. Blocked from nine is blocked at midnight, which is when you needed it.
Then take the override off yourself
Everything above is defeated by the same three seconds: you dismiss the block, because you set it and you can.
The change that lasts is that the block is not yours to lift. Somebody else holds it, getting out early is a message rather than a tap, and they can say no. It is a much smaller technical change than it sounds and a much larger social one, which is exactly the right way round.
What to expect
Not zero. Aiming for zero from a standing start is how people end up back where they were within a fortnight, having proved something to themselves that is not true.
Aim for the app not owning a specific part of the day. That is achievable, it is checkable, and it is most of the benefit.
Common questions
Is deleting it better?
For a few days. Reinstalling takes seconds and your account is intact, which is why almost nobody who tries this is still doing it a month later.
Does the algorithm get worse if I use it less?
Your feed gets less tuned to you, which some people find is the point. If that bothers you, it is worth noticing that it bothers you.