How Each Zodiac Sign Can *Finally* Spend Less Time On Their Phone

Fiery Aries have a hard time controlling their impulses. If you see a text pop up on your phone you’ll reach for it immediately to answer your friend, but then you’ll open up TikTok, too, and before you know it it’s hours later.

To give yourself a break, turn off your notifications — or at least take them off your lock screen. That way you’ll be able to focus on what’s in front of you instead of feeling compelled to answer every message the moment it comes through.

Tauruses like to scroll as a low-key, low-energy way to pass the time. You love bed rotting with your FYP, but sometimes feel a bit guilty for “wasting the day.” If the guilt becomes too much and you want to take a social media break, find yourself another equally cozy hobby.

Replace your daily scroll with coloring, baking, sewing, or embroidery, or get up and go for a walk. If your hobby involves making decor for your home, it’ll be even more inspiring. You are a Venus-ruled earth sign, after all.

Geminis live life on their phone. As an air sign ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication, you often feel powerless to put it down, especially when you’re in the grips of FOMO. The only true way to break the habit is by removing all the non-essential apps from your phone — at least for a little while.

That means no TikTok, no Instagram, and no Reddit. You might also want to get rid of Pinterest, YouTube, and whatever else grabs your attention and keeps you locked in for hours. Take a mental break from the constant influx of information, and you’ll immediately see how badly you needed it.

If you’re a Cancer, you likely have your phone in hand all day long, especially when you’re in the mood to vent. As an emotional water sign, you like to keep tabs on what’s happening in your group chat, and you also like to pop in and let off steam.

Bad day at work? Mom said something annoying? While these moments usually have you reaching for your phone, try writing your would-be texts in an actual journal instead. It’s a total win-win: You’ll get your thoughts out and you’ll decrease your screen time.

For social, fun-loving Leos, your phone is your way of staying connected to your friend group 24/7. When you aren’t watching Instagram Stories or posting TikToks, you’re blowing up your group chat with gossip, pics of your cat, and more.

This is why it’s so easy for you to spend too much time on your phone and not enough time in the real world. To take a break, make a point of planning more get-togethers and outings. See if your besties will meet you for brunch or if your BFF will be your new gym buddy. It’ll be a refreshing change of pace to see them IRL.

As a practical earth sign, Virgo does well with rules and regulations. Once you decide you need a social media detox, all you’ll have to do is set a few parameters and you’ll be good to go. Try scheduling phone-free hours into your evening routine or tell yourself you won’t scroll while you eat dinner or once you get into bed.

For a visual reminder of your goals, check the Screen Time stats on your phone and try to keep it below a certain number of hours per day. For extra motivation, attempt to beat your percentage from last week. You can also use the Downtime or App Limits features to be even stricter with yourself.

Libras are ruled by Venus, the planet of beauty and aesthetics, which means you’re drawn to the flashy colors and engaging info on your phone. If you’re finding it tough — especially as a chatty air sign — to step away, mess up the experience by turning on the grayscale feature.

Go to Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, and then Color Filters. Toggle the Color Filters off and your phone will go into black and white mode. Almost immediately your TikTok FYP, texts, and fave websites will seem a lot less fun and engaging. It’s the perfect mind trick to play on yourself when you need a break.

Scorpios love chatting with pals throughout the day, but there often comes a moment when your introverted brain feels completely overwhelmed with the onslaught of texts, especially if you’re in a chatty group chat.

As a Pluto-ruled water sign, your empathy might kick in and compel you to answer every message, even when you’re busy at work or trying to get some sleep. To free yourself from the responsibility, put on Do Not Disturb. It’ll give you a much-needed breather.

Sagittarians love to stay connected and in the know, so you’ll happily stay up until dawn scrolling through the news and laughing at TikToks. As a fire sign, you also live for the constant onslaught of media that can be found in a perfectly curated FYP. It might even feel like you’re addicted at times.

If you have something important to do, or if you simply want a mental break, you might need to take drastic measures and stash your cell in an, um, cell. There are lockable phone boxes available that force you to set your phone down for a while. If nothing else, the cell will be a visual reminder to stay off your phone until you get some sleep or complete your to-do list.

While many people reach for their phone first thing in the morning, Capricorns really take the cake when it comes to waking up and scrolling immediately. You like to check websites, your emails, and all of your favorite apps, but deep down you know it isn’t the best way to start your day.

As a busy earth sign, you honestly can’t go without your phone for too long, but you can treat yourself to a few more phone-free hours. Look for ways to rely a little less on it, maybe by using a real alarm clock instead of your phone, reading paper books instead of your Kindle app, or jotting to-dos in a real planner. It’ll be a good way to give your eyes a break from the blue light, too.

Tech-savvy Aquarians will need to beat themselves at their own game to spend less time on their phone. As a Uranus-ruled air sign, you likely have a perfectly organized home screen full of apps you open daily. There’s Apple Fitness that tracks your steps, various alarm apps that keep you on schedule, and you also have all the social media apps that you could easily stare at all day.

To break your phone habit, try moving your most-used apps off your home screen so you have to scroll a bit longer to find them. Hopefully, it’ll buy you enough time to catch yourself before you open them up again. If not, download an app-blocking app that’ll freeze your faves and spare you from another eight-hour doom scroll.

If you’re looking for a way to use your phone less often as a Pisces, consider entrusting it to your partner. Ask them to keep it while you’re working or trying to sleep. If you live alone, set up phone-free areas in your home and promise yourself that you’ll never check your texts or scroll TikTok when you’re hanging out there, like your bed or in your bathroom. As a water sign, you’ll appreciate the art of romanticizing your day and having more peace and quiet.