YouTube is a goldmine of knowledge—and a rabbit hole of distractions. While the app is designed to keep you watching, there are a few ways to manage your time on the platform.
1
Read the Transcripts Instead
Reading the transcripts of YouTube videos instead of watching them at their pace can be an incredible time-saver. A transcript is a text version of the video that can be skimmed like an article.
Most YouTube creators talk much slower than the average reading speed, leading many people to crank up the playback speed. With transcripts, you can go through the video much faster without watching at 2x speed. They also make it easy to see the fluff ratio to actual content in the videos you watch.
Transcripts also let you skip ahead of the ads and sponsored segments to get to the actual content.
You don’t need an external transcript generator for YouTube videos. YouTube has an automatic caption generator that works reasonably well most of the time.
To use YouTube’s built-in transcript feature, open the video you want to transcribe and click more in the description box. In the expanded box, you can now find the Show transcript button. YouTube shows time stamps next to each line in the transcript box. Clicking on anyone will take you to that point in the video.
2
Set a Timer for the App
A timer for YouTube makes sense, especially if you are watching on your phone. Otherwise, you might get sucked into the endless cycle of SNL skits and cute pets acting out videos.
To set a timer for YouTube on Android, open Settings and navigate to Digital Wellbeing and parental controls. Click App timers > YouTube. On the next screen, choose App timer again under Screen time chart.
Once the timer is set, you will get a notification every time it runs out, and you will need to wait till the next day to use YouTube again.
If you’re on iOS, you can use Screen Time to set a time limit for the YouTube app.
If you’re watching YouTube on your break, set the timer duration for the length of your break. If you open YouTube for a specific video, set the timer to go off as soon as the video ends.
You can set the YouTube app itself to remind you to take a break after a certain amount of time. You can choose one of the available options or set a custom time. You can set a bedtime reminder on YouTube to alert you when it’s time to stop watching videos and go to sleep. However, these are gentle reminders compared to setting an app timer in Digital Wellbeing.
App timers work best when you don’t make any exceptions. If the timer goes off on a particularly interesting video, you should save it to your Watch Later playlist instead of adding more minutes to the timer.
3
Commit to Watching Videos Only On Your PC
The modern mobile phone is built to distract. Apart from notifications going off every five minutes, the applications are designed to be immersive and fill every inch of the viewing area with compelling content. They are pretty portable, easily accessible, and can fit in places where a laptop would be clunky and hard to use.
Your mobile phone is an unwitting accomplice in the ploy to keep you engaged and watching. The YouTube experience on a desktop computer is less immersive by default. It is harder (but still possible) to get yourself sucked into a YouTube binge.
While it is not always feasible, I try to watch YouTube only on my computer to watch only what I need to.
Watching on a PC also allows you to use browser add-ons to customize your YouTube experience and make the platform less of a time-hog. You can get started with DeArrow (shows accurate, community-curated titles and thumbnails) and Unhook (removes recommended videos and shorts).
4
Be Mindful of the Videos You Watch
The best way to reduce your watch time on YouTube is to simply be mindful of what you are watching and giving your attention to.
Before clicking any YouTube video, you should pause for a minute and try to predict how much value you will be getting for your time and attention. The video is probably a lot less interesting than the eye-catching thumbnail and clickbait title make it seem.
You can think back to the older videos you have watched and the actual impact they’ve had. I think that life is too short to waste on videos that don’t add any value. This works well since it involves you making a conscious decision to evaluate what the algorithm is serving you and whether it is worth the investment.
Remember that a video you didn’t actively seek out is most likely a waste of time. You might find something interesting occasionally, but these moments are usually few and far between.
5
Delete and Turn Off Watch History
While a bit more drastic, deleting and turning off your watch history is the best way to eliminate the home feed and recommended shorts. On the homepage, all you’ll see is the search bar and a prompt to turn your watch history back on. If you are using a browser, you can skip the home page entirely and bookmark your subscriptions.
There is no way to restore your watch history once it is deleted.
If you don’t want to go all the way in, an alternative is to pause your YouTube watch history. This way, the algorithm has a harder time recommending compelling videos to you. However, the change is milder, and you’ll still be recommended videos and shorts based on your likes, search history, and channel subscriptions.
YouTube is an incredible video-sharing platform but can be a serious distraction. A lot of people spend more time on YouTube than they want to. Admittedly, I’m still one of them, but I’m getting better at reclaiming my time from the platform with the tips listed above.
