Boosting My Performance as a Software Engineer by Cutting Down on Screens

In the tech industry, we often fall into a common trap: believing that more screens equate to higher productivity. We convince ourselves that we are multitaskers and that having multiple monitors on at the same time makes us more efficient.

I hate to break it to you, but that is not the case.

This year I decided to take a close look at how I interact with technology, both on my computer and on my phone. What I discovered was a wake-up call: between 25% and 30% of my computer screen time had nothing to do with programming or my work (series, YouTube videos, or background music). For years I had fallen into the bad habit of having background noise while completing tasks; it made me feel falsely productive and, why not say it, less alone.

With the phone, the situation was even more critical. Social media had me completely absorbed: I had weeks where I clocked up to 8 hours of screen time dedicated to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Those hours slipped away almost without realizing it: during meals eaten alone, at night before going to sleep, or while waiting for long builds and background processes to finish.

In August, I decided to pull the brakes and cut off the constant craving for instant dopamine at the root. Here is the plan I put in place:

The 4 Measures That Changed My Day-to-Day

1. Strict limits on key apps

I set up screen time restrictions on my phone to limit Instagram and TikTok to 1 hour daily in total (my goal is to drop to under 1 hour combined by the end of the year). Even though iOS lets you bypass the limit easily, that small obstacle creates a mindful pause: it breaks the autopilot habit of opening the app by reflex and often helps me just put the phone down.

Dopamine: 0 – Antonio: 1.

2. Breaking away from empty hyperconnection

Much of my time on social media was spent communicating through videos: sending clips back and forth with friends or keeping meaningless streaks alive. It might sound silly, but we have normalized maintaining relationships purely by trading 15-second stimuli. Cutting down on that dependency freed up time and reduced my mental fatigue.

3. Instrumental music: functional sound for coding

I used to listen to all kinds of music while writing code: from rap and reggaeton to piano music. By experimenting with different genres, I realized my brain was burning background energy trying to process lyrics. Now I stick strictly to instrumental music: melodic electronic or techno when I need raw momentum, and Lo-Fi or ambient when I need deep, sustained focus (deep work).

4. Rebuilding my long-form attention span

Short-form consumption is actively eroding our ability to focus. Many of us struggle to get through a medium-complexity technical article, finish a book, or even follow a movie with an intricate plot without checking our phone within 20 minutes. By gradually picking reading back up—whether fiction or in-depth technical posts—I have been retraining my sustained focus and reading comprehension.

The Results: Impact on Numbers and Focus

The changes did not take long to show up in my metrics and overall well-being:

• From 8 hours to 4 hours of screen time: now my phone usage is limited to essential communication (WhatsApp, LinkedIn) or podcasts and educational content.
• From 300+ to ~80 pickups a day: goodbye to the compulsive urge to check notifications every two minutes.
• Less stress and better rest: by dialing down constant overstimulation, my mental clarity has drastically improved.

All that reclaimed time and energy now translates into real projects: I clear through work tasks much faster, and I invest the extra hours into building personal projects and upskilling in areas that genuinely excite me (software architecture, RAG, LLMs, and SEO).

Less digital noise does not mean isolating yourself from technology; it means taking back control over where you choose to spend your attention.