Building a signal lamp to reduce screen time
Like everybody else, I struggle with overconsumption of online media. I tried all the normal approaches, like screen time apps and so on, and in the end they don't work. I believe that for the change to be sustainable and final, it has to occur in oneself and not be forced from the outside by some technical gadget.
In order to change your ways, you must, of course, first change the way you think about things (Epicurus, Churchill, Taylor Swift, et al.). And so I opted to divide my time into Quality Time and Brainrot Time. Quality Time would be the large part of the day, where I wouldn't be allowed to consume nonsense online media like YouTube, YouTube Shorts, and so on. Brainrot Time would, of course, be the opposite: three hours in the evening when I could consume to my heart's content.
To remind me of these two parts of the day, I built a little signal lamp.
Building the signal lamp
I already had some frosted acrylic that I wanted to use as the front of the light. I designed a wooden enclosure around it and had the wood cut at the hardware store. Using a router, I cut slots to mount the acrylic panel, and also slots to mount a divider, so I could light up two parts of the acrylic separately.
Using my foil cutting plotter, I designed and produced the lettering for the frosted acrylic front. I also produced a backplate with two rows of LEDs for lighting the top or bottom text. I put everything together with glue and nails because it made for a sleeker design. I would have liked to build something where the acrylic plate could be replaced, but I didn't have the right tools at the time.
I used one of these generic LED drivers with an ESP32 you can find on AliExpress (mine was named GLEDOPTO ESP32). I replaced the stock firmware with ESPHome and wrote some code to either light up the top or bottom row of LEDs. I also made the firmware sync with the time on my Home Assistant system, and automatically switch between Brainrot or Quality Time based on the time of day. I used LEDs that are individually addressable (WS2812B) and could have done more funky features, but I loved the simplicity of it. ESPHome also had a fade-on/fade-off effect that gave the whole thing a more analogue feeling, which really complemented the wood case.
Did It Work for Reducing Screen Time?
Sort of. I built the thing directly after completing my master's thesis, because I struggled with procrastination and excessive screen time while writing. However, I became more relaxed after submitting my thesis, and with the onset of summer, I also went out more, and so naturally transitioned to less screen time.
Still, it is a nice object to have in my home — an object that sparks joy, if you are into that metric. I was also able to improve my woodworking and design skills, which is, of course, also a good thing, and a hobby that doesn't involve screen time.
I am certain the next stressful period will come up eventually, and then I will check whether this signal lamp can help me keep screen time low and form better habits.
