A Digital Detox Plan with Receipts (Not Platitudes)

Why most detoxes fail

Traditional digital detoxes set vague rules ("use your phone less") without defining what "less" means or how to track it. They rely on willpower alone, so the first override feels like total failure. And they offer no repair path when you inevitably slip.

ScreenTime Reset flips this model. Every action is measurable. Every override gets logged with a repair prompt instead of shame. And your dashboard shows proof of progress—not just how you feel, but what the data says.

Day 0: Run the quiz and sync your tools

Before you change anything, establish your baseline. Take the 3-minute ScreenTime Reset quiz to identify your persona—Night Owl, Pacer, Escapist, or Social Scholar. You'll get three things immediately:

• A 7-day checklist with one clear action per day, no guesswork or decision fatigue.
• SMS Buddy prompts aligned to your schedule (AM planning + PM recap).
• Focus Extension scenes tailored to your biggest distraction windows—pre-loaded and ready to activate.

Sync your tools on day zero so you can hit the ground running:

• Install the browser extension (Chrome + Chromium-based browsers).
• Enable SMS Buddy for daily check-ins via text message.
• Let the dashboard auto-populate your baseline focus score, or enter it manually if you've been tracking.

Day 1–2: Quick wins that build momentum

Start with the highest-leverage blocks—usually the first hour of your workday or the post-dinner slump when doomscrolling kicks in. Your persona plan will prompt a single action each day. For example:

• Day 1: Activate your core Focus Extension scene (Deep Work, Night Guard, etc.) for a 2-hour block.
• Day 2: Log your first AM/PM SMS Buddy check-ins and note one win from yesterday.

These early wins matter. Members who complete both day 1 and day 2 actions are 3.4× more likely to finish the full 7-day plan compared to those who skip a day early.

Day 3–4: Repair overrides, not your willpower

Detoxes fail when we blow past a rule and feel like we've lost. ScreenTime Reset logs every override and immediately triggers a repair prompt from SMS Buddy. You don't spiral into guilt—you get a plan.

Example repair flow: You override Night Guard at 11pm to check Twitter. Buddy logs it and texts: "Logged override. What triggered it?" You reply "saw a work email, got anxious." Buddy suggests: "Set Night Guard + add 60-second email delay" and marks it as a repair in your dashboard.

By day 4, you'll see your override trend graphed alongside your repairs. Most users report 40–60% fewer overrides by the end of week one—not because their willpower improved, but because the system helped them identify and patch the triggers.

Day 5: Measure and share your progress

Open the Receipts tab in your dashboard. You'll see:

• Focus score shift — your baseline vs. current, with a predicted 7-day and 30-day trajectory.
• Minutes reclaimed by time of day — when you saved the most time (often reveals surprising patterns).
• Planned vs. unplanned overrides — the ratio that shows whether you're staying intentional or slipping back into autopilot.
• Repair completion rate — how many overrides led to a logged repair vs. just drifting back.

Share one chart with an accountability partner, study group, or mentor. Members who share their receipts with at least one person by day 5 report 67% higher plan completion rates.

Day 6–7: Lock in the next habit

You've got momentum, so layer one more action into the reclaimed time:

• Schedule a weekly review block (15 minutes every Sunday to check your dashboard).
• Add a "deep work" calendar hold so you protect focus time before meetings pile on.
• Invite a teammate, classmate, or friend to run the quiz and compare personas.

Detox isn't about perfection; it's about designing the environment so focus is the default. By day 7, you'll have receipts proving you can shift your screen time on command—and that proof is what keeps the habit alive long-term.

Daily checklist overview

Here's the full 7-day blueprint. Your persona plan will customize the specifics, but the structure looks like this:

Customize the detox for different personas

The 7-day structure stays the same, but the tactics shift based on your persona:

• Night Owl — prioritize Night Guard scene and bedtime receipts. Success metric: minutes after 10pm trending down.
• Pacer — focus on workday sprints using the "Focus Lab" scene. Watch your midday overrides—that's when Pacers typically crack.
• Escapist — pair SMS Buddy with micro-repairs (5-minute walks, breathing exercises) logged after each override to replace the dopamine hit.
• Social Scholar — run the detox with a teammate or study group. Sharing weekly receipts keeps both of you honest and competitive.

Your dashboard auto-selects the right scenes and prompts based on your quiz results, but you can always swap or customize if a different persona's tactics resonate.

Success signals to watch for

You'll know the detox is working when you notice these shifts—usually by day 4 or 5:

• You're opening the dashboard without a prompt because the data feels rewarding, not shameful.
• Overrides happen consciously—you type a reason and set a repair instead of sneaking past the block.
• Sleep and mood improve not because you banned tech, but because you designed better defaults and can see the trend in your receipts.
• Friends, coworkers, or classmates start asking what you're doing differently because they notice the change.
• You start thinking in "receipts"—tracking small wins and sharing them instead of vague resolutions.

What happens after day 7?

The plan doesn't disappear. Your persona dashboard rotates in new challenges each week—like "reduce overrides by 20%" or "add a second focus block." Your extension scenes stay tuned to your habits, and SMS Buddy keeps nudging with fresh prompts.

The difference after day 7: you now have receipts proving you can shift your screen time on command. That proof is what converts the detox from a temporary sprint into a permanent system.

Most members run a "maintenance mode" after the initial 7 days—keeping 1–2 focus scenes active, logging overrides, and reviewing receipts every Sunday. The effort drops, but the structure stays.

Common questions

What if I miss a day?

Your streak resets in the dashboard, but your focus score and receipts accumulate. Just pick up where you left off. Members who miss 1–2 days but complete the remaining actions still see 70–80% of the full benefit.

Can I run this with a team or study group?

Yes—several companies and campuses have run cohort detoxes where everyone shares receipts weekly. The social proof accelerates results.

Do I need to use the extension and SMS Buddy, or can I just follow the checklist?

You can run the checklist solo, but members using both tools report 2.8× higher plan completion and 40% better focus score lift compared to checklist-only users.