Take Back Your Time: Beating the Algorithms & Breaking Screen Addiction | Aditi Mandal

Stop Doom-Scrolling! In 2026, the global average screen time has climbed to a staggering 6 hours and 38 minutes a day. We are constantly plugged in, but is it a lack of willpower, or are we just losing a rigged game? Today on the podcast, we sit down with Aditi Mandal to find out. Aditi spent a time working as a UX researcher, designing and making highly engaging digital products. 

But in 2017, she realized she was falling victim to the very systems she helped build. After embarking on a digital fitness journey, Aditi successfully beat the algorithms, engineering her own screen time down from 6 hours to just 1 intentional hour a day., Now, through her company Take Back Your Time, she coaches adults on how to build sustainable digital habits. 

We break down the exact mechanics of why we are addicted to our phones, the specific design tricks apps use to keep you scrolling, and the step-by-step toolkit you need to reclaim your attention without deleting the apps you need for work. Whether you're an entrepreneur struggling to focus or just someone looking to reclaim your attention span, Aditi breaks down actionable strategies—from introducing "positive friction" to buying an old-school alarm clock—that actually work in the real world.

Key Takeaways from this Episode

• The UX of Addiction: Why screen addiction isn't your fault—it's the consequence of thousands of engineers designing platforms to capture your attention.
• How Aditi: operates as a solopreneur and runs her 5-week cohort programs.
• Navigating the social perception of screen addiction and convincing people to invest in digital fitness.
• Real client stories: Better sleep, increased energy, and a touching story of a father bonding with his son.
• Beating the Algorithm: We break down the specific mechanical tricks apps use to keep you hooked, and the exact counter-strategies you need to fight back.
• The 4 Foundational Digital Habits: The exact, step-by-step mechanisms Aditi uses to help her clients break free from endless scrolling.
• The "Necessary App" Dilemma: How to set boundaries with mandatory apps like WhatsApp and LinkedIn that you simply cannot delete.
• Building a Wellness Business: Aditi’s journey of bootstrapping Take Back Your Time, finding her first paying clients, and growing her WhatsApp community.
• The Myth of Device Addiction: The core issue isn't an addiction to the physical device, but a compulsion to consume content every 10 to 15 minutes.
• Engineering "Positive Friction": How to make content consumption inconvenient by changing settings like YouTube autoplay, pausing your watch history, and keeping devices in another room.
• The "Long-Distance" Phone Relationship: Why keeping your phone physically away from you in a backpack or another room creates the necessary pause between a thought and a distraction.
• Why Digital Detoxes Fail: Retreats offer temporary peace, but they remove you from your real-life context. Sustainable change requires doing the habit work in your actual environment.

and much more!

Links

www.takebackyourtime.in

https://x.com/takebackyortime

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditi-mandal-77139742/

The Indian Startup Show is hosted and produced by Neil Patel

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilpatel2/

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