It’s time-consuming, especially when you have other important tasks to take care of.

Likewise, setting a bedtime reminder won’t make any difference if it doesn’t affect your sleep hours.

Here, you’re free to find your YouTube usage stats for the last seven days.

youtube notifications page screenshot

For more detailed stats or earlier data, you could use features like Digital Wellbeing or Screen Time.

However, note that YouTube Time watched includes videos on all devices using your profile.

But if you use screen time tracking apps, you’ll have to set them separately for each rig.

Site Blocker Chrome Extension

On Android devices, head toSettings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Dashboard.

Find YouTube from the list of apps and set a daily timer for it.

To set this limit, go toYou tab > Time Watched > Tools to manage your YouTube time.

youtube with unhook extension screenshot

These reminders work only on the mobile app.

Turning Off Notifications

YouTube notifications can take a toll on your productivity.

To do so, go toYou tab > parameters (top-right corner) > Notifications.

watchkin website screenshot

Here, you could turn off different types of notifications individually.

On a computer, you’re able to access controls from the sidebar.

If you don’t want to turn off the notifications, another way is to create a scheduled digest.

Disabling Autoplay

Another feature that keeps you hooked to YouTube is autoplay.

To disable autoplay on YouTube, toggle off the autoplay button after playing any video.

On a mobile phone, you could also go toYou tab > configs > Autoplayand turn it off.

The other way toblock sites is by editing the Hosts file.

Bookmarking the Subscriptions Page

YouTube’s algorithm keeps you glued to your screen.

Scrolling through the home feed makes it easy to fall into the trap.

One way to avoid this trap is to bookmark theYouTube Subscriptions pageon your rig instead of the home page.

One way is toturn off your YouTube watch history.

For a stricter approach, use a web app add-on that removes YouTube’s suggested videos.

This extension removes the homepage feed, related videos, and end cards.

Best of all, it removes YouTube Shorts, which can be one of the reasons for your addition.

This little step can prevent you from being enticed into watching videos that aren’t worth your time.

Doing so means you will no longer have to face YouTube’s algorithm that keeps you hooked.

One such site isWatchkin.

It asks you to paste the URL of any YouTube video and plays that video on its site.

With no distractions on the screen, you won’t be tempted to watch any lifehacks.

SafeShareis another site you’re free to use for this purpose.

Without a doubt, YouTube is the go-to source of entertainment and education for billions of folks.

But watching it excessively can seriously hamper your productivity and sleep.