Check Screen Time on Laptop

You know it's time to dodge screens when your eyes feel on fire and your head bumps heavily. Now, quitting screens altogether for 4 to 5 hours is not a luxury most of us can afford. With personal and professional lives being at the mercy of laptops, zoning out is hardly going to help. 

What you can do is apportion screen time and keep track of it. By checking screen time on your laptop, you can stay focused on the need-to-do tasks, minimizing excessive exposure. In this guide, we’ll show you five easy ways to keep track of screen time on the laptop. Let’s get into it. 

What is Screen Time on Laptop

It is the number of hours you spend in front of your laptop per 24 hours. Generally, display time is not confined to laptops, phones, or tablets. However, since most of the work of an average adult is carried out via laptops, screen time can be considered in the context of laptops only. You can view the usage of your laptop to protect your eye health. 

Benefits of Checking Screen Time on Laptop

Increased Productivity:

It helps you analyze the time you spend on unproductive applications so you can limit your activity there. 

Limited UV Exposure:

By using your laptop only on a needful basis, your eyes won’t be exposed to the harmful UV radiation that can lead to blinding diseases or cancer. 

Improved Health:

Less usage of digital devices means less sitting in front of the laptop in an awful posture. Hence, your back can relax and you’ll probably have no more complaints regarding headaches. 

5 Ways to Check Screen Time on a Laptop

  1. Through the Settings App

The easiest way to check it on a laptop, be it Windows or Mac is through the settings. 

  • Go to Settings by clicking on the Windows icon. For Mac, go to the Apple menu.
  • Go to ‘Systems’ and then click ‘Power & Battery’ or ‘Battery’ in some Windows versions.
  • Select the ‘Battery Usage’ option leading to the battery usage graph.
  • In the top-right corner, set the dropdown box settings to ‘Last 24 hours’.
  • Below the graph, you can check the screen on/off, and sleep duration in hours.

  1. Through Windows Powershell App

You can also check this by accessing the built-in Powershell application in Windows. However, it only shows the screen usage duration after your last boot time. 

  • Go to the search bar on the bottom of your desktop and type ‘Windows Powershell’. 
  • Type the following code at the end of the default code which ends at ‘>’ :

(get-date) - (gcim Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

  • The total days, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds will appear in the same window. 

  1. Through Windows Task Manager

Another way to check this is via the Windows Task Manager. This method shows screen usage duration after your last restart.

  • Go to ‘Task Manager’ by clicking on the Windows icon.
  • Click the ‘Performance Icon’ (second icon on the vertical menu). 
  • Go to Graph No. 1 - the CPU Graph.
  • The area below the CPU graphs, mentioned ‘Uptime’ will show you the number of hours you’ve spent in front of the screen. 

  1. Through the Network Settings

The fourth method is via Network Setting on the Control Panel. This method is best if you want a precisely accurate duration, considering present seconds. 

  • Go to the Control Panel by searching for it in the start menu.
  • Click on ‘View network and status tasks’ under the ‘Network & Internet’ header.
  • Click on the ‘Wi-Fi <WiFi Name>’ on the right-hand side of the ‘View your Active Network’ partition.
  • Under the ‘General’ tab, the fifth heading, named ‘Duration’ will show you your ongoing laptop screen time. 

  1. Through the MonitUp App

This software works for both Windows and Mac. It’s dedicated to mapping, displaying, and analyzing screen time, giving you daily reports along with AI suggestions. 

  • Install the software from MonitUp’s official website.
  • Open the app and go to the custom dashboard.
  • The dashboard will show you a daily and weekly analysis of your usage in the form of a graph. 

Conclusion 

Keeping a strict check on your time spent in front of the screen is crucial in today’s technology-driven world. Now that you know how to check screen time on the laptop, you can micromanage your most important tasks accordingly. Not to forget the positive effects of leaving the laptop and your eyes alone.