Skip straight to the page

Department of going home

Home time is part of the plan

A break that swallows the afternoon stops being a break. Everything on this site is chosen to fit around a working day, and this page is about keeping it that way.

House habits

How the studio keeps play in proportion

Set the length before the first tap

Decide on five, ten or fifteen minutes and tell yourself out loud if it helps. A limit chosen beforehand holds up much better than one made up halfway through a good run.

Let a timer do the remembering

The clock app on every phone has a timer. Start it with the game. When it rings, finish the level you are on and close the tab, not the next one.

Stand up between sessions

The NHS suggests breaking up long spells of sitting. We treat the end of a game as the cue to refill the water glass or walk to the window.

Built-in tools

Limits your devices can enforce for you

  • iPhone and iPad: set a daily cap on Safari, or on a whole app category, through Screen Time, which warns you five minutes before it runs out.
  • Android: inside Digital Wellbeing you can give each app its own timer, while Focus mode pauses distracting apps during set hours.
  • Windows: Microsoft Family Safety can schedule screen time for any account, including your own.
  • Any browser: keep game tabs in a separate window, so closing it at the end of a break is one click.

Idle games, specifically

The trouble with games that play themselves

Tiny Fishing and PLINKO! both carry on earning while you are away, and that is part of their appeal. It also means they can tug at you all afternoon with the idea that something is waiting to be collected.

Our rule is simple: check them at the start and the end of a break, never in between. Whatever has piled up will still be there.

Warning lights

Signs it is time to clock off

Any one of these is reason enough to close the tab and step away.

  • The timer rang a while ago

    And you are still saying “one more level”.

  • It feels like a chore

    You are playing out of habit or to collect something, not because it is fun.

  • Sleep is slipping

    Late sessions on a phone in bed are the quickest way to a tired morning.

  • Other things are waiting

    Work, meals, people or plans keep getting nudged back to fit the game in.

Talking to someone

If screen time is getting on top of you

For many people the fix is just a firmer routine. If it feels harder than that, these UK services are free and confidential:

  • Your GP can talk through sleep, low mood or habits that have got out of hand, and refer you on if needed.
  • Every Mind Matters on the NHS website has practical self-help for stress, sleep and anxiety.
  • Childline on 0800 1111 is there for anyone under 19, about anything at all.
  • Internet Matters publishes clear guides for parents on screen time at each age.