The only way to stop scrolling that resonates with me

Over the years I've tried many ways to break the urge to aimlessly scroll on my phone. Some have helped, for example removing the majority of my notifications made a big difference. But from articles that I've read and podcasts that I've listened to, it seems that most of the typical advice given to reduce scrolling (switch screen to greyscale, set up screen time limits, keep the phone in another room and so on) is not really effective long term. 

The evidence for this mainly comes from a recent research paper from JMIR Publications which you can read here - Interventions for Digital Addiction: Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.

The only piece of advice that I've found to work for me was something that I heard very recently from Cal Newport in his podcast, and it's something that seems obvious but needs a bit of work to implement. 

I'm paraphrasing, but it was all to do with making your offline life more interesting than your online life. If your life is filled with easy to access and enjoyable activities, then you will always turn to those rather than scrolling aimlessly.

So I've been thinking about how I can create that life for myself. Here are some things that I already do:

I try to always have an excellent book on the go. This is the most important thing, and I am very discerning about the books that I read. Some books grip me more than others, and I've noticed that when I'm particularly enjoying a book I'll always choose it over my phone.

I love doing a quick puzzle on paper. You can buy puzzle books really cheaply at supermarkets and they can keep you going for ages. My favourites are word puzzles like Codewords or number puzzles like Sudoku.

Photo credit Bozhin Karaivanov via Unsplash

I'm not the most sociable of people, but I'm lucky in that the people I do choose to spend time with are generally also happy to keep their phones out of sight while we talk. When I'm chatting with someone I never feel the urge to look at my phone, I just get irritated when it beeps at me.

I almost always have a jigsaw puzzle on the go. I love it when a jigsaw puzzle reaches a stage where you have all the remaining pieces laid out and you can easily drop by for a few minutes and place a couple of pieces.

Similarly, I like to have a simple craft that can be worked on a little bit at a time. Personally I enjoy cross stitch, or also miniature house kits which are broken down into lots of smaller steps that each only take a few minutes. 

Another activity that takes me away from my phone is doing exercise, whether that's going for a walk, a swim or just a quick exercise video that occupies my phone while I follow it. 

Finally I try to keep as much as I can paper based. I do use an app for the grocery shopping list, but I have a physical planner for my daily jobs. I keep a scrap notebook where I can write down things that pop into my head, as well as a collection of journals and hobby notebooks. If I was picking up my phone to tick something off a list I know that I would easily get distracted. 

I'm not perfect by any means, but now that I've got this idea in mind I'm hoping that I'll find it much easier to avoid the doomscrolling! Please do leave a comment if you have any other tips to share.

How did I fill boring moments before I had a smartphone?

I'm constantly trying to cut back on my smartphone use. I can be successful, I'm good at putting the phone in another room while I do some reading or crafting. The times I struggle are those moments which aren't quite long enough to get stuck into something else.

For example when I'm ready to go out and it's not time to leave, if I'm waiting in the car for someone or while I'm making dinner but there isn't anything that needs chopping or stirring for a few minutes. I also regularly pick up my phone to procrastinate instead of getting on with something boring that I need to do like housework.

I had these moments before a smartphone of course, and it really wasn't that long ago, but it's difficult to remember what it was like!

When I was much younger and found myself waiting around I used to occupy myself with a word game. I would look for a long word on a sign or something nearby and see how many smaller words I could make from the letters. I got very good at it, and I loved the satisfaction of finding a long word. I did this all the time, but I've not done it for years!

If I was waiting for something to finish or I had a few odd minutes I daydreamed, I've always had an active imagination. But I don't remember worrying or getting anxious about things, instead I used to spend a lot of time making up stories in my head.  

I definitely had much better focus. When I was doing homework I didn't look for micro distractions, I just got on with it if it needed to be done. I would be hopeless now, with a phone to pick up whenever things got difficult!

If I was waiting around for someone, which we did a lot more when we didn't have phones to let people know if we were running late, I suppose I must just have stood there and looked at what was going on around me. I'm always arriving early, and I remember just sitting on a bench or something and waiting patiently!

I did use to read magazines more often, perhaps they were a way of filling a few minutes at a time without the commitment of a book. I also watched more television. We had it on in the mornings while we were getting ready (The Big Breakfast!) so if we were early there was something to watch while we waited.

Photo credit Artem Beliaikin via Unsplash

If I want to cut down on my smartphone use it's these moments that I need to manage. I'm going to start playing my word game again, and maybe trying to take a few moments just to breathe or to watch what's going on around me rather than getting sucked into the mindless scrolling!

Ways that my phone makes me anxious

I wouldn't like to say that I'm addicted to my phone exactly, but the truth is that I waste far more time on it than I would like. And recently I've noticed that when I pick up my phone I start to experience some feelings of anxiety, in particular my heart rate feels like it is increasing. This has become more of a recent problem and is a bit worrying, so I've decided to try and have a think about what is causing this, and how I can put a stop to it. 

Here are some of the ways that my phone makes me anxious:

I feel pressure to be constantly on call. The school needs to be able to contact me, and my husband use our phones to send messages to each other during the day. So I can't turn it off or even put it in another room in case I miss something.

My phone itself is a few years old now, but it would be expensive to replace. When I'm out and about I'm constantly checking my bag or pockets to make sure that I still have it.

I receive a lot of e-mails. True that most of them aren't important, but a lot of communication from the school for example is sent by e-mail and needs to be acted on. 

I work part-time for a company that sometimes sends out intermittent work at short notice. Often an e-mail will be sent advising that work is available that then runs out a few hours later. So if I miss an e-mail I miss the work, but if I check the e-mail and find work I feel the need to drop everything and get straight on with it. Both things that make me feel anxious!

There is always something new on my phone. A new status update on social media, a news headline, a reply to something that I've shared online. I worry about what I'm missing. 

Even seeing my phone out of the corner of my eye makes me feel anxious. I know that once I pick up my phone and start scrolling I'll find it hard to put it back down. I often get stuck in a cycle of checking the various news apps, my blog reader, social media sites, YouTube and so on, going round and round between them. 

Photo credit Daria Nepriakhina via Unsplash

I already do lots of things to try and break the habit. I don't have social media apps on my phone and nearly all my notifications are switched off. I have reduced who I follow on social media. I keep a book close by to turn to instead of my phone, and when everyone is at home I try to keep the phone in another room. 

I've had successful screen breaks in the past and felt much better for it. So I do know what to do about it, I just need to make more of an effort!