5 Key Changes I'm Making to Stop Wasting My Life Online

Time to put an end to the mindless scroll

Last week, I accidentally wasted several hours reading about a scandal involving a celebrity I don’t personally know or care about. One social media post led to an article, which linked to a Substack, which linked to an Instagram post, and on and on - I even read the comments.

I know this seems normal now, but it felt alarming. I had mindlessly given hours of my life to something that added nothing to it. And I’m embarrassed to admit this wasn’t a rare exception.

Since then, I’ve gone down a far more productive rabbit hole learning how to stop the scroll and reclaim my time and attention.

Below are the five key strategies I’m implementing to stop wasting time online:

Photography: Vivian Johnson for LifeStyled

1. Clarify What’s Truly Worth Your Attention

Before you can protect your attention, you need to know what deserves it in the first place.

I started by asking myself: What do I actually want to focus on and invest in?

I made a list:

• Mental and physical health

• My family, kids, and closest friends

• My career and creative work

• Using my skills to help others

• Travel, reading, and personal development

Your list will look different, and that’s the point. The goal is to get crystal clear on what matters most so you can give those things the majority of your attention.

Try this: Write down what you want to prioritize. Is it building a business that helps others? Deepening your friendships? Being present with your kids? Making art? Contributing to causes you care about? Keep this list somewhere visible as a reminder of where your attention should go. This is your North star.

2. Identify What’s NOT Worth Your Attention

This is harder than it sounds because many attention drainers don’t feel actively harmful—they just aren’t adding anything of value.

For me: mindless scrolling, overthinking DMs from strangers, obsessing over news I can’t control, getting pulled into outrage cycles. None of it makes my life better. It leaves me dizzy, drained, and less present for the things and people I actually care about.

Consider: What influences are you allowing into your brain daily? What do you want them to be?

What qualities do you want in the people you follow? For me it’s kindness, curiosity, critical thinking, and integrity.

Let your answers guide who you follow, what podcasts you listen to, what you watch.

Try this: Notice when you feel distracted, anxious, or drained. What were you just consuming? Take action—unsubscribe, delete the app, unfollow, block. Poof, they’re gone.

3. Start Treating Your Time Like Currency

If your attention is currency, then you need to budget it like you would your money. Before you dive into something—an article, a video, a scroll session—ask yourself: Would I pay money for this experience?

If the answer is no, don’t pay with your time either.

When you start valuing your attention this way, you naturally become more selective about where it goes.

Try this: For one week, pause before consuming any content and ask, “Would I pay $20 for this?” Notice what changes when you start seeing your attention as something valuable you’re actively choosing to spend.

4. Modify Your Daily Habits

The biggest shift I’ve made is no tech in the bedroom and no scrolling before breakfast. We removed our tv from the bedroom and I put my phone “to bed” in another room downstairs, which means I’m not checking email or social media first thing in the morning.

Here are some other habit shifts that help:

• Charge your phone outside your bedroom. Use an actual alarm clock.

• Create a morning routine that doesn’t involve screens. Try journaling, stretching, making a lovely breakfast, or going for a walk.

• Set specific times to check email and social media. Instead of constant checking, batch it into 2-3 designated windows during your day.

• Turn off all non-essential notifications. Do you really need to know the second a new email lands in your inbox?

Try this: Pick one habit to change this week. Start small—maybe it’s just charging your phone in the kitchen instead of on your nightstand. Notice how it affects your morning mood and energy.

5. Use Technology to Restrict Technology

Because we now know how harmful and distracting technology can be, there’s a wide range of apps and tools designed to help you limit your usage. Here are some I’m experimenting with:

• The Brick: A physical device that locks your phone for a set period. You literally can’t access it until the timer runs out.

• Grayscale mode: Turn your phone to grayscale in your settings. It makes everything look boring and significantly reduces the dopamine hit of colorful apps.

• Self Control (Mac) or Cold Turkey (Windows): Apps that block distracting websites for a set period—and you can’t override them, even if you restart your computer.

• One Sec: An app that adds a breathing exercise before you can open time-wasting apps. That tiny pause often makes you realize you don’t actually want to scroll.

• Freedom or Focus: Cross-platform apps that block distracting sites and apps across all your devices at once.

• Inbox Pause (for Gmail): Temporarily stops new emails from appearing in your inbox so you can focus without the constant influx. This one has been a game changer for me.

The key is finding what works for your specific temptations. If Instagram is your weakness, delete it from your phone and only access it from your computer. If news sites pull you in, block them during work hours.

Try this: Choose one tool this week and experiment with it. Start with something simple like turning your phone to grayscale or blocking your most-used distraction app for two hours a day. See what you notice.

READER PROMPT: I’d love to know—have you found strategies that work for reclaiming your attention? Share them in the comments so we can all learn from each other.

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