You’ve definitely given me ideas to hopefully practice. For a few years I’ve implemented a social media sabbath when I take the day off from social media. It’s Saturday; I’m Jewish. On Sunday when I return I realize I’ve missed nothing!
Alas, limiting online time is not possible when the computer is integral to employment. That's the tradeoff for being able to work at home on certain days. 9-5 office hours simply don't exist any more. It's nice to take a break from the bombardment of work-related screen time with a little social media, which of course adds to the other hours.
True - when you rely on social media or being online for your work it is more challenging to reset and integrate breaks, but I do swear by a mini digital detox for your brain whenever possible - even on weekends!
So many wonderfully practical ideas in the article AND in the comments - thank you! I would love to crowdsource more "scrolling substitutes" that could take place at the times I'm likely to go to insta for a quick dopamine hit, like waiting for my next work meeting to start (not likely to bust out a book... though maybe I should!) or while rubbing my kid's back to put him to sleep (not the time for a hike with friends!). What are other quick, low-lift brain breaks?
About a month ago, I went cold turkey from social (instagram was all I used regularly) and only occasionally wonder what I’m missing from Shira and a stylist I follow but I get weekly substacks from both so believe that I’ll get the most important details without all the horrible ads and suggested posts that sucked me under. I have spent less money and time on my phone. I do spend more time scrolling my news feed but that’s a lot easier to stop doing and I can’t do it nearly as long as I could insta. 🤍
I love all of these suggestions- I find it even more important as I have teens wading into this realm. That’s a whole other ball of wax!
One thing I’ve found really helpful is turning my phone screen to black and white (look it up, and you can make a quick shortcut on your phone to toggle back and forth). The lack of eye catching colour makes your phone seem less like bubblegum and more like yesterday’s newspaper. It’s quite calming. Give it a try! It’s a fun experiment on the brain ;)
Do you think it’s actually possible to curate your feeds with the influx of advertising and recommended content? I keep Facebook for networking/local community groups and I find that since I relatively (who knew 500 would be low) few friends I see SO much promoted garbage and what the meta algorithm decided to show me. I still seem to get stuck in a scroll holes but find that it’s less and less of the actual content I hope to see.
I believe you can curate who you follow and give your attention to even with the onslaught of annoying ads and recs. I've found it helpful to avoid scrolling and just head directly to visit the accounts I'm interested in. x
The app ScreenZen has been a game changer for me. It's completely changed my Instagram usage habits in a way I was never able to do with Screen Time. The key is that it interrupts the scroll- I give myself five 10 minute blocks of time per day to use Instagram. I press a button that opens Instagram for 10 minutes and once the 10 minutes is up, it automatically shuts off. If I want to continue, I have to push the button again. After a year of using the app, I rarely use all 5 blocks of time- usually only 2 or 3. Back when I was setting time limits with Screen Time I would often use all 60 minutes at once or use it constantly throughout the day for a minute or 2 here and there.
Thanks for the tips! I'm going to try the detox day. I sometimes have days where I am too busy to use social media but I like the idea of making the decision to intentionally avoid it one day a week.
My favorite book on this topic is Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. Changed how I organize my todo lists and life, ultimately led me to delete all social media off my phone and put the ones that i actually use on a tablet/computer so I can still use it when I want to. I was really afraid to be out of the loop and have major FOMO but once I left I realized it’s kinda nice out here!
I have never used my phone for any social media. It didn't feel conducive. My poison is desktop and laptop. Problematic during work hours. I telework and it's easy to pivot to social media in downtime when bored. (Social media for me is Facebook and Substack). Also difficult is laptop in bed. One more Substack newsletter hit which often turns into a dive down a rabbit hole. I do love the idea of a tech sabbath. That I will implement.
You’ve definitely given me ideas to hopefully practice. For a few years I’ve implemented a social media sabbath when I take the day off from social media. It’s Saturday; I’m Jewish. On Sunday when I return I realize I’ve missed nothing!
Love a digital sabbath - or as my friend Tiffany calls it "tech shabbat"!!
Alas, limiting online time is not possible when the computer is integral to employment. That's the tradeoff for being able to work at home on certain days. 9-5 office hours simply don't exist any more. It's nice to take a break from the bombardment of work-related screen time with a little social media, which of course adds to the other hours.
True - when you rely on social media or being online for your work it is more challenging to reset and integrate breaks, but I do swear by a mini digital detox for your brain whenever possible - even on weekends!
So many wonderfully practical ideas in the article AND in the comments - thank you! I would love to crowdsource more "scrolling substitutes" that could take place at the times I'm likely to go to insta for a quick dopamine hit, like waiting for my next work meeting to start (not likely to bust out a book... though maybe I should!) or while rubbing my kid's back to put him to sleep (not the time for a hike with friends!). What are other quick, low-lift brain breaks?
I would love to crowdsource a list of scrolling substitutes as well! Here are a few that came to mind for me:
- Good old fashioned day dreaming
- Stretching, yoga, a 5-minute meditation
- Check in with a friend
- Doodle, draw, write
- Listen to music
- Try a mini declutter
- Drink water :)
About a month ago, I went cold turkey from social (instagram was all I used regularly) and only occasionally wonder what I’m missing from Shira and a stylist I follow but I get weekly substacks from both so believe that I’ll get the most important details without all the horrible ads and suggested posts that sucked me under. I have spent less money and time on my phone. I do spend more time scrolling my news feed but that’s a lot easier to stop doing and I can’t do it nearly as long as I could insta. 🤍
Love that! And don't worry, the good stuff is here :)
I love all of these suggestions- I find it even more important as I have teens wading into this realm. That’s a whole other ball of wax!
One thing I’ve found really helpful is turning my phone screen to black and white (look it up, and you can make a quick shortcut on your phone to toggle back and forth). The lack of eye catching colour makes your phone seem less like bubblegum and more like yesterday’s newspaper. It’s quite calming. Give it a try! It’s a fun experiment on the brain ;)
Ooh yes - I keep hearing about this! Will have to try!
Do you think it’s actually possible to curate your feeds with the influx of advertising and recommended content? I keep Facebook for networking/local community groups and I find that since I relatively (who knew 500 would be low) few friends I see SO much promoted garbage and what the meta algorithm decided to show me. I still seem to get stuck in a scroll holes but find that it’s less and less of the actual content I hope to see.
I believe you can curate who you follow and give your attention to even with the onslaught of annoying ads and recs. I've found it helpful to avoid scrolling and just head directly to visit the accounts I'm interested in. x
The app ScreenZen has been a game changer for me. It's completely changed my Instagram usage habits in a way I was never able to do with Screen Time. The key is that it interrupts the scroll- I give myself five 10 minute blocks of time per day to use Instagram. I press a button that opens Instagram for 10 minutes and once the 10 minutes is up, it automatically shuts off. If I want to continue, I have to push the button again. After a year of using the app, I rarely use all 5 blocks of time- usually only 2 or 3. Back when I was setting time limits with Screen Time I would often use all 60 minutes at once or use it constantly throughout the day for a minute or 2 here and there.
Thanks for the tips! I'm going to try the detox day. I sometimes have days where I am too busy to use social media but I like the idea of making the decision to intentionally avoid it one day a week.
Fantastic resource - thanks so much for sharing! x
My favorite book on this topic is Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. Changed how I organize my todo lists and life, ultimately led me to delete all social media off my phone and put the ones that i actually use on a tablet/computer so I can still use it when I want to. I was really afraid to be out of the loop and have major FOMO but once I left I realized it’s kinda nice out here!
Ooh, thanks so much for the rec - can't wait to check this one out! And agree - I haven't missed any of the social media apps I've broken up with :)
I have never used my phone for any social media. It didn't feel conducive. My poison is desktop and laptop. Problematic during work hours. I telework and it's easy to pivot to social media in downtime when bored. (Social media for me is Facebook and Substack). Also difficult is laptop in bed. One more Substack newsletter hit which often turns into a dive down a rabbit hole. I do love the idea of a tech sabbath. That I will implement.