How to ditch the doomscroll

2023: the year I want to be more intentional with how I use my phone. I’m often losing track of time in a mindless doomscroll that leaves me feeling scattered instead of connected. I’d like to be more present, curious, and vaguely organized this year. Here’s how I plan to do it!

Change where you relax. If your favorite spot on the couch comes with the muscle memory of swiping open your phone, find a new place to reset. Thrift an antique chair you designate for only reading books. Get outside, your front porch still counts! Take yourself on coffee dates.

Move your body. Counter a restless mind by putting that energy somewhere else. Living room yoga and pulling weeds in the yard are my old standbys, but joining a gym or a skating club keeps you financially and socially accountable. The extra endorphins don't hurt either.

Replace scrolling with a new hobby. If you're staring wide-eyed at the amount of screen time you’re racking up, pick a new hobby to explore or reunite with one you miss. Take a ceramics class, make that dirt patch into a garden, or start building robots! Find something you enjoy.

Schedule in downtime. Most phones have a built-in ability to block any apps you choose, and you can specify when or how many hours you have access. You can override this, of course, but self-awareness coupled with self-restraint could be your new superpower.

Keep a list of projects "for later." I maintain a handwritten to-do list that lives by our front door. Some of the items I excessively groan at. Others, like signing my son up for gymnastics class, are things I look forward to. Being lightly productive helps my brain some days.

Record a timelapse. I've told countless friends about my surefire way to stay off my phone AND finish a much-needed task: simply record myself doing it. I can't absentmindedly pick up my phone, and I get a satisfyingly fast video of myself folding four baskets of laundry.

Charge devices away from your bed. Most of my doomscrolling happens between the hours of 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. Keeping my phone out of arm's reach means I can put on a face mask, open up my sketchbook, and listen to that new album I've been meaning to. No stress dreams allowed.

Lose the smartphone. If your life (read: work) allows it, take away the temptation and buy one of those bricks or flip phones you had in high school. Leave social media and doomscrolling for your computer, which isn’t as easy to access at all hours. You can play Snake, too.

Scrolling online isn’t all bad! Now is the time of year when we’re bombarded with lists just like these, trying to better our lives one bite-sized piece of advice at a time. I’m much better at getting change to stick when the personal shifts bring me joy. Cat videos included.