How to Stop Mobile Scrolling and Start Living
Restricting digital use will make you a better person
I wait for the weekend, and when it’s there, I spend the weekend scrolling through my mobile.
Last Saturday, I woke up at 10:00 a.m. I started the day with the mobile. I did random scrolling and did not realize when the time was 2:00 p.m. After lunch, I slumped onto my couch and played with the mobile. When the day ended, there was pain in my eyes, and I felt uneasy.
I realized how dangerous incessant mobile scrolling is.
So, I thought to replace this habit with something productive.
The next day was Sunday.
After waking up, I went to the kitchen to make the breakfast.
After that, I had a lazy time, and it was tempting to scroll the mobile. But instead, I took out my embroidery kit and started doing needlework.
I didn’t know how I spent three hours on this work.
I love doing this hobby. It is close to my heart.
I had lunch, and then again, the temptation to scroll mobile was there.
It was boring to do embroidery again. So, I opened my laptop and started writing.
It took another 2 to 3 hours. By the time I finished it, the sunset was there. I headed straight out of my room for an evening walk. I came back to my room at 8:00 p.m. I was a different person. I ended that day at 10:00 p.m. I used my phone only for answering calls.
It was an achievement for me.
So, how do you reduce phone usage?
#1. Set hobbies for the weekends
List all those activities that give you happiness and take you into the flow state. It could be anything, like painting, sketching, embroidery, writing, cooking, or gardening.
Set 2 to 3 activities to avoid the boredom of doing the same hobby. I seldom get bored with one type of work, so I keep a stock of multiple sets of hobbies to keep me busy during my leisure hours.
Start doing some hobby when you have the temptation to play with the mobile.
Check how you feel doing the hobby for 1 hour. Do you experience boredom or fulfillment? If you feel bored, this activity does not connect with your soul. Find out another hobby.
The idea is to find an activity where you find a soul connection. It will bind you without any effort.
When you have a lot of time during weekends, you can experiment with multiple hobbies.
#2. Start online activities for the weekdays
During the weekdays, when you don’t have much time for hobbies, you automatically move to scrolling your mobile during free time. Substitute this time with reading an online book summary. It is an effective way to utilize mobile scrolling habits with something that will help you in your writing journey. And if you do not love reading it will boost your knowledge. It is far better than random scrolling.
#3. Do time management for online activities
We cannot resist when there is any mobile notification.
It can be email or any social media. We keep checking the mobile now and then. It has a few negative impacts on us.
- It distracts from our current work.
- It brings unnecessary anxiety and overthinking.
- It reduces the productivity at work.
How you can avoid this problem?
Set aside a definite time during the day to check all your mobile notifications.
For example, block your calendar for ten minutes in the afternoon and after dinner to respond to all the online notifications.
#4. Avoid checking your mobile after waking up
I have started the habit of not checking my mobile after waking up.
Till now, I was doing this.
How did I feel?
- My day started with whatever the world served me.
- I did not have control over my emotions to respond to the external events.
I changed my morning routine by doing a few simple things.
- I check my mobile one hour after waking up.
- After waking up, I go outside and soak in the early morning sun.
These simple lifestyle changes have brought significant changes in my thought process. This time without technology gives me better control over my responses to others. I have learned to have a high-level overview of every situation to understand my role.
It gives me better clarity on my action items and responses.
To summarise, you can bring a few simple changes in your daily life to reduce the habit of unnecessary mobile scrolling.
- Include hobbies during the weekends
- Start reading online books during the weekdays during the free time.
- Do not check your mobile after waking up.
- Start time management for responding to emails and other social notifications.
This way, you have better control of the technology and live a better life.
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