Sit and stare is my favorite thing to do in the mornings. Watch the sunlight bounce off the walls, my flowers in a vase, the cozy living room I’ve designed, my cup of tea…just being and thinking. Doing this consistently over time makes your brain desire screens less. For me it makes me recognize when I’ve scrolled too long and I get an internal push to put down my phone. I think all of your advice here if practiced fairly often creates an internal alarm that encourages less phone time because your brain begins to desire time away from the screen and wants more silence or sit and stares.
Yes to silent showers!! When I read the chapter of The Artist’s Way that talked about reading deprivation I was like oh man, no books this week will be tough but doable. Then I listened to the corresponding podcast episode you and MJ did where you mentioned that this book was written in a time before podcasts, social media, etc so there are way more ways we are filling our brains with other people’s thoughts every day then just through books. If you had asked me if I thought I was afraid to be alone with my own thoughts, I would have said no, but I realized my actions said otherwise. I would often start and end my day with a podcast, walk with a podcast, drive with one, shower listening to one, cook listening to one, etc. I have been making a conscious effort to unplug specifically in the shower, on walks, and the beginning and end of my day, and it’s making a huge difference in making space for my own ideas!
What a beautiful reflection— thanks for sharing! I agree and felt the same way about the “being alone with my thoughts” part… it’s really strange how subtly the constant earbud chatter took over my life
This is a wonderful list. I've started drinking my coffee in the garden and I want to start having a board game night with my husband each week. Focusing on how I want my life to feel is a great motivator.
I recently the Screen Zen app to make me wait 30 seconds before I can open social media apps. And it's worked brilliantly! I have social media for ny business that i do need to access sometimes so I can't just delete them from my phone. Having therefore reduced my phone time dramatically I can now feel a change in my head and body if I do start scrolling, it's shocked me how much it physically affects me! Paint by numbers, reading and walks in the woods are now replacing my screen time 😀
This hit me at the right time. I get so much FOMO with thinking about logging off of socials for a while, but I love your Tech Rest idea, like a digital sabbath in a way. I’m going to try it !
Well, let me just tell you that you won’t miss anything (or you’ll find JOMO) 😂 the book 24/6 by Tiffany Shlain is a really great motivator to take at least one low tech day a week!
Thank you for this! I totally agree on the silent showers and phone-free walks (I'm surprised by how many people find this radical behavior 😆). I need to work on the random pickups and your suggestion of leaving the phone in another room is absolutely what I need to do.
One thing that helped me in reducing this started with airplane mode an hour before bed and an hour awake before I took it off airplane mode. That’s about 10 hours of no phone. It’s how I end and start my day.
I'm so, so pleased I came across this post Anna. I generally have pretty strong tech-free habits but I still feel tethered to my phone - this was just what I needed to read. Thank you <3
Anyway, I'm going to write down my July goals while my phone sits far, far away...
After a very over stimulated stretch of time I’ve been trying out headphone free walks. At first it was so uncomfortable but now I’m starting to see the benefits of a little less constant input. I definitely need to add in the morning sit and stare
Oof—this is something I’ve been working on the past two months. The time widget is I think the most important aspect because it made me SO uncomfortable. So now I’m down to maybe 2 hours, but a lot of that now is reading or audiobook playtime, which is so much different than before. Now I’m trying to break myself of the habit off compulsively checking for notifications when I’m bored. 😩 It’s so much harder than it sounds!
Thank you for this wonderful read! This is something I have written about a lot. For me, it's about using the phone as a tool rather than the tool that's using us. That really rears its ugly head when we are talking about social media. The more we can divert things away from our phones specifically, even something as simple as putting social media on another screen, it helps.
I also love the idea of being a fairy in the woods with no internet in theory haha. Though, for me it would more be I want to have my own farm and grow all of my own food and trade with neighbors. Of course there will be Wi-Fi, but the surroundings will be so beautiful that being outside and in the moment with nature would be impossible to pass up.
I am very thankful to live in a relatively urban area that is also very green. It’s easy to get “lost” in a lot of parks around here, especially if you’re brave enough to go off the path a little bit.
Sit and stare is my favorite thing to do in the mornings. Watch the sunlight bounce off the walls, my flowers in a vase, the cozy living room I’ve designed, my cup of tea…just being and thinking. Doing this consistently over time makes your brain desire screens less. For me it makes me recognize when I’ve scrolled too long and I get an internal push to put down my phone. I think all of your advice here if practiced fairly often creates an internal alarm that encourages less phone time because your brain begins to desire time away from the screen and wants more silence or sit and stares.
Beautiful reflection, Janet! I agree— it’s a 360 degree attempt to remember i don’t need to be so attached to my phone 🤪
Yes to silent showers!! When I read the chapter of The Artist’s Way that talked about reading deprivation I was like oh man, no books this week will be tough but doable. Then I listened to the corresponding podcast episode you and MJ did where you mentioned that this book was written in a time before podcasts, social media, etc so there are way more ways we are filling our brains with other people’s thoughts every day then just through books. If you had asked me if I thought I was afraid to be alone with my own thoughts, I would have said no, but I realized my actions said otherwise. I would often start and end my day with a podcast, walk with a podcast, drive with one, shower listening to one, cook listening to one, etc. I have been making a conscious effort to unplug specifically in the shower, on walks, and the beginning and end of my day, and it’s making a huge difference in making space for my own ideas!
What a beautiful reflection— thanks for sharing! I agree and felt the same way about the “being alone with my thoughts” part… it’s really strange how subtly the constant earbud chatter took over my life
I second this!!!
This is a wonderful list. I've started drinking my coffee in the garden and I want to start having a board game night with my husband each week. Focusing on how I want my life to feel is a great motivator.
Yes! It’s really the question that snaps me out of how I *dont* want to be spending me time
Silent showers and phone free walks for me are big! love this list!
It’s like a factory of great ideas 😌
I love doing silent walks, showers, and car rides - even no head phones at the gym - and just letting my mind wander.
But sitting and staring in the morning is my current challenge!
I recently the Screen Zen app to make me wait 30 seconds before I can open social media apps. And it's worked brilliantly! I have social media for ny business that i do need to access sometimes so I can't just delete them from my phone. Having therefore reduced my phone time dramatically I can now feel a change in my head and body if I do start scrolling, it's shocked me how much it physically affects me! Paint by numbers, reading and walks in the woods are now replacing my screen time 😀
This hit me at the right time. I get so much FOMO with thinking about logging off of socials for a while, but I love your Tech Rest idea, like a digital sabbath in a way. I’m going to try it !
Well, let me just tell you that you won’t miss anything (or you’ll find JOMO) 😂 the book 24/6 by Tiffany Shlain is a really great motivator to take at least one low tech day a week!
Thank you for this! I totally agree on the silent showers and phone-free walks (I'm surprised by how many people find this radical behavior 😆). I need to work on the random pickups and your suggestion of leaving the phone in another room is absolutely what I need to do.
These are great tips! Thank you!
One thing that helped me in reducing this started with airplane mode an hour before bed and an hour awake before I took it off airplane mode. That’s about 10 hours of no phone. It’s how I end and start my day.
I'm so, so pleased I came across this post Anna. I generally have pretty strong tech-free habits but I still feel tethered to my phone - this was just what I needed to read. Thank you <3
Anyway, I'm going to write down my July goals while my phone sits far, far away...
Umm feeling personally attacked as I call myself (w multiple socials account too) cappucina ballerina 😭
I read this and then immediately set time limits for my social media apps. Thanks for the reminders!
So true!! I feel too tired to do other things, but is the doom scrolling actually helping? Probably not.
Yeah, I think if you're too tired to do other things go lay outside without your phone if the weather permits and see what happens haha
After a very over stimulated stretch of time I’ve been trying out headphone free walks. At first it was so uncomfortable but now I’m starting to see the benefits of a little less constant input. I definitely need to add in the morning sit and stare
Oof—this is something I’ve been working on the past two months. The time widget is I think the most important aspect because it made me SO uncomfortable. So now I’m down to maybe 2 hours, but a lot of that now is reading or audiobook playtime, which is so much different than before. Now I’m trying to break myself of the habit off compulsively checking for notifications when I’m bored. 😩 It’s so much harder than it sounds!
Yes it is! But we are just trying to meet a very human need for connection 🤷♀️
Thank you for this wonderful read! This is something I have written about a lot. For me, it's about using the phone as a tool rather than the tool that's using us. That really rears its ugly head when we are talking about social media. The more we can divert things away from our phones specifically, even something as simple as putting social media on another screen, it helps.
I also love the idea of being a fairy in the woods with no internet in theory haha. Though, for me it would more be I want to have my own farm and grow all of my own food and trade with neighbors. Of course there will be Wi-Fi, but the surroundings will be so beautiful that being outside and in the moment with nature would be impossible to pass up.
Thanks again for the great article!
Haha, yes! And to think the world is already that beautiful, even if we have to leave our neighborhood to find it🫢
I am very thankful to live in a relatively urban area that is also very green. It’s easy to get “lost” in a lot of parks around here, especially if you’re brave enough to go off the path a little bit.