- Limit distractions by making the phone’s home screen essential and turn off non-urgent notifications to reduce temptations.
- Make the phone boring, use black and white or monochrome mode to decrease visual appeal and fight “doomscrolling.”
- Set limits by establishing usage times and physical breaks that help you disconnect from your phone and improve concentration.
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through your social media feed without even realizing it, while the world around you kept moving? If the answer is yes, you are not the only one. By now we are all used to checking our phones all the time, often for no real reason. But what if I told you that there is a way to stop “scrolling” and take back control of your time you spend in the digital world?
Statistics do not help
Most likely there is a weekly report available on your phone that tells you how many hours you have spent looking at each individual app. Data like this, unfortunately, is more of a reminder of how enslaved we are to our device and not a real solution. What is missing is real change, not just numbers that make us feel guilty. Moreover, numbers are not a true snapshot of the situation: spending an hour on WhatsApp chatting with a friend or watching a video on TikTok may be two very different experiences, but both are treated equally in reports.
Make the phone boring
A good way to “scroll” less is to make the phone less interesting. Instead of complicating your life by relying on advanced technology or complicated apps that require you to follow detailed routines or constantly monitor your behavior, try simplifying it: the phone’s home page is your first enemy. If you fill it with tempting apps and notifications, you are bound to give in to temptation. Limit apps to the essential ones and delete the ones that waste your time.
In addition, making your phone monochromatic, total black or total white, is a trick that few people know. Just this small change is enough to make your phone much less stimulating, consequently reducing the urge to constantly “scroll” for something new.
Notifications are your worst enemy
Notifications are the main reason we are constantly distracted. Every vibration makes you rush to check your phone, even when it is not necessary. Turn off unnecessary ones, especially those from apps that have nothing to do with urgent communications. You can also mute notifications for less important chat groups or for apps you don’t need right away. Each notification is a potential small distraction that takes you further away from reality. The trick is to reduce them to the essentials: leave only the ones that are really important.
Set smart limits and pauses
Another method of not falling into the “doomscrolling” cycle (the action of compulsively scrolling through pages of a site, social network message boards, etc. in search of bad news) is to set limits. Many devices allow you to decide how much time you want to spend on each app, and you can even schedule breaks where the phone “shuts down” for a while. But be careful: we’re not just talking about limiting usage time. Breaks are crucial. Occasionally, put your phone in another room and do something physical, like taking a walk or having a face-to-face chat with someone.
Simplify, but be determined
You don’t need some fancy new app or complicated program to scroll less. Start by removing temptations and making small changes in your daily routine. In the end, the secret to scrolling less is really to scroll less: stop giving your phone the opportunity to steal your time, and start giving yourself permission to be present in your life. It’s never too late to take back control.