How often do you unlock your phone and start scrolling without even thinking about it?
It’s hard to imagine a time without a universe in your pocket. A digital whirlpool sucking in any attention you have left to give, blurring the outside world until, one hour later, you suddenly realise you haven’t remembered anything. You’ve seen countless videos, peering into other people’s lives while window shopping the world, avoiding yours. It sounds drastic because, quite frankly, it is.
Think about all the times you reach for your phone. When a piece of work is proving challenging, or the TV show you’re watching starts slowing down. Our brains are becoming hard wired to avoid any and all discomfort or pause in momentum with endless doomscrolling.
It should come as no surprise that more and more people are swapping their smartphones for older, less useful ‘dumbphones’ like old ‘brick’ Nokia’s and Motorola flip phones. The older technology means that while you can only really call and text (and play Snake), you get more of your attention back. The inability to succumb to doomscrolling is, in actuality, a blessing.
However, in this day and age where everyone is connected through the internet and globalisation, getting rid of your smartphone just isn’t viable for most people. Modern communication needs smartphones. So, how can you prevent doomscrolling? Or, should I say, how can you get your time back?
This article answers these questions. When you’re able to reclaim time and focus, anything is possible. The road to success starts here.
1. Physical Distance = Digital Control
It seems simple, but physically distancing yourself from your phone is one of the most immediate, simple short-term fixes to doomscrolling. Try it this evening. Leave your phone in another room and see how easy it is to forget about it.
A large part of the problem is the accessibility of smartphones. It’s the most natural thing, to slip your fingers into your pocket and retrieve your minicomputer. All you need to do is look at it, and boom, it’s unlocked, and you can do what you want. It’s also why it can feel challenging distancing yourself from it.
A good place to start is by identifying when you’re most likely to doom scroll. When you first wake up? Lunch time? Before bed? Of course, you can’t always pinpoint when, but there are repeated points where you’re likely to reach for your phone.
For example, you could purchase an alarm clock, negating the need to use your phone as your morning alarm. You can then leave it in another room/further away from your bed. This way, you are putting a physical block from habitual doomscrolling, both in the morning and evening.
The distance breaks the trigger-action loop better than sheer willpower. For added impact, put it somewhere out of sight. If you can’t see it, you’ll be less tempted to reach for it.
2. Upgrade the Feed, Don’t Fight It
What is your first-tap app? Instagram? Facebook? X? Mail? We all have our staples. Here’s the thing – if avoiding doomscrolling altogether isn’t a viable option, you can make it work for you. Replace the first-tap apps with intentional, educational options. Have a look for audiobooks, language apps, or curated newsletters. There are apps exclusively made to replace doomscrolling with learning.
After all, if you’re going to spend all that time scrolling, you might as well use it to learn something new.
It’s important to keep in mind that redirecting the habit is easier than suppressing it. Habits are hard to shake – your brain can often feel like it’s going into autopilot and your thumbs are relying on muscle memory, treading familiar patterns and feeding unhealthy habits.
One of the most daunting things about habit changing is the prospect of kicking something so ingrained. If this is you, consider steering the ship instead of jumping overboard.
3. Reflection & Reset Loop
When you catch yourself scrolling, pause and jot two short lines:
“Why am I scrolling right now?”
“What would I actually like to be doing for the next ten minutes?”
This quick interruption surfaces the real need (boredom, stress, curiosity) and creates choice. Doomscrolling is habitual and subsequently instinctual, seemingly denying people agency. In reality, most people simply need reminding that the way they think and operate can change – your thought process is yours to command.
Besides, when we reach for our phones, there’s rarely a specific reason other than avoidance of the present difficulty we’re experiencing. Simply evaluating why you’re instinctively heading for the first-tap apps gives you a chance to assess and act.
Think of it as Stop Scroll Journal (SSJ) in 60 seconds. Drill it into your brain until, at some point, you instinctively pause before doomscrolling to think, why?
4. Gentle Honesty Check
It can be difficult to remember to check in with yourself. It’s far easier to ask a friend how they are instead of looking inward.
If you’re reading this article, it’s highly likely you don’t want to doom scroll anymore. You’re aware it doesn’t provide much, if any, benefit and would like to do something about it. Well, I’d like you to practice some self-compassion along the way.
It’s important to acknowledge fatigue or anxiety without judgement. Ask yourself if you’re reaching for your phone because you’re tired, anxious, or something else altogether. It happens and it’s important to forgive yourself.
Follow with the question: “Can I do 1% better in this moment?“
This reinforces growth without self-shaming. 1% isn’t a drastic change. Feeling like you need to be 100% better is bound to cause undue anxiety and hinder your progress. Take one step at a time, even if it’s a small one.
5. Staying on Track – Accountability Methods
Think about those last few minutes before you go to sleep, where everything feels possible, and you have enough motivation to burn a hole in the sky. Anything and everything feels achievable.
And then you wake up.
With a thud befitting a grey British morning, the reality of your day sets in. All of a sudden, it’s difficult to see how you can conquer the world in the way you set out to before sleeping.
This is why it’s a good idea to have an accountability partner. For instance, you could share daily screen-time totals with a friend. Group psychology is a tried and tested phenomenon that works – having someone ‘in it’ with you can supply endless troves of motivation.
You could set app limits and send screenshots to prove you’ve not gone beyond the capped limit. You could go one step further and publicly announce your target and report back as part of a seven-day challenge.
Remember, accountability converts private goals into shared commitments.
6. What to Expect the First Week
It’s all well and good having motivation and ideas to help break doomscrolling, but it’s another putting it into action. In that endeavour, here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect in the first week:
- Days 1-2: “phantom scroll” urges. In the Game of Thrones book series, character Jaime Lannister regularly describes his “phantom” hand after it gets forcibly removed. It’s not there, but he feels it repeatedly. He’s so used to using it, yet his body hasn’t caught up with its absence. This experience will be similar. Reaching for your phone when it isn’t there and wandering “why am I reaching for it?”
- Day 4: a noticeable bump in focus and mood improvements starts to form. Your attention starts becoming yours, as it always should have been.
- Day 7: through your screen-time app, you can (and should) compile the total minutes saved and one thing you accomplished in that time. Track your results.
7. Try the Physical Distance + SSJ combo for 24 hours
If there’s one thing I want you to keep in mind when you click off this article, it’s this:
Smart achievers don’t rely on willpower. They design environments that work for them.
You can’t change anything if you don’t first look at your environment. How you approach the usage of your phone is key in creating healthier habits.
In the next 24 hours, try the physical distance and SSJ combinations for 24 hours. They are simple and easy to implement. See how they work for you.
Make the next app you open a purposeful one.
