Have you been scrolling on your phone for the last 45 minutes? If so, then this post is for you! And if not, still give it a read.
There’s a theory that says that if you are spending more than 45 minutes of a day doing a particular activity consistently, you may be addicted to it. This doesn’t apply just to social media. This applies to working out, or any form of activity, even an afternoon snooze.
So what are you addicted to? You probably checked your phone for some other reason and are really confused as to how you got here. Don’t worry, this used to happen quite a lot with me. It is ironic that you are probably reading this blog on your phone on a social media application.
This just goes to show that ALL of us are in some form addicted to our phones and to our newfound interest, social media.
But are we aware of this addiction? Awareness is the first step towards detox but taking actions and steps will ensure you can get your time back. Remember the only universal rule that unites humans on Earth is that we all have 24 hours in a day. How we use it, defines the quality of our lives.
To help you out, I have listed out steps I took to reduce my time spent on social media so that I can be a lot more constructive with my life. These worked wonders for me and hope they can help you out too. After all, if I was still addicted to scrolling mindlessly through Facebook or Instagram, I wouldn’t have found time to pen this down for you. Read on.
~ Every phone has a timer, but not the kind that you are thinking of right now. This timer or an equivalent application lets you limit the time spent on each app for a day. This is the first step in your journey. However, it is very easy to ignore this limit by entering a pin that has been set by you, if you are not disciplined enough. Remember, we are no longer in school but if you lack the discipline, ask your loved ones to set this pin for you and not share it. Sounds familiar to the parental lock you set for your child on the OTT platform?
Don’t worry, I still use OTT platforms for more than 45 minutes and I am trying to cut that down. It’s tough. Here is how I was able to get that down from binge watching to 1 hour a day on average.
~ Deleting the app from my phone. While you may have recently come across “Go Mobile with 199 only”, not having the app on my phone saved me a lot of time. Yes it is sometimes annoying to not be able to watch your favourite show while on flight mode but perhaps read a book, journal or ideate. I use this time to think of ways I can enhance my product offerings at my startup.
~ Pause! If you are an android user take immediate action and go to the YouTube app and try to delete it and come back to celebrate a quick win!
Back so soon and rather perplexed. You just realised there was no delete option but only a disable option! This would be the same for Facebook and some others especially the ones that come preloaded with your phone. Disabling it was not that effective for me.
~ Don’t worry, I have another hack for you. Probably you may have heard of this saying “Out of sight, out of mind.” Simply put, remove the app from your home screen. The moment you do this, you will get over your constant need to open the app every few minutes when in the middle of tasks. Voila, you will be a lot more focussed.
Trust me this saying can be universally applied and not just to get over your ex-partner. I realised I was spending a lot of time on LinkedIn despite not actively looking for a job. As soon as I applied this hack, I was able to do many more things in a shorter time frame. I still use LinkedIn but more often to draft these posts rather than to scroll mindlessly.
And like everything addictive, you are inclined to rebound. So, if none of this works, buy a non-smart phone or one which hardly has many functionalities and cut off from the world once in a while! This can be the best gift you can give yourself.
There is absolutely no debate that social media is a boon to society as well. After all, you are reading this because of social media. So if you are unable to try out the above methods, take advantage of social media and use it constructively. Subscribe to the right channels, ones that educate you or add value to your life. This way, even your addiction, will lead you to grow in your life.
Do follow me, @Vivek Datta, for more such content.