The Unfortunate Dilemma
I, like many others, have taken a look at their phone’s screen time use and have been a bit shocked and/or appalled by the number that has appeared there. I’ve probably spent over an hour just staring at that screen (probably not helping my cause here).
As I was reflecting on the past year and looking at planning for the new year (click here if need help with doing that yourself), I wanted to try to tackle that screen time dilemma. Is it really that engrained in our lives?
It is a bit of a sad reality that 4 or more hours per day is being spent doodling on our cell phones. I know a good chunk for me is scrolling through Instagram reels, and honestly, without even any real intention.
I was watching Two and a Half Men with a close friend of mine and I really noticed, aside from the crude humor and stand-up job on casting Charlie’s love interests, the living in the moment that was still able to take place in the early 2000s. They had cell phones, they had TVs, and they had computers. But what they didn’t have the addiction associated with all of our modern iterations.
Now sure, it’s a television show. But the fact that it just appeared possible gave me hope. So with that being said, here’s a list of 99 things to do instead of scrolling social media:
The List
1. Take a long walk
2. Take a short walk
Moral of the story: go for a walk of some sorts.
3. Try cooking a new meal
4. Call a friend/family member
It’s crazy how quickly an hour or two can go by, depending on when the last time you’ve spoken with this person.
5. Go workout
6. Rearrange your apartment
7. Talk to ChatGPT
It knows a lot… maybe even too much.
8. Write down whatever’s on your mind
9. Learn an instrument
10. Play cards
11. Meet up with friend(s)
12. Watch a movie
We’ve gotten so far even from just consuming long-form content. Anything past a 60 second TikTok feels like a drag.
13. Clean your apartment
14. Sit and think
15. Listen to music
To take it a step up, listen to an entire album from front to back.
16. Listen to a podcast
17. Plan a vacation
18. Read a book
19. Read an article
20. Meal prep
21. Have a beer
I mean why not. Go to a local brewery or just stay at home.
22. Soak up the sun
23. Lie down in a park
24. Record a video
25. Learn a new skill
26. Meditate
27. Stretch
28. Catch up on work
29. Get ahead on work
30. Go grocery shopping
Whether you just went yesterday or haven’t gone in 2 weeks, I feel like there’s always something I can pick up. Or just pick up the ingredients for the recipe you’re trying.
31. Fix something
32. Revisit your finances
33. Read a magazine
34. Walk around the mall
35. Browse through an antique store
36. Read a blog
Hey, good idea.
37. Start a blog
Hey, another good idea.
38. Take a shower
39. Go thrifting
40. Take a class
41. Teach a class
42. Play video games
43. Make an elevated cup of coffee/tea
44. Do laundry
45. Clean up your email inbox
46. Revisit your ‘Notes’ app
47. Take some photos
48. Make a Spotify playlist
49. Plan a new morning routine
50. Do a puzzle
51. Prepare a thank you card
Always something to thank someone about. Get’s you thinking too.
52. Walk up some flights to stairs
53. Step outside barefoot
54. Rework your resume
55. Open a window and breathe fresh air
56. Clear up storage on your phone
57. Organize a drawer
58. Watch the sunrise
59. Watch the sunset
60. Take a drive
61. Go to the library
62. Send a thoughtful text
63. Plan a dinner
64. Clean your shoes
65. People-watch
66. Clean out your fridge
God knows you need to.
67. List out what your grateful for
68. Invent a joke
69. Review your calendar
70. Rough draft a business plan
71. Look at upcoming concerts nearby
72. Sit in a sauna
If you have the luxury of having access to one.
73. Do some pushups/squats
74. Make an ‘Excitement’ list
Write down what you are excited about!
75. Make an ‘Anxiety’ list
Write down what you are anxious about.
76. Cancel unused subscriptions
77. Sign up for a newsletter
78. Cold shower/cold plunge
79. Attempt a crossword puzzle
80. Change your bed sheets
81. Do a brain dump
Release what’s on your mind out into the world.
82. Iron your clothes
83. Visit a local coffee shop
84. Watch a documentary
85. Draw a picture
86. Watch the clouds
87. Learn a new language
88. Clean your car
89. Tighten screws
You’d be surprised how many you can find around your place that are loose.
90. Make a smoothie
91. Rearrange your desk
92. Drink a bunch of water
93. Look at homes on Zillow
94. Organize your kitchen pantry
95. Replace some lightbulbs
96. Build something
97. Organize your closet
98. Pray
99. Do nothing
When in doubt, always an option.
Conclusion: A Little Boredom is Okay
At the end of the day, this whole concept for this blog post might be a narrative on where our culture is these days.
Everything is instant, right there when we want, and when we can’t have a serotonin boost that second, we like to dismiss it. Hence, we resort to the fine world of doom scrolling and social media to give us our fix.
But it’s not just consuming content that has our attention spans all out of whack. Think about how anything past 2-day shipping on an online order feels like an eternity (thanks Amazon). Heck, they needed to implement a pitch clock in baseball to keep people watching.
While social media has its benefits and certainly does bring a large source of entertainment to us, we should be weary about the harmful nature and life-sucking properties it possesses.
The 1950s was no perfect time period to say the least, but I doubt we’d be able to survive as a nation today if we were left with 4 radio stations and a daily newspaper to keep us occupied. So even being able to have modern technology and conveniences, but choosing to not be so consumed in that digital world is a bit of a win.
Delayed gratification has become a desirable skill, simply due to the defaulting of instant gratification in our brain wiring.
So whatever it is you may do to use your time, be sure to stop and smell the roses (that can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically). A little boredom sometimes is good.
Oh, and maybe one more thing to do instead of scrolling social media—100. Keep writing your story.
—Will
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