*contains affiliate links
Hello gorgeous humans! It’s amazing how the year is zooming by because we’re in September already! Anyways, today’s post is all about 10 things to do instead of doom scrolling on social media. Let’s face it, we’ve all done it when we’re bored or can’t sleep. Social media is a great tool when used in a positive way. For instance, you can curate your feed on Tiktok so you see mostly uplifting or educational content. Scrolling mindlessly can wreak havoc on your mental health. I’ve got a few things you could do instead to cut down the doom scrolling and put you back in control.
10 Things To Do Instead of Doom Scrolling on Social Media
Rituals
For starters, do you reach for your phone and jump on social media as soon as you wake up or just before you go to sleep? Why don’t you create wake up and bedtime rituals? Fill it with things that you enjoy and are life affirming but excludes social media. You could meditate, pray, journal, yin yoga in the morning and before bed. If you’re so inclined, you could go for a jog or run before starting your day. For the skincare junkies, have a whole nighttime skincare routine and use a bio-collagen mask to bed for glowy skin. I’ve been using one from Le’Vanity and whilst it took some getting used to, I do like the results. Use code *MAJEAN48148 for money off your order.
Listen to Subliminals
Listening to subliminals can help you achieve a goal. It works by playing a message that your unconscious mind can hear and there are many categories that they can cover. For example, you’d like to improve your self-talk, listening to subliminals regularly can help with this. It works especially well when you’re in a relaxed state because of its passive nature. Also, you don’t need to listen to subliminals all night long and you can incorporate it as part of your nighttime routine. Check out Spotify or YouTube for subliminals and be sure to choose something you like listening to. No point in feeling irritated by what you’re listening to.
Please Read!
A simple non social media thing to do is to read, or listening if you’ve got an Audible account. Just because you left school doesn’t mean you have stopped learning. Find a topic or genre you’re interested in and find books to read on it. This is where you could use social media in a positive way. Do a search on either the book or genre for some book recommendations. Also, YouTube has a bunch of books that you can listen to.
Listen to Podcasts
I love listening to a good podcast especially when I’m working from home whilst doing tasks that don’t require intensive thinking tasks. Similar to books, there are multitude of topics that are covered by podcasts. If you’re learning a language, I highly recommend listening to a podcast in that language as it helps you improve your listening skills. Duo lingo has a podcast for Spanish learners which I really enjoy. Podcasts can help you learn more about the world and different types of people.
Declutter
We all have the chair or something where we throw clothes onto. Or the piles of paper in a drawer. Basically, we have things that need decluttering. You might think it doesn’t matter but these piles take up space not just physically but also energetically. Have you ever done a tidy up of a room or even a drawer, did you notice how you felt mentally? I’d bet you felt so much lighter and maybe even freer. You don’t have to spend hours if it feels daunting, take the 15 minutes you would have been doom scrolling and declutter. You could even listen to a podcast about decluttering whilst decluttering.
Enrol in a Course
I’m a big supporter of continued learning. We all learn differently and we don’t all want to learn the same things. How about enrolling in a course or maybe you learn best in doing. Either way, don’t stop learning or trying something new. One of the many things I learned from my mother was the importance of learning. She decided to get her degree in her 40s and also did multiple courses in a variety of topics. My aunt, her sister, wanted to do cake icing and through doing a course she was able to have a side business making and decorating wedding cakes.
Check Your Money Boo!
Finances can be a high stress topic especially with the way of the world. However, this doesn’t mean that you can bury your head in the sand. Instead of spending hours doom scrolling on Instagram or Tiktok look at the status of your finances. Maybe start a savings account to fund a trip of a lifetime or, you may want to look into your pension to see what you’ve got and what you need. Whatever it is, look at your finances and it may seem overwhelming but there’s a lot of information and organisations out there to help you. If you’re in the UK, check out the Money and Pensions Service. If you’re in the USA, the website US News has some useful information on where to look, here.
Silence is Golden
Meditation has been proven to be incredibly useful by helping manage stress, be more present, lower your resting heart rate, develop patience and a host of mental, emotional and physical benefits. If you’re new to meditation there are apps that can help such as Calm and Headspace. If you’re looking for something challenging, try meditating for 30 days straight. I did 30 days of Vipassana meditations which helped me to be more present and focused. Anyone can do vipassana and there are even 10-day retreats which many people across the world attend.
75 Hard or Soft Challenge
This is a transformative challenge that was created by Andy Frisella for people who desire more from themselves and life. There are essentially a list of rules that you need to follow everyday for 75 days (hence the name) and if you forget a task, you need to restart it. The program is meant to develop mental discipline and toughness. If 75 Hard is outside of your safety zone, there’s 75 Soft which takes parts of the 75 Hard challenge and makes it more accessible. You can read more about it here or, you can make your own challenge using the principles of 75 Hard.
Hobby Up
Find a hobby that doesn’t include doom scrolling. YouTube has a plethora of people who are experts in different things. Want to learn how to knit, braid hair, garden, tile a bathroom or even build a house there’s someone who does it for a living or did it themself. The YouTube world is your oyster and your only decision is to decide which one to start first. I’d suggest the one that you’ve thought about more than in passing.
These are the 10 things to do instead of doom scrolling on social media. Do you have any more to share? Sound off in the comments below.
Thank you for reading and until next time, be well!x
