Stop Scrolling and Break Internet Addiction: Digital Minimalism
In a world where your attention is a commodified asset, it is more important than ever to be mindful of where that attention is being spent. On average, adults in developed countries spend 6 to 8 hours on average per day in front of screens. With the adult brain taking 23 minutes to refocus after checking a text message, no wonder that living in a world constantly buzzing with social media, notifications and digital distractions can make it impossible to get anything done. Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism offers actionable steps to cutting down wasted scroll-time and maximizing productivity in a manner that promotes long-lasting wellbeing over short-lived dopamine-flooded dissociation.
Here are some actionable tips to help you boost productivity by embracing digital minimalism.
- Embrace Boredom and Solitude
One of the main ideas presented in Digital Minimalism is the modern human’s inability to tolerate boredom, thus immediately coping with that discomfort by getting lost in a screen. Challenging your beliefs around boredom and solitude can be the first step in actually moving towards embracing other activities, hobbies and dreams where your time and attention need to be going. When putting down your phone or computer, some thoughts may come in such as, “If I don’t listen to this podcast, I am wasting the time on the subway” or, “I didn’t do X-Y-Z good enough today” and start spiraling into a whirlwind of self-attack and self-criticism.
One of the most common thoughts is, “I have absolutely nothing else I can do right now,” which is the same as saying, “The only thing I can do right now is look at this screen”. Is this a thought that underestimates your capacity? Is this even the whole, absolute truth? I dare you to challenge each and every belief you have that keeps you stuck and see if it is just you underestimating or straight up criticizing yourself.
It is almost always the case that those who have difficulty tolerating boredom and solitude have huge amounts of self-critical thoughts that they navigate through with distractions. We must tip the balance here! Tell yourself: it is just as valuable to give my mind a break and be at peace as it is to listen to a podcast or study a language, etc.
To even have a chance at succeeding in breaking the screen habits, kindness and compassion are needed from you to you.
Some ways suggested by Newport to ease yourself into boredom and solitude are instead of filling every free moment with a podcast or social media scroll, take time for quiet reflection. This could be:
- Taking a walk without your phone.
- Sitting in a quiet room with no distractions.
- Spending time journaling or thinking about your goals.
Over time, embracing these “empty” moments can lead to deeper insights and more intentional decision-making in your life and work.
- Set Boundaries with WeChat and Social Media
Let’s face it, WeChat is an amazing tool filled with convenience for us in China, but it can be highly distracting when we allow ourselves to be availabe at every single moment for every single person and every single conversation. Re-configuring your settings to stop notifications for text messages and only allowing for phone calls while allowing yourself to check messages once every 1-3 hours can be massively life-changing for fostering engagement in other tasks in life.
Social media of all kinds are also a massive time-suck, but you can take control. Newport advocates for the idea of “intentional use”—only engaging with social media if it directly serves a purpose (business, networking, learning, etc.). Set specific time slots for checking these platforms (maybe 10-15 minutes in the morning or evening), and stick to them. Don’t let social media interrupt your deep work or leisure time.
Tip: Use apps like ScreenZen to help you stay off social media during work hours and stay focused.
- Prioritize Deep Work
Newport’s central idea is the power of deep work—blocks of uninterrupted time spent on cognitively demanding tasks. This is where the magic happens, and productivity soars. To set yourself up for deep work:
- Schedule time: Block off specific hours each day for focused work. Treat it like a meeting with yourself—no distractions allowed.
- Eliminate distractions: Put your phone on airplane mode or leave it in another room. Close unnecessary tabs and apps.
- Set a timer: Try the Pomodoro technique—25 minutes of focused work, followed by a 5-minute break. It helps maintain concentration and prevents burnout.
Tip: For me personally, I eliminated all phone use until 9am through the app ScreenZen as my most productive time is in the morning, thus freeing up all my energy to focus on what I need to be doing for the day, including things like writing this article, Ha!
- Reclaiming (Redefining) Leisure
It can be easy to think of leisure being almost like the absence of doing, but Newport challenges us to switch our mindset to dedicating time and energy to more intensive tasks for leisure.
An example may be going from scrolling your phone for an hour to going to the gym for an hour. Or going from watching TV for an hour to taking a dance class outside of your home.
Instead of thinking about down time as un-planned, do-nothing time where the natural human instinct to avoid boredom can creep in and you end up scrolling or going online, actually planning out and embracing productive leisure time is an amazing step toward a fuller life.
- Chase High Quality Social Connection
Cal Newport talks extensively about the downsides of cell phones being a mainstay in modern human connection. On one hand we tell ourselves this is convenient, but on the other many have mostly replaced meaningful connection with unrelenting internet chat. This requires us to be “on call” and almost tethers us to quick reply times and constant focus-breaking phone checks.
Being very intentional with making time for your social connections for real, deep connection can be part of how you use your freed up time from the digital sphere. Face to face meetings are, of course, the best, but even phone calls can be so much more effective in catching up and fostering depth.
In Conclusion: You Can Do It!
If you felt at all inspired by anything you read above, please read Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism in its entirety, this in itself may be your first step in breaking out of the vicious grip of the attention economy! Remember that the lies of self-underestimation and criticism tend to be wrapped in a beautiful bow that may look like truth, but you can win your life back with a little bit of help. If you do find yourself having issues breaking the cycle, please contact Body & Soul Medical Clinics to get a free 20 minute phone consultation.