Hard Reset
Aug. 11th, 2023 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tuesday_morningDo you ever get the feeling that something is horribly off in your life? For me, I get that feeling a lot, and I'd like to share a little bit about why I feel that way.
Long story short, I have an addiction to social media. Dreamwidth is an exception since I'm using it more as an online journal, but other social media platforms are addictive to me. And not only am I addicted to social media, but I'm addicted to music too. That might sound pretty weird to you, but it's the truth. I have an addiction to both social media and music of all kinds.
Today, I tried to cut myself off from using my phone excessively, and I was having some behavioral and mental withdrawal symptoms. I kept picking up my phone out of habit, even when I knew that I had locked my phone from accessing apps for a few hours. And as for the music, I haven't listened to much music at all today, and that's been really bothering me. To be honest, I don't even have any music that I feel interested in listening to right now. I haven't heard any new or good music in over a month, but every day (excluding today), I compulsively plug my ears with music. I despise that I do that because it distracts me and blocks me from being alone with my thoughts so I can think about things that actually matter; things that are real and impactful.
I've come up with a personalized battle plan to try and curb my addictive behaviors, but it's not going to be an easy road to kick my social media and music addictions. I've tried to do this before multiple times, and after a few days things get better, but eventually I fall back into those same traps all over again. To err is human, though, so I have to keep fighting even when I slip up. But even with that in mind, I want to try my hardest to make this a long-term practice of refraining from social media and excessive music.
I'm challenging myself to try and refrain from excessive social media and music for a period of 30 days, starting with today. With my free time, I want to engage in activities that are enjoyable and constructive. I want to improve my art style, potentially draw some educational comics to share with others (complete with citations), continue studying the skills I'll need for my new job, practicing my crocheting with a manageable project, going for walks around my neighborhood in the mornings or as the sun is setting, associating with friends offline to the best of my ability, and so much more.
To help me with the challenge I'm doing, I'm using index cards. At the top of the index card, I write tomorrow's date (because I usually fill them out before bed), and below that I write at least one main objective for the day. From there, I write tasks to accomplish throughout the day (errands, work, appointments, etc.) as well as additional tasks that can help me to reach the day's objective. Having a list of ideas of things to do during my day, as well as a daily goal makes things feel a little less like I'm doing absolutely nothing.
Hopefully this challenge will also result in an uptick of deeper thinking. I love to think about things that feel like they give me a sense of real purpose. It exercises my brain to do that.
Thank you for listening. Have a great weekend everyone!
Long story short, I have an addiction to social media. Dreamwidth is an exception since I'm using it more as an online journal, but other social media platforms are addictive to me. And not only am I addicted to social media, but I'm addicted to music too. That might sound pretty weird to you, but it's the truth. I have an addiction to both social media and music of all kinds.
Today, I tried to cut myself off from using my phone excessively, and I was having some behavioral and mental withdrawal symptoms. I kept picking up my phone out of habit, even when I knew that I had locked my phone from accessing apps for a few hours. And as for the music, I haven't listened to much music at all today, and that's been really bothering me. To be honest, I don't even have any music that I feel interested in listening to right now. I haven't heard any new or good music in over a month, but every day (excluding today), I compulsively plug my ears with music. I despise that I do that because it distracts me and blocks me from being alone with my thoughts so I can think about things that actually matter; things that are real and impactful.
I've come up with a personalized battle plan to try and curb my addictive behaviors, but it's not going to be an easy road to kick my social media and music addictions. I've tried to do this before multiple times, and after a few days things get better, but eventually I fall back into those same traps all over again. To err is human, though, so I have to keep fighting even when I slip up. But even with that in mind, I want to try my hardest to make this a long-term practice of refraining from social media and excessive music.
I'm challenging myself to try and refrain from excessive social media and music for a period of 30 days, starting with today. With my free time, I want to engage in activities that are enjoyable and constructive. I want to improve my art style, potentially draw some educational comics to share with others (complete with citations), continue studying the skills I'll need for my new job, practicing my crocheting with a manageable project, going for walks around my neighborhood in the mornings or as the sun is setting, associating with friends offline to the best of my ability, and so much more.
To help me with the challenge I'm doing, I'm using index cards. At the top of the index card, I write tomorrow's date (because I usually fill them out before bed), and below that I write at least one main objective for the day. From there, I write tasks to accomplish throughout the day (errands, work, appointments, etc.) as well as additional tasks that can help me to reach the day's objective. Having a list of ideas of things to do during my day, as well as a daily goal makes things feel a little less like I'm doing absolutely nothing.
Hopefully this challenge will also result in an uptick of deeper thinking. I love to think about things that feel like they give me a sense of real purpose. It exercises my brain to do that.
Thank you for listening. Have a great weekend everyone!
no subject
Date: 2023-08-17 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-18 04:51 pm (UTC)I'm glad that you came across my post and that it gave you some good ideas. I'm also cheering you on in your attempts to try and quit your social media addiction. I can tell you that it's absolutely not an easy thing to do, at least in my case, but I'm sure it has to be possible to overcome. I mean... our ancestors were able to get along without phones and social media, so I'm sure we can too, even if the landscape of today does make it a little more difficult to be "in the know" without the aid of social media.
Maybe part of the process of letting go is embracing the "Joy of Missing Out" (JOMO) rather than the "Fear of Missing Out" (FOMO). Sometimes what I turn to in moments like this are books I find at the library, magazines that I find at my local bookstore, and other things like that to pass the time. The magazines I like the most at the bookstore go by the name "Bella Grace". Those magazines focus on the smaller things in life that make life magical when you look at them more closely. But you can find other magazines and books tailored to your individual interests, like things about writing, self-defense, etc. There's a whole world of new and old interests out there just waiting to be re-discovered.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-18 06:34 pm (UTC)https://josebriones.org/dumbphone-finder
I switched to a dumbphone at one point, and it helped me a LOT. I ended up switching back because I needed certain apps, but the "detox" for a few months using a crappy little flip phone definitely helped me. Of course, if your addiction ends up just transferring to a computer, that might be problematic...
no subject
Date: 2023-08-19 07:50 pm (UTC)Perhaps I could try to find some middle ground where I could make my smartphone into something kind of like a dumbphone (aka, deleting all the non-essential apps). That will take some dedication and willpower, but it's better than just giving up and not trying to do anything at all.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-25 02:58 pm (UTC)it's a great idea to use your phone more mindfully and less as a random swiping activity
here's the process that i've found successful for me:
1. figure out what i REALLY use the phone for. like, the stuff that is absolutely non-negotiable. an example for me is digital banking - i have a partner, and we split everything, so i need to be able to access an app called Splitwise to put in things we split right away. another example is communication, i absolutely need a few apps like Discord because I use that to talk to my partner. an example for you would be your work apps.
2. list out every single app you have downloaded (tedious i know haha.)
3. delete any apps that can be accessed via a browser that aren't 100% essential (twitter is an example for me) - i find it less tempting if the app isn't on the phone and i have to use the crappy web interface, but i still have access to it if i want. you can delete "just in case" apps and redownload them if you need them later.
4. go through your notifications settings and be REALLY brutal about turning off notifications for anything that isn't 100% essential to respond to right away. the only notifications i have on are work related, texting/phone, and Ring so i can see if someone is at the door. i don't even have my email notifs on, i check them as i have time. if it's important they can call or text
5. keep the apps that you actually use front and center on your phone's homepage and make it easy to get to them
6. super important - find something else to do with your time! otherwise you may start undoing changes, or your time might be spent at the computer instead lol.
some other ideas:
1. utilize a screen time app to be able to measure exactly how much you're on your phone and on what apps, so you have data about what is distracting you
2. heavily customize and utilize focus modes if you have an iphone (not sure if there's an android equivalent, but DND probably works)
3. a lot of people swear by putting their phone in grayscale to make it more boring lol
4. look into third party apps that hard block you from distracting apps or websites. i know there are a lot available on android. if you're on android you can also look into minimalist launchers
5. dunbar's number says we can only really "know" 150 people, so try to keep your following count under 150 on social media if possible
6. inbox zero! try to keep your email inbox as empty as possible
the GOAT book that everyone recommends is Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport if you're interested in hearing more! i have a download if you want it :) just let me know!
no subject
Date: 2023-08-26 04:22 pm (UTC)And as an update, I think that the Universe heard that I wanted to detach from my phone more because, all of a sudden, the algorithm on every social media that I frequent has gotten incredibly boring. Everything is repetitive and hardly anything has really been catching my eye within the past few weeks. I've been complaining about it, but now that I think about it, this could be my chance to disconnect from my phone while things are still boring. The more I can disconnect now, the better it will be later moving forward.