Putting down my phone

Man holding smartphone out in front of himself.

In terms of unhealthy habits, scrolling through my social media feed is definitely one that I am working to nip in the bud.

Most afternoons and evenings, I find myself kicking back on the couch or in bed with my phone in hand, flipping between social media apps. It is a mindless pursuit that I have been realizing is taking up a significant proportion of my free time – and worse, wasting it. 
My boredom is so easily fixed by watching cooking videos or funny reels that it is hard to break the habit. But I have committed to swapping out my phone for a book for at least 2 hours a day. Now I've started, I can definitely feel the difference between the activities, my brain becomes less passive and impressionable and more critical and creative. 

I know some people use things like app lockers and the like but the most effective way for me to manage my bad habits is to reflect on the things I am doing and ask myself why I am doing them. Often, scrolling on social media doesn’t come with great reasons or benefits, so that makes it a lot easier to motivate myself to do something beneficial for my body or brain. Now to just get to the exercise, instead of social media!
 

Tagged in Student health, mental health, What messes with your head