5 Things To Do Instead of Scrolling Through Your Smartphone

5 Things To Do Instead of Scrolling Through Your Smartphone
6 min read

As Richard Branson said, "Don't become a slave to technology - manage your phone, don't let it control you."

Unfortunately, most people are glued to their smartphones. Here are some disturbing statistics on smartphone usage:

  • 46% of smartphone users spend between 5 to 6 hours a day on their smartphone.
  • The average adult spends 3 hours and 54 minutes on their mobile devices per day
  • On average, we pick up our smartphones between 150 and 344 times a day (or about once every 4 minutes).
  • During the pandemic, children's daily smartphone use nearly doubled
  • Luckily, one of the most effective ways to spend less time on your smartphone is to have a clear list of productive, healthy, and effective alternative activities.

The more you do these replacement activities, the less time you will waste on your smartphone.

Learn new skills

Most people say they "don't have enough time" to learn new skills or read more books. It's a lazy excuse. The problem isn't a lack of time, it's a lack of time management. Every day, hours are wasted on distractions and shoddy entertainment.

As Richard Koch, author of The 80/20 Principle, said, "It's not lack of time that should worry us, but rather the tendency to spend most of our time mediocre."

What if every day you traded 30 minutes of mindless scrolling on the phone for 30 minutes of learning a new skill?

Whether you're learning high-value skills to earn more money, learning new languages to show off in different cultures, or team tricks to show off to your friends, there are dozens of skills to learn.

When you scroll through your phone, you get a temporary high - a short-lived dopamine spike - learning a new skill will stick with you for years, if not a lifetime.

Watch a documentary

I love documentaries. It is not only a form of relaxing entertainment, but also an educational form. A good documentary helps you understand the world a little better, broadens your mind, and inspires you to make changes in your daily life.

Some of the best documentaries I've watched recently are:

  • 14 summits: nothing is impossible
  • The social dilemma
  • Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond
  • wonderful mushrooms

Create an online income stream

If you've ever complained about not making enough money, but still waste hours a day browsing social media or news apps, put away your smartphone and get to work.

Instead of passively consuming content on your smartphone, use your time more productively and start creating content. Start producing valuable items. Build a secondary hustle. Write on medium. Create a digital product on Gumroad. Start freelancing.

Thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier to start a business or create additional income. Never.

Our parents (grandparents) did not have this opportunity. They were forced to work over 40 hours for someone else. There was no other choice.

But these days, all you need to earn money is an internet connection and monetizable skills. So, instead of getting distracted by the internet, use it to your advantage. Use it to earn more money.

Read Books

Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup For The Soul, said: "The big problem in America is that everyone spends 2-3 hours a day watching television. If you spend that time reading, you'll be in the top 1% in your field.

Now, I don't think many of us have more than two hours available to read each day. But that's not necessary either.

If you read 15 pages a day, you finish about 27 books in a year (the average non-fiction book is about 200 pages).

Although reading 15 pages can be done in just 20-30 minutes a day, Jack Canfield's quote is still relevant. The big problem is that most people spend that time watching TV or glued to their smartphones.

But what if you just traded twenty minutes of mindless scrolling for twenty minutes of focused reading? You will learn more, gain valuable experience and expand your knowledge.

Some of my favorite books of all time are:

  • The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R Covey
  • Art War - Steven Pressfield
  • The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel
  • New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
  • Get organized

All that time I spent staring at the screen could have been spent on organization. It could have been used to clean your house, prepare healthy meals for the days ahead, or plan your entire week.

If you feel like you're always "late" through the day, it might be worth spending 15 minutes less on your phone and using it to get organized instead.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I'll spend the first four hours sharpening the axe." Organization is the metaphorical "sharpening of the axe", which makes every day more efficient.

Do something creative

Instead of consuming the creative output of others (i.e. their content), why not make something creative yourself? Put the right side of your mind to work and do something creative, like:

  • coloring
  • Make music
  • Photography
  • in writing
  • DIY projects
  • Build/fix things

Studies have shown that pursuing creative projects boosts happiness and cognitive performance, while reducing stress and anxiety. Additionally, creative endeavors tend to induce a state of flux, which is a powerful state of mind to be in.

It's a stark contrast to the effects that smartphones tend to have. Studies have shown that heavy smartphone use is associated with increased stress, depression, and anxiety.

 

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Thank you for Reading

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