Found a tiny way to stop doomscrolling at night that actually stuck

I kept losing 2 hours to my phone after work until I set a 10pm timer for something totally unrelated - watering my basil plant on the porch. Now I get up to water it and just leave my phone inside. Has anyone else used a random chore as a phone break?

3 comments

3 Comments

wood.eric3d ago

Honestly, setting a random 10 minute timer to go make tea works the same way for me. Breaks the spell completely.

spencer9813d ago

Funny how that works with the tea timer - but are you actually getting up and walking away from your phone, or just making tea in the kitchen while still checking it? The real trick for me was that watering the plant forces me to step outside and physically leave the phone behind. That small door threshold makes a huge difference. I tried the tea thing before and kept bringing my mug back to the couch with the phone still in my hand. Is the tea spot actually far enough from your charging station to break the habit, or does it just feel different in the moment?

west.richard2d ago

My buddy Dave tried this exact same thing last month. He set up his tea station in the garage thinking the distance would force him to unplug. First day he made it halfway to the garage and turned back to grab his phone because he wanted to check if his kid texted. By day three he was just making tea with his phone in his back pocket the whole time. The only thing that actually worked for him was putting his phone in a drawer and setting a separate alarm clock. He said the tea thing just made him feel productive without actually changing anything.