Putting the Phone Down Mid-Scroll
For the half hour that disappears into bad news and other people's lives. It helps you notice you are scrolling, break the loop without deleting everything, and put the phone somewhere you have to stand up to reach.
Habits · Habits · Worry · 8 items · whenever you need it
The checklist
- Say out loud what you opened the app to do — most scrolls start with no errand at all.
- Put the phone face down an arm's length away — a small distance breaks the reach-and-tap habit.
- Turn off badges for the two worst apps — a red dot is a request you never agreed to.
- Set a timer for the scroll instead of banning it — a known end makes stopping possible.
- Swap the app on your home screen for a dull one — the thumb goes where the icon used to be.
- Name the feeling that made you pick it up — boredom, dread and loneliness each want something different.
- Read one long thing instead of twenty short ones — attention recovers when it is given somewhere to land.
- Stand up and do one two-minute task — the loop breaks more easily through your body than your will.
Use this checklist Free account: tick items off and keep each day's record.
How to use it
Run through it whenever you need it, honestly and without scoring yourself. A checklist is a way of noticing, not a test: an item you cannot tick is information about the day, not a verdict on you. Over a few weeks the pattern of what gets ticked and what does not says more than any single pass.
With a free Theraglee account the checklist remembers each pass, so you can look back. Without one, you can still read it here and keep your own copy.