How to Break The Doom Scroll Cycle

Ever told yourself, “I’m just going to take a quick break” and then looked up an hour later, deep in the doom scroll?

Between Instagram reels, endless notifications, and that creeping guilt of “where did my time go?”, it’s easy to feel stuck in a loop. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

In this episode, I’m sharing a low-maintenance guide to doom-scrolling less without completely changing your routine or giving up your favourite apps.

Join me for a much-needed DMC on being more present, finding balance with our screens, and making sure we don’t look back on our 20s as one long scroll session.

Enjoy!

Chapters

• 3:00 Doomscrolling
• 8:58 Intentional App Use Tactics
• 12:18 Grayscale, Hiding Icons, Timers
• 16:41 Notification Tips
• 23:27 Reclaiming Attention And Being In The Present

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:49

Hey guys. Hey guys, welcome back. Hey guys, welcome back. Hey guys, welcome back. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Twenties Survival Guide. This is your host, Emily Astley. This is your host, Emily Astley. So today, guys, we have story time because I had to vent about something and I need your validation to tell me if I'm going crazy or not. So earlier this week I saw the most disgusting thing when I woke up in the morning, and this notification pops up on my phone. And it said that I have been spending, you know, sometimes your weekly notification pops up telling you your screen time of the week. And my screen time was eight hours averaging on a day. And I was like, oh my god, this makes me feel sick. Is this true? Am I spending eight hours of my life in my day on my phone? Surely that's not the case. And if it is, surely please tell me like I'm not the only one. Like, someone needs to tell me, Emily, that's absolutely awful, or I'm the same, but like I need some validation because we need to change this. This is really bad. And I realized I realized that I don't like to hold myself, I don't like to hold myself accountable for it because I am someone who likes to think they have productive days, they get stuff done. But let me tell you, I doom scroll, and I think that my phone and my screen time, my fucking screen time, is holding me accountable for the fact that it's like, yeah, babe, you Doom Scroll. Like you're not superior, you're not like, oh, I'm no, I'm not, I'm not someone that Doom Scrolls. I just have the most productive lifestyle. No, you Doom Scroll, whether you like it or not, whether you realize or not, but you are Doom Scrolling. And I was like, whoa, this is not good. And I feel like what happens is I go on a break from my work. Let's say I'm revising for an exam, and I just check my phone for 10 minutes, like reply to the messages, reply to people, reply to those who need to be replied to, and then all of a sudden it's 5 p.m. And I'm like, where's the time gone? Where has that time gone? Where is where is the time of my day? There's just not enough hours, but really, there is enough hours. I'm just team scrolling through them and I am not happy about this. Like, I have tried, let me tell you, I have tried every single blocking app thing. You know, there's one called Opal. Like, I've tried it to block my screens, to block my social media, you know, because I don't think that deleting it works for me. It doesn't because I will re-download that shit and I will be on freaking Instagram reels like you've never seen before. So that doesn't work for me, right? So I was like, okay, I'm gonna get a blocking app. I'm gonna get a blocking app. It's gonna change everything. But the problem with that is we have free will. So I just turn it off the minute that it starts blocking it. And I'm like, I need to use Instagram right now, actually. I need to go check something, I need to go check a DM. Yes, well, you actually don't, you actually don't. You can just put your phone away. Instagram's not that important, and you can get back to what you were setting yourself out to do. So these blocking apps aren't working for me. And if it was like, okay, you're blocked and you really can't touch it, you can't change it. I mean, I'd actually get quite annoyed, but it would probably work. So because I can, you know, take a five-minute break or switch it off, and it would come up with a notification being like, Are you sure you want to do this? Like, you know, it's not good. And I'm like, Well, I don't give a shit because I'm gonna do it anyways, I don't really care. So that is not helping. But the issue is, and the reason why I wanted to talk about this today is because I feel like it is frying my brain. The amount of time I spend on my phone, the amount of time that we probably spend doom scrolling, because I'm sure you might be sitting here thinking, Emily, girl, I'm exactly in the same boat. Like sometimes I do this all the time, I need help, and I just don't want to be spending like my entire life on my phone. So I know I'm not alone in this. Maybe you don't have as bad screen time as me, but we need to fix it. And the reason why I feel like it's frying my brain is because I I feel like I'm watching mindless and numbing things that just aren't really providing me with like educational value, but also the screen itself is frying my brain, just looking at the screen all the time, and like it just numbs it because after you doom scroll for an hour, you feel like, what have I actually done with that time? Like, what have I gained from that? And then it just leads into this like productivity guilt, vicious cycle that you can't break. So I thought today we would have a DMC, a much needed DMC, about not about pro productivity, not about oh my god, guys, we're gonna get productive, we're gonna we're gonna be working our asses off. No, I wanted to have a g a little chat, a little DMC around how we can kind of stop this like doom scrolling sensation and live in the present a bit more. And when I say live in the present a bit more, I don't mean like delete your phone, throw it into the Thames, the River Thames, or wherever you may be. I mean I don't really want to change our lives that much because that's gonna be something which is really difficult for us to do. I want to make this as simple as possible so that you can continue your daily life without having to make adjustments, but you can also just doom scroll less. So I have figured out a couple ways that we can reduce like this doom scrolling, reduce like this brain fog that we feel around the screens all the time, and just be a bit more in the present. And this comes through like notifications, this comes through doom scrolling, this comes through like content fatigue, and I've broken it all down so you basically can doom scroll less, figure out how to do it without changing anything in your daily life. So without further ado, guys, I think we should get into the episode. So let me just so let me just preface. I think a lot of the time when I am on the screen, I know eight hours sounds awful, but a lot of the time I am probably calling people that are important, like having a call with someone, which I do think logs the screen time, or I'm, you know, listening to podcasts because I love listening to podcasts and I listen to them all day, whether it's something in the morning, whether I'm on my walk, whatever it may be. So that takes up a lot of the screen time. But I'm not going to lie, I'm going to hold myself accountable to you guys that it is hugely a large percentage on Instagram and on social media. So I can't keep going like this. I just think I could get hours of my life back if I do that less, you know? So one of the ways I thought when it comes to doom scrolling, how we can sort of fix this, how we can make it make it better so we don't spend our lives doom scrolling, because honestly, at the moment, is it just me, but there is so much AI slop, and I love that term slop. It sounds, it just works. But the amount of AI videos I am seeing on Instagram now, like these videos of these like dogs on sledges, like I can't, I can't. It's just so many. Or like horses, for example, since I'm a big horse person, there'll be like horses climbing on houses, and for a second I'm like, what the hell is going on in the world? And then I'm like, oh wait, this isn't real. This is not real. And it's fun and games, but then it's like, what am I actually doing? Like, this is such just such bullshit that I'm this is just such garbage. Like, it's just funny for a minute, but then if you go down a whole like doom scrolling path, it's just kind of unsatisfying as hell. So using apps intentionally is the first way that I can think of where we can stop doom scrolling. So, like, when I say using apps intentionally, I mean, have you ever like gone onto Instagram, for example, and scrolled on it for five minutes and then gone off of the app and then two seconds later, like gone back on it and been like, I was just on this app. What what what am I doing back on here? Like, but it just comes to like uh really it just becomes like autopilot that you go back on the app and you don't know what you're doing there, but you're just so used to it. That's not using intentional screen time. So I think of course these app blocking things, these these blocking screen time apps, like I've just said it didn't work for me. So I'm gonna need to figure out a better way to do that. But I do think that there are many which are like buddy apps, so like buddy with your friend and both stop your screen time. Maybe that would be better. Like, I need someone else who can hold me accountable, like you guys, you know. So that's something I should probably look at. But if the screen time blocking apps are working for you, by all means keep using them and don't let me stop you. But I just need like a little bit more discipline when it comes to that. But another thing I've seen that you can do is you can put grayscale on your phone. So what I think this means is it's a setting or it's a kind of app where you can. It's a setting, I think, on grayscale mode, which makes your screen less attractive, like it makes your screen less engaging to look at. It kind of just blocks, it just makes it look a little bit less bright and just not as attractive when you want to go and like check out your apps. This is something I've heard. I've not tried it yet, but I should get back to you guys when I do. And another thing is not having social media on your phone, like on your home screen. And maybe you have widgets on your home screen or your on on your lock screen, and like if it's social media, maybe take that off like ASAP because it is just probably gonna be the first thing you're gonna touch when you look on your phone. But also, what you can do is you can hide the icons. So you can hide Instagram, you can hide Snapchat, you can hide whatever the hell you may be using. So when you're on your home screen, you can't press on the Instagram icon, but you have Instagram, but you have to actively search up Instagram to go on. That's a really good way, and I have done that, and it's really worked because I won't actively just when I'm on autopilot, see Instagram on my phone and then go and search it up. I'll only really go on to it when I know that I actually intentionally want to be there because I will have to go and actively search it up and it won't just be so readily available for me. That's another way, and then you can obviously use timers like social media timers, but that again might go back to the screen time limiting apps, which might not work for you, or it might. But those are some ways where I'm like, okay, if I turn my phone onto grayscale mode, which I'm gonna do, that might really help. And also take off Instagram from my phone and like only then use it when I really need it, because I get up in the morning and I scroll on my phone, and I actually don't get I don't get up, I actually sit in my bed and scroll. And I've been waking up really early recently again, which is great for me, and it just makes me feel better when I'm up and out and like I've got a whole task done or something tangible before eight o'clock or like before nine o'clock. I know it sounds crazy if you're not an early person, early bird, but it just makes me feel good. But the issue is is that sometimes I wake up and I've forced myself to set the alarm early and I'm exhausted, and I probably should have slept in a bit more. So I'll delay actually getting up by just scrolling on my phone. And what a what a concept! Like, how much better would life be if I just maybe take that entire first hour of my day without looking at my phone and just like have peace and quality time with myself and my thoughts? Like, it just sounds crazy, it just sounds unachievable, but it is achievable, and I really think that the screen time in the morning and the minute I get up is a big reason as to why I feel like my brain is being fried. Like, I just need time with my own thoughts before I can actually be before my brain can be filled with constant distractions. And I have ADHD, which you guys may know by now if you are a loyal fan and a loyal listener, which doesn't really help with this whole distraction issue. So I really am going to try and implement looking at my phone less in the morning. But another great way is obviously leaving your phone outside of your room, or you know, leaving your phone in a place where it doesn't need to be like your alarm mode, and you can have something else for your alarm, so that you can't just check your phone whilst you're in bed. You have to get up and check your phone so you're actually getting out of bed. That's a huge way to stop doom scrolling. I just think it's really hard, guys. I just don't want to be doing it anymore. I just don't want it to be like, oh, I look back on my day. What did I do? I just saw some cute AI videos of some cute dogs, which honestly I follow loads of dog creators, and like they just get me. They get me the dogs and the cows. The cows, like, I have a page full of like adorable little cow videos, and I'm like, I don't know why cows are cows are on my feed, but I guess I'm engaging with them and I'm loving it. So they keep coming back, and they're so cute, and I'd love to have a little cow, but only if it's stayed that's all, you know. So anyway, moving off topic slightly, another thing we're gonna go into now, apart from the doom scrolling, that is going to help keep you more in the present and reduce distraction in your life, and I mean this with every fibre of my being, how important it is because you might not be a huge doom scroller, you might be thinking, Emily, I'm actually really good, I've got a really busy life and I'm working a nine to five, and I don't have time to doom scroll, babe. I don't, I'm sorry that you do. That's fine, but another thing which I'm sure you might have on your phone, which you find difficult when it comes to focusing, is notifications. And I just can't do this anymore because you can see how much I need to vent. But notifications are probably the most the most distracting thing when it comes to getting some getting something done that you need to be done. And I think uh Grace Beverly says this all the time, but there's many studies around the fact that once you look at a notification on your phone, it takes you around 20 minutes to refocus back onto what you were focusing on before because that ping completely shifts everything for you. And I could be wrong, but I think it is 20 minutes. But the point is is that when you are when you are studying, when you are doing something that that contains that that needs focus, if you have your phone next to you, which is quite normal, it's going to ping many times if you've got loads of apps, because every app will want to send you a notification to try and grab your attention and bring you back. But I realize that I have so many apps that are just not something that I use all the time, and they just pop up with random notifications, like Deliveroo, for example, trying to reel me into like a Friday night takeaway vibe with like my best mate. And I'm like, hang on, I'm not seeing my best friend tonight. I'm actually alone and I don't really want to have takeaway. So those things are just unnecessary pings that take me away from what I'm trying to do, and also like social media in general, I just don't need to have notifications on for. Like, I only really need, and personally I'm speaking for myself, but also you might you very well may be in the same boat, that you only really need like your messages and your phones, your phone call, your messages, and your emails, maybe, maybe not even your emails, but those three things might be the only things that are really important when it comes to notifications. So everything else is just a distraction. And I even realized the other day that I just had random Snapchat notifications on, and I don't even mean messages, I mean like the Daily Mail like is sending me notifications through Snapchat, and I'm like, how do I switch this shit off? It's pinging my phone and it's really pissing me off because I don't want to see that, like it's not helpful, it just distracts me. So there's ways that we can fix this, there's ways that we can try and not be in this situation where notifications are a huge, huge reason that we lose focus. And I've got to the point where I have so many notifications and I have so many people who are messaging me sometimes, and I only really need to see the important stuff. So, but because I look at my phone so much and I have these notifications and they really distract me, I have like phantom hearing when it like the phantom hearing notifications thing. So, like when you think you're hearing a buzz, a notification buzz, and it's not, that's how you know you are spending way too much time on your phone and you have way too many notifications on. Because there have been times where like I hear like a muffle in my room or something that sounds like a buzz. Maybe it's the radiator, maybe it's something outside, but I check my phone, I'm like, oh my god, someone messaged me. Someone's messaged me, and it's not anyone. And I'm like, this is creepy. This is weird. Why is my brain doing this to me? Why is my brain thinking that I'm getting a notification? Because it's become so normal to me that that is what happens. And I think I can't be the only one because I have friends who have told me they've experienced the same thing, and it's just not good enough. It's just not good enough for us. We aim higher, okay? We're aiming higher, we really don't want this for us. So the reason the way that we can stop this phantom notification thing is a couple is a couple tactics, okay? So one of these tactics, one of these methods that we can do is actually batch notifications. So I just heard of this recently, but you can actually batch your notifications to be notifying you at certain times in the day rather than whenever they come. Which means, like, if you want to have your quick phone break on your lunchtime break, then you can batch it so that all those notifications that you were going to get in the morning come at midday and they all just show up there and then batch it again so that the notifications come at 4 p.m. You know? So, like, how good would that be? Because you still get all your notifications that you wanted to see, but you just have uninterrupted time so you can batch them. Now, let's say if it's something really important, now let's say if it's something that's really important, of course, maybe you don't really want to batch that notification. You want to see it, you want to see that notification as soon as you can. So, of course, for things like that, if you're waiting on someone, then that's totally different. But I think batch notifications, if you haven't heard of it, is really good when you're trying to have focused like bursts or focus sessions. The main the main reason, the main point when it comes to notifications is like your brain is constantly alert by digital stimuli. You're constantly thinking and being switched away, taken away from your priorities, and that's just not helpful. So we need to try and reduce those distractions, and I think we'll see such an amazing positive impact on our focus and just like our brain health, like it's just gonna feel less fried. So going from like Instagram to TikTok to Snapchat to emails and then back again, because it just becomes something that is so normal and so you know autopilot to you that you just keep going back and keep refreshing. And it's kind of scary, like you will keep refreshing these apps, even though you know that you've just seen it. And what this does is it creates anxiety for us. Really, what a concept, believe it or not. I know. So it creates anxiety for us and it makes us feel like we are missing something, like we need to keep checking something, like we need to be alert. But then once we put our phone away, you feel this like guilt of content scrolling and this doom scrolling of like checking these apps and waiting for something, like you're waiting on something to just pop up and message you because you need that instant dopamine hit, you need that instant rush of like energy that you've got a new notification, something new that's stimulating you, rather than just putting it aside. So, how can so we really need to try and like take away that constant loop of refreshing our apps and and like waiting for a notification that's just not there, and batch notifications? All of the things that I've already discussed in this episode are so important, and that's really why. Like, I just think we deserve when we've got screens all the time trying to distract us, and every single app in the world is trying to grab your attention. We deserve some time with ourselves and our own thoughts, and how much more would you get out of your day if you just had a little bit more spare time to think? And this comes up in my thought process all the time. I'd have so much more that I could get out of my day. So I just wanted to reassure you guys like doom scrolling is normal, it's so normal for us now, especially in our generation, and you will have so many people who need you or need to hear something from you or need a message from you, and that's not something you can probably avoid. But what you can do is you can try and make your quality of life better by reducing the noise around you so you have more calmness and less anxiety in your head, and the upsides of that will be amazing, and I just think that the art of being in the present is spoken about a lot, but the screen time reduction, how much that will help you be in the present moment when you're with your friends, when you're with whoever, and you get like a ping notification you just don't need to see, like it's not your fault that it's going to be distracting, but if you can try and reduce those by maybe shutting that app notification off, you can just have more focus, soul focus on something that's important to you. And this might be your sign to have a look at those apps. Have a look at your phone, have a look at your screen time. I'm holding you accountable as well. See what app notifications you have on that you just don't use, that you just don't think are benefiting your life, they're only making it worse, they're only just unnecessary, and go and turn them off and see how things may change. And I hope you guys, so that's the end of the episode. It was a really short little DMC solo session today, but I hope you guys enjoyed it because I really needed this vent, and I really needed this vent to to remind us all that like being in the present is the most important thing of all. You want to look back on these memories when you're in your 20s and you want to be like, I was present for those moments. I didn't spend my entire life on my phone. So I hope you guys found this useful. Let me know right in if you have any other tips, any other great ways to stop doom scrolling that are really like easy to implement. I'd love to hear it. I'd love to hear any stories as well. And I shall see you guys next Wednesday. Bye.