Unplug to Unwind: Actionable Tips to Swap Mindless Scrolling for True Relaxation

Ditch mindless scrolling with tips from digital wellness experts to reclaim your time and improve mental well-being.

To help you ditch mindless scrolling and overcome the entice woven into the design and functionality of these platforms, FIT brings you five actionable tips recommended by digital wellness experts.

(Illustration: Vibhushita Singh/FIT)

You are tired after a long, gruelling day at work. You lack the motivation to do anything. You just want to put your feet up and unwind. What do you do?

Spend hours scrolling through your phone till it's way past your bedtime?

Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting a dose of entertainment at the end of the day that allows you to shut your brain off for some time.

...not until you're caught in this loop day after day, unable to spend your free time doing anything else, even though you would like to.

If you've been here, you likely also know how hard it is to break out of the loop. Even if you manage to resist it for one day, the next day often sees you free-falling into the abyss of your social media feeds.

Chances are also high that you stumbled upon this article while casually scrolling through social media, not intentionally seeking advice on how to break free from the loop.

Why Can't You Resist Mindless Scrolling?

According to Bindiya Murgai, a digital wellness and mental fitness coach, “The primary reason we are constantly drawn to our phones is due to the addictive design of social media platforms."

She adds,

"They are intentionally crafted to maximise engagement through features like endless scrolling, notifications, and personalised content, triggering a dopamine response in our brains. This constant stream of stimuli makes it hard to resist, leading to excessive phone use.”

Let's be honest, you already knew this.

Unfortunately, the trouble isn't that you don't know any better, it's that, like any addiction, the shots of 'feel-good' chemicals, that the act of scrolling through social media gives, overrides rationality. And so, despite knowing how it's hurting you, you can't help doing it.

So, to help you ditch mindless scrolling and overcome the entice woven into the design and functionality of these platforms, FIT brings you five actionable tips recommended by digital wellness experts.

The ABCs of Overcoming Mindless Scrolling

Rijul Arora, a certified digital workplace and wellness educator, says, “Improving our relationship with devices is as simple as ABC: Awareness followed by Behavior Change.”

He explains that your journey away from aimless scrolling begins with answers to two broad questions:

• How is it affecting you?

Does mindless scrolling before bedtime disrupt your sleep? Do you engage with screens first thing in the morning?

As improvement begins with measurement, Arora suggests starting by monitoring your screen time with tools such as Android Digital Wellbeing, Apple Screen Time, or Rescue Time.

• Why is it affecting you?

Are feelings of boredom, stress, loneliness, or FOMO internally triggering you?

Assess if external triggers such as social media notifications are impacting your mobile phone usage.

Once you are aware of what triggers you to scroll, using the right combination of tips below can prove to be helpful.

Practical Tips to Quit Mindless Scrolling

• Schedule digital detox periods

Murgai suggests establishing limits on technology usage by designating regular periods, like evenings or weekends, for a digital detox.

She says, "Disconnect from screens and engage in activities that nourish your mental well-being such as indulging in your hobbies or spending some time in nature to foster a healthier balance."

She also suggests strengthening your boundary with devices by designating certain areas in your home, like the bedroom or dining area, as phone-free zones, discussing the intention with the household members, and setting some common rules.

"Use physical cues or reminders to reinforce the phone-free zone, like placing a basket at the designated area's entrance for everyone to deposit their phones. Make these zones more inviting by offering alternative activities like board games, books, or art supplies to encourage yourself and others to engage in screen-free pursuits."

Bindiya Murgai, a digital wellness and mental fitness coach

• Consume content purposefully

She further suggests being intentional about what you consume online. Utilise features like lists or groups on social media platforms to filter content based on your interests. Parallelly, unfollow or mute accounts that negatively affect your mood.

"Curating your social media feeds goes beyond just following positive content. Consider periodically clearing your search history and cookies on these platforms to prevent the algorithm from basing recommendations solely on past behavior. This can help disrupt the echo chamber effect and introduce more variety into your feed." 

Bindiya Murgai, a digital wellness and mental fitness coach

Furthermore, Murgai also suggests seeking information directly from primary sources on the internet instead of solely depending on social media for news or updates.

This approach helps avoid endlessly scrolling through redundant content from a number of sources.

• Take your phone 'out of sight' to take it 'out of your mind’

Arora suggests not sleeping with your phone and setting an alarm on an old-fashioned alarm clock to curb mindlessly reaching out for your phone before sleeping and after waking up.

Bonus Pro Tip: Place your most addictive apps on the last page of your phone screen, requiring multiple scrolls to open it or instead delete the app and access it on web or your laptop.

Disabling notifications from less important apps will also help you refrain from interacting with every single one of them.

• Reduce the incentives to use your social media feed 

These tools can help make the idea of scrolling feel tedious and unrewarding:

1. ToDoBook: This Google Chrome extension prompts you to list the activities you would like to accomplish in the day before accessing your feed. Should you succumb to the temptation and skip this step, your scrolling time is limited to a mere 5 minutes.

2. Greyscale: Go to the settings of your phone and adjust how colours display on your device. Select the greyscale to change the display to black and white, which can help reduce the temptation to constantly check your phone.

According to Arora, this can be particularly useful during night time or in the morning when you may feel the strongest urge to scroll through your device.

Bonus Pro Tip: If you haven't already, consider removing the like count or hiding the number of reactions on Instagram and Facebook to avoid worrying about the increase in likes and reaching out for your phone every five minutes to check how your posts are doing.

• Get an accountability partner on board

"If you make a pact to hit the gym with a friend, chances are you will stay committed; otherwise, motivation might dwindle and you will end up snoozing! Likewise, collaborating with a friend can help you stay accountable for your social media usage," says Arora.

"Sharing weekly screenshots of your screen time with a friend ensures that your screen time stays in check."

Rijul Arora, a certified digital workplace and wellness educator

How Do You Stay Motivated When Trying to Break the Habit of Mindlessly Scrolling?

On days when you are unable to curb the itch to scroll, Murgai suggests reflecting on your 'why' and starting slow.

She says, "Whether it's reclaiming time for meaningful activities or improving mental well-being, having a clear purpose can fuel motivation. Begin by reducing the time spent scrolling by a few minutes each day."

Furthermore, Arora suggests practicing self-compassion and kindness as you navigate through this journey. What might work for one person might not work for you because of varying routines, habits, and tendencies.

The experts also suggest bringing in a substitution effect by identifying activities that bring joy or fulfillment to you, and replacing scrolling with those. This positive substitution can make the process more enticing and help break the scrolling habit.

Most importantly, Arora says,

"Allow yourself grace on days when you falter; it is a part of being human. Just like occasionally deviating from our strict diet plans, it's alright to mindlessly scroll through our devices sometimes – we all do it."

Rijul Arora, a certified digital workplace and wellness educator