Day 5

More time to read!

The Advent Cal(m)endar contains habits to increase clarity, focus and calmness. Every second day, I open a door and post about my experiences.

A good alternative to scrolling…

Hi, readers! Today’s new habit addresses a great problem of modern society – information overload!

No more than 15 minutes of mindless scrolling

The good old days…

I am old enough to remember the days: Coming home from university or work and spending time reading, cooking, walking, hanging out on the balcony, meeting friends… all without ever switching on a screen to check for messages or scroll through any new information. And that’s because there simply was no screen to switch on. As a university student, I did not have a computer for years (and of course I did not have a smartphone, as they did not really exist); even when I got one, I did not have internet access for quite a while.

I still love reading and being outdoors, but it nevertheless sometimes surprises me that I wasn’t bored back then. But it’s true: I certainly don’t remember boredom, just a simpler and clearer life. A life I often wish I could go back to. Of course, part of the simplicity back then was likely just due to being young and having fewer responsibilities and worries. Nevertheless, I am convinced that having little or no internet access was part of it too.

… and today?

I am not a heavy social media user at all, but still – if you think about it, there are so many online places where you constantly get small, disconnected pieces of information: Messaging services, news sites, email notifications, search engine results, YouTube video recommendations, Substack notes… On some days, I can really feel how the internet clutters my brain, but at the same time my brain is drawn to it, especially when I am already tired and would need rest. Many of us feel overwhelmed by work and everyday life requirements already - yet we do not stop consuming information in a way that makes us feel more exhausted and distracted. It’s just addictive.

Recently, my laptop broke, and it took a week or so to receive the new one. First, I was stressed about it, but then those days became incredibly calm and productive. I worked on paper (I am a researcher, so I was reading printed articles and sorting through my ideas and different concepts on a piece of paper) and only went to the university computer room for the things that really required being online (such as email). All the distractions from the internet fell away.

You have guessed it – once I had a laptop again, I also had my bad habits back. Still, this short episode showed me that change is possible and doesn’t take much.

The new habit

As I’ll have quite a few changes to get used to this month, I decided not to do something drastic, such as locking my laptop away! Instead, the new habit just aims at reducing scrolling. Whenever I start scrolling through small bits of information on any website (including all social media and all the examples given above), I will run a timer - and when a total of 15 minutes is up, I will mercilessly stop myself! (There is some very useful software, such as LeechBlock, that stops you from excessively using websites of your choice. However, for this habit I do not want to fully block the sites after 15 minutes - I can still use them for non-scrolling purposes.)

I imagine that by avoiding scrolling, I will gain something like 30 minutes a day. That’s a good opportunity to tackle my long TBR list! In the photo above, you see a small selection – let’s see how far I get until Christmas. Book recommendations are always welcome (if you know these books, you know my favourite genre!).

How much time do you spend scrolling? Have you noticed that this affects your ability to focus or feel grounded? Do you use any tricks to avoid it?

Have a great Friday,

Hannah