the dumbphone and getting offline
last year, i took a trip to Poland. i initially didn't plan on buying a SIM card (i caved after a week), so i took it as an opportunity to get off of my phone. i bought an e-reader and loaded it up with books, and i also made a plan to spend time outdoors to take photos that i would eventually upload to iNaturalist.
before my trip, i was trying on and off with various methods to get off of my phone. i was stuck in the mindset of simply spending less time on my phone, but at some point i flipped that and i became more focused on having more time to spend on other things (which is also the kind of mindset i use to stick to my diet. think of it as being able to do/eat stuff i like, and not as not being allowed to do it). it's not foolproof, but i feel like it has been effective at getting me to actually start on things that "i've been meaning to do" for forever.
the lone problem isn't "social media" but the action of scrolling itself, which can be applied to literally any social media or entertainment app. you don't just scroll through your instagram or tumblr feed, but you also scroll through netflix and youtube recommendations and pages on shopping sites. this video by HGModernism is a good breakdown.
here's a lot of stuff i've done to try and break the habit of using my phone, or at least make my time on my phone more meaningful, and how effective it's been for me.
making my phone dumber: 8/10
you've probably seen this video on youtube floating around, and i've done the same thing. i have a Samsung phone and i got the Zen Detox app that turns your home screen(s) into a simple list, and my background is plain magenta/purple. i used to organize and reorganize my apps alphabetically or by the color of the icon, so this method killed that obsession immediately.
i find that i'm less distracted by shiny colors so now when i open my phone for a specific purpose, i don't get sidetracked. i also deleted apps that had a website, so i could just access the website on my phone browser instead of having a dedicated app for it. it's annoying for stuff like pinterest and instagram, but i like it a lot for updating my storygraph and other sites with progress tracking features.
deleting my tiktok account: 10/10
tiktok ate up so much of my time and i considered the possibility of deleting my account for so long that i finally got sick of it and did it. combined with making my phone dumber, i have more time to do other more meaningful things on my phone, or just more time to be bored (which is good for you).
i've spent a bit of time reading more manga (which is another type of scrolling, but it's reading so i don't consider it to be a negative), namely Chainsaw Man, Gachiakuta, Dandadan, and Centuria. also i used to scroll on tiktok or instagram while waiting for the bus or for class to start, and now i've replaced that habit with learning Polish on Mango Languages (which is free with a library card <3). i've gotten to unit 1 lesson 4, i'll update y'all on my progress one day lol.
bullet journaling: 10/10
i've been bullet journaling since high school but i really got into it during college because now i have adult money to buy stickers or nice pens occasionally. but besides that, the action of setting up my monthly spreads is a bit time-consuming and is a great opportunity to relax without staring at a screen. i set up my monthly spreads on a monthly basis, but i have spaces to log my daily habits like exercising and brushing my teeth and meditating, as well as a space for weekly recaps.
it doesn't have to be anything fancy, but i like having set themes or color palettes every month. if you try this method, i highly recommend getting yourself to use a (bullet) journal consistently like writing a sentence every day, or tracking your daily habits or steps or water intake, or something similar. it's so fun!
quantifiable goals and habits: 7/10
for 2026 i want to watch more anime and movies and read more books, so i'm incorporating those into my habits and habit tracker. i'm trying to have more of a focus on daily progress rather than declaring i'll do it and forgetting about it and doing a lot in one day, repeat. in my bullet journal, i mark my habits with different colors depending on how much i do every day. i make sure i make progress everyday, but i don't pressure myself to go all out and put in 100% effort all the time. as for the colors, i use yellow for having watched 1-2 episodes of an anime, orange as 3-4 episodes, and red as 5-6 episodes OR as a 2 hour movie.
it feels effective for me, but i still have times where i struggle to work on my habits but that's probably more because of executive dysfunction than anything else.
going outside: 9/10
it's tiring but rewarding! i got the courage to finally start volunteering more (i need 40 volunteer hours to graduate, so there's usually opportunities to get some on campus throughout a semester). in fall 2025 i got 6 hours from helping pull weeds at a wildlife rehab center, and then a combined 4 hours from picking up litter around campus.
also in general, i like going outside a bit everyday to look for bugs and other stuff to upload to iNaturalist which is really fulfilling for me because i like bugs and animals and such. i'm no park ranger but i know a bit more about the wildlife in my area!
reading: 10/10
i got an e-reader instead of reading on my phone because i'm led to believe that e-readers are a bit better on the eyes than a phone screen is. i also really like having a separate device from my phone so i don't have to be interrupted by notifications or the possibility of opening another app. on an e-reader, my only options are the book i'm currently reading and another book i'm planning on reading lmao. my e-reader was a LIFESAVER for my Poland trip and i read about 12 books in 3 weeks
curation: 5/10
i spend plenty of time on youtube but i got the Unhook extension to turn off comments and recommended videos, and i only watch videos in my watch later playlist or in my subscriptions. i'm subscribed to 38 channels and about 15 of them upload regularly (and the only one with daily uploads is Game Grumps but i don't watch every video), and i want to whittle those numbers down further.
in general, i've gotten a lot more picky with what i look at on youtube and tumblr (for tumblr i use xkit to turn off recommended posts and endless scrolling). it's a nudge in the right direction of only interacting with stuff that's important to me, but i of course have a long way to go. i doubt that i will ever completely cut youtube out of my lifestyle but i wanna get as close as possible, since it's the main thing i spend time on.
thanks for reading!
so far, all of my methods have collectively helped a lot, but i can definitely decrease my screen time even more. i guess i'll report back at the end of the year o7