I’m determined to stop scrolling so much. During van life, I rarely had enough signal to scroll endlessly. I didn't need to think about how to stop scrolling. Often, the end of the bandwidth would come just 6 pictures in and voila, boundary set. Easy. That “end” of the feed never comes while I’m living with wifi. 

The problem for me isn’t necessarily the content I’m consuming, but how I use it to distract myself. I’ve watched it happen every time I attempted this goal in the past. I put the phone down and intentionally say I will not touch it for 10 minutes. I even set timers. About 3 minutes in, I instinctively grab the phone. 

In those moments, the content does become a problem. When I’m seeking a distraction, I’m already feeling bad. A feed of messages prescribed to persuade me one way or another does nothing to make me feel better. Instead, I’m questioning myself. Questioning if I’m doing enough. If we’re all going to make it. If my optimism is misguided. 

I particularly fall into the scroll cycle in the few hours between the end of my day at the desk and bed. I get up pretty early so that’s typically a whole 3 hours. Sometimes less. I have had grand plans for those hours for my entire career. I’ve tried to walk on the treadmill, listen to educational podcasts, and read only to find myself in the habit of scrolling and tuning out again. Sometimes because I need to just relax, but a lot of times to avoid the ideas percolating in my brain. 

But this year I’m trying something different: a plan infused with nostalgic joy instead of weighted goals. I started by making a long list of things I loved to do as a kid before anyone told me my time was worth money. My list includes things like playing guitar and writing lyrics in my notebook while I listen to music too loud in my headphones. #90sKidForLife It also has things like riding my bike and reading. And yes, of course baking bread and coloring. I too have been influenced. 

Just two weeks in, I can feel the difference between my ears. There’s a kind of childlike joy and time travel effect, taking me back to the days when I didn’t crave these distractions so much. What’s most surprising to me is how connected it makes me feel to my girlfriend and community. How sharing these moments inspires others to share their lives with me. How their stories make me stop to savor how good life is. 

Trust me. Make a list today of all the things you used to love. I think you’ll be surprised to see how going back to the things you loved when you trusted yourself will satisfy that scrolling sensation and make you feel more connected to your people.