Help me de-clog my mind?

[daisydaughter]

My mind is sluggish and overwhelmed.
I’ve fallen into that classic brain-rotting habit of scrolling away mindlessly. Constantly having podcasts on so I don’t have to think. I feel like my brain’s capacity has shrunk, and consequently I am more easily overwhelmed than I was a few years ago.

Anyone else experienced similar and succeeded in getting their mind back on track? I’m after tips! Guessing that meditation might help, but can anyone recommend how to do it? There must be apps, but I’d like to go off-line if I can. And I will ditch the podcasts in favour of reading / silent thought, and cutting down on screen-time obviously.

Following as I'm trying to make a conscious effort to cut my screen time too.

I've realised that do the same.
In trying to read books again, put my phone out of reach by 7pm and not look at it before bed.
I'm definitely not intersection in an app to help!!!!
Going cold turkey is the only way for me.

Thank you for reminding me OP! Today Im getting back on track and will walk the dog without a podcast!

One day at a time is how I'm doing it.

Ok I'm going to say it on here as a kind of commitment : As of today I'm going to put down my phone / tablet at 6pm every evening .
I'm hoping it will improve my sleep and stop me overthinking & worrying about inconsequential stuff .

If you enjoy podcasts, pick interesting ones about history, science or a topic you are interested in. They will challenge you and you can learn from them. But if they're overwhelming, set timers.

I'd also recommend getting a notebook and writing down three things at the end of the day 1. What brought you joy? 2. What are you proud of yourself for today? 3. One non-negotiable to do tomorrow.

They do not have to be complex! So for example mine was 1. Walking to work and crunching the fresh snow. 2. Didn't cave on dry Jan despite temptation 3. Do the bins

I feel the same. The scrolling is awful and has affected me the same way.
yesterday I went out without my phone and met friends and then watched a movie in the evening and I felt SO much better.
In terms of reducing tips in general tho this is what I have done in the past year.

• listen to books on Audible rather than podcasts and try and choose interesting ones.
• Use Balance app to mediate every morning instead of scrolling
• Have moved all my social media apps (not WhatsApp tho) onto an iPad so only look at those certain times as I don’t carry iPad with me. Not ideal as makes posting harder but it meant I wasn’t getting caught up when I was using my phone for work or things I had to use it for. (Although now I keep looking at mumsnet!😂)

I have also bought an alarm clock but have to admit my phone is still by my bed!

Going to follow this thread for further ideas as agree it’s a real struggle. On days when my screen time is high I definitely feel rubbish in myself, can’t concentrate and feel a bit anxious.. I am old enough to remember life clearly pre blackberries and smart phones and the effect of scrolling is not great inspite of all their other benefits x

Thanks for sharing the ideas and glad I have company in this goal!

Love the idea of moving apps over to the ipad! I had intended on turning my phone off between 8am and 6pm daily, but realistically I know I’ll just worry that I’m missing calls and messages. The ipad sounds like a good solution.

I’ve also learned how to turn my screen to greyscale, which amazingly makes it far less appealing/ addictive.

I would love if anyone has got any tips on reducing mindless scrolling though! Mumsnet is becoming a bit of an addiction 🙈

Joining for support.
I'm on this damn thing constantly.

Me, too. I spend too much wasteful time on my phone - and here I am, on my phone, telling strangers on the Internet that I feel I spend too much time on my phone, which in itself, is a waste of time! I despair of myself 🤣

You're just doing passive listening or mindless scrolling, not actually using your brain. It's like a muscle.

Read a book - make notes, try to recall the content later.

Good sleep, diet and exercise are crucial too.

So as I said upthread , stopped looking at phone / screens at 6pm last night , and shockingly was itching to go back on with 20 minutes . I ended up writing a few things down so I can look them up today ( watched Countryfile , saw a woman with a nice looking scarf that had the label on show , and also a tv advert that reminded me I was going to check something out ) so rather than check it out , will do it today .
it's going to be hard . I'm already thinking maybe 7 pm !

DH and I have this issue too.

we have just bought an alarm clock (one of those alarm radio thingies from the 00s) and now we use it instead of our phones to wake up. It has stopped our doomscrolling in bed habit.

I leave my phone at home if I’m going out with DH and he takes his phone in case of emergencies. I struggle a lot with depression and anxiety and this has been the biggest mental uplift ever. I feel so much happier if I’m disconnected and out in nature.

I write a lot of lists. And I’m using notebooks again for things (but still my iPhone if it’s a private list!)

I struggle reading fiction but I’m not giving up trying - I’m buying a few more non fiction books. Especially ones about holidays / adventures.

My biggest annoyance is most recipe sites are covered in adverts. You have to scroll for 10 mins before even seeing the list of ingredients. BBC Goodfood is my “go to” but just last week noticed more and more adverts on that as well. So I am reverting back to recipe books - modern ones with healthy and fun recipes. With easily obtainable ingredients.

Pinterest was once a lovely creative board of organising thoughts and ideas. Now it’s shopping links and adverts.

I have reduced the amount of podcasts I listen to. And sticking with the good quality ones.

I think I’m doing ok. I definitely feel better in myself but still have a long way to go! I’m enjoying reading on paper (I feel like I retain the information better) and doing puzzles & boardgames

In fact I chose to listen to a French radio station yesterday instead of a lame podcast. And my French speaking and listening skills came flooding back. Little by little.

I used to be very gifted in languages and completely lost my skill.

Highly recommended to those who used to enjoy speaking another language ☺️

Shall I start a thread we can go on to support each other as dont want to invade ops thread here ?

I've been spending too much time on MN the last few days personally, but I would recommend reading non-fiction (history, geography, science, investigations, social issues etc.). It's great to re-focus and re-train your analytical abilities. Stuff like Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography for example are great because there are clear chapters so you don't need to read everything in one go, and it helps put world affairs into context. Whatever you choose to read, don't let it go until you've finished it and once you do, write a half page with your thoughts and take aways from it. Next time, it'll be easier. If you keep doing that, you'll be (and feel) much sharper intellectually. It's like the gym really... your brain needs exercising. In terms of podcasts, I'd recommend "The Rest Is (history/politics/entertainment/football)" They're great intros to many non-fiction subjects.

How does one find a french radio station? Can you recommend one please?
Dd is dating a French man, I need help.

I'm on board with this. I have tried to "timetable" my phone use, so don't look at SM after 6pm or before 1pm. When I am tempted, I force myself to go and do some chore of other. (useful thing).
I like the journalling idea, once I get over the weird self consciousness of it. (anybody else?) I do have a very lovely new notebook, I really should get on with it.

Look out for a thread for us to cut back on sm.

Happy for you to use this thread, or start a new one if you prefer (if you do, pls add me in though cause I’m going to try and stick with this!)
I’ve been researching more ways of making my phone ‘boring’ and there are loads of apps that can help, and I found myself browsing app reviews for over an hour last night!! 🙈 I really need to just put.down.the.damn.phone! It’s like my brain has been outsourced. Scary!

Book a yoga class. I always find that trying to focus on the right position, breath properly and listen to the teacher clears my mind when it’s overwhelmed. Or go to a meditation class. If nothing else, it’s at least an hour where you aren’t allowed your phone.

I have somewhat managed to get on top of my smartphone addiction.

I use an app to lock me out of some apps for most of the day, and to restrict my use of others to e.g. 5 minutes every hour. That app is called Lock Me Out.

I have Mumsnet completely blocked on my phone. I have it on my laptop and ipad. I only have social media on my phone because I need them for work, although I'm debating having them on my old phone only for work and blocking them almost completely on my current phone.

Greyscale at night is really helpful for me. My phone offers that setting. There's an app called Minimalist Phone which I HATE but that's because it makes your phone black and white and does away with app icons and generally unappealing to use (whilst you can still use it for everything).

I've only got the nice things installed on my tablet, because that's the device I want to pick up and use to kill time with because it's got kindle and my TV apps on it (I hardly watch any of them otherwise I'd set limits on those).

Following as i desperately need to do this too, my brain feels like cotton wool…I’m supposed to be writing my MSc research proposal and I feel like I know absolutely nothing. The doom-scrolling is an issue for sure 😞

Following too as brain fog is a huge issue and my concentration span is terrible

We have one! This thread is it 😀

Yesterday i left my phone in the kitchen while I was working and only checked for messages at lunch time. Did the same in the evening.
I allowed myself 10 minutes of scrolling last night.
And again this morning.
I read a book before bed, and slept so much better.
I'm not saying it was easy, the urge to reach for my phone was strong!
I'll try and do the same today.