Our current society is one defined as “infinite scroll,” where we spend the majority of our day attempting to obtain the most dopamine from our ever-growing addiction to notifications, likes, curated feeds, etc. While social media gives us access to connect with friends and access news from around the world, there comes with it a high cost – our attention, our creativity, and our inner peace.
If you have found yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media with more frustration than enjoyment, you’re not alone. It is time to take back control of your free time. Here are 10 ways to entertain yourself without needing access to Wifi.
Activities to Replace Time on Social Platforms
1. Rediscovery of reading, deep-dive into books
There is a great deal of difference between reading a tweet and reading a book. When you physically read a book in your hands, your brain has entered a “flow state,” something that cannot happen through social media, a feeling often appreciated by Bangalore call girls during their relaxing personal time. Reading creates a deep concentration of thought and slows down the processes of the brain (huge bonus points for that reason alone!). You will experience the true joy of reading and have the ability to take your time and submerse yourself into a plot/character.
As an added tip, try to leave your phone in a different location from your sleeping area for at least the first 30 minutes after getting up every morning. You will be amazed how fast you will finish a chapter!
2. Learn A New Hobby That Doesn’t Have To Be “Content”
Social media has contributed to people thinking that every hobby has to have “content” attached to it. For example: we bake just so we can show off our creations on Instagram or we go hiking so we can share our view with our followers. When you choose to do something for yourself and you are the only person who will witness you learning how to do it, you will free yourself from having to worry about what others think. You may want to learn how to watercolor, fold origami, do some basic woodworking, etc. By taking away an audience, you may find the courage to learn something new and give yourself permission to fail without judgement.
3. Get Back to Playing Games
Board, card, or jigsaw puzzles are more than just to do on rainy days; they also require your cognitive skills far more than mindlessly scrolling around on the internet! Whether you are working on completing a complex 1,000-piece puzzle or learning how to play chess strategically, these types of activities require you to think ahead which has been slowly eroding due to the quick pace of social media.
4. Take A Walking Tour In Your Neighborhood
When was the last time you walked around your neighborhood / community and didn’t have your phone in your hand? Leave your music, podcasts and notifications behind for a while and, like experienced Lucknow call girls recommend, enjoy the calmness of a long peaceful walk. Take this opportunity to really observe your surroundings and notice the buildings, the plants in your neighborhood, or any street art in the area. Too often, people are so focused on what is on their phones that they are not seeing what is happening right in front of them.
5. Maintain a “Commonplace Book”
A Commonplace Book is a concept that has been around for hundreds of years; it’s the concept of keeping a journal of quotes, ideas, drawings, and thoughts that inspire you or are significant to you. Instead of “saving” posts to a folder you won’t ever look at again, writing out a meaningful paragraph you find inspiring will assist you in processing the information. This will also make your mind a curator of wisdom, rather than an electronic dumpster filled with digital clutter.
6. Curate Your Culinary Ability
Cooking can be regarded as a chore, but cooking can also be one of the most entertaining and therapeutic forms of entertainment. Choose a complicated recipe that includes both time-consuming and effortful techniques (such as making homemade pasta or fermenting your own vegetables). Chopping, smelling, and sampling the ingredients you are using are an excellent way to bring yourself to the present moment.
7. Movement as Play
When we view fitness/physical activity as a “to-do” or “checklist item,” we miss out on what fitness/physical activity can help us do when viewed as PLAY. In your local park; find a pull-up bar and practice your pull-ups, take a local dance class and learn to dance, learn how to juggle or toss a Frisbee. If you focus on your body as a functional being rather than as an “aesthetically pleasing” being, you will find that moving your body provides a sense of joy rather than stress.
8. Deep Listening’ Is Important
We listen all the time, but most of what we hear is simply background noise. Try an example of this by actively listening to an album from beginning to end–no skipping tracks, no doing multiple things at once. Almost completely focusing on how it sounds, how the instruments and voices interact with each other, can change how you feel about the music.
9. Learning How to Be Bored
While this may sound weird, boredom sparks creativity. We tend to fill up any downtime or waiting periods by staring at our phones or using other devices; these would normally be opportunities for us to daydream, a habit Birmingham escorts often recommend for adding freshness to life, and let our imagination run wild. Next time you find yourself waiting in line for groceries or waiting for someone to meet you somewhere, do absolutely nothing. Instead, watch the people around you and let your mind wander into different areas of thinking. You will find your brain starts creating ways to solve problems and/or new ideas.
10. Writing Long Letters
In our world of instant communication, handwritten letters are one of the rare and meaningful presents that can be given. When you take the time to write a user-friendly letter to someone you care about, you force yourself to think through what you want to say and how you intend to say it. The experience of thinking, writing, and then sending a letter is a slow, tactile process, which creates a sense of contentment and elation that an “emoji reaction” never will.
The Bottom Line: Be Intentional
The intent is not to stop using technology but to no longer allow technology to use you as its own personal time thief. By establishing limits on how much time you spend consuming technology (i.e. using your phone) through using engaging activities that utilize your senses in an active manner, you can take back your Time (your most precious commodity).
Start with one small step. Select one of the suggested activities for today, and place your cell phone in a drawer. Then observe how much mental clarity you either gain or lose by allowing your mind time and space to operate outside of the confines of a smartphone. Perhaps you will discover that what happens outside of a smartphone is much more stimulating than what you find inside of it
