Trying to Focus When I Want to Doom Scroll
what for, why now, what else
Years ago I listened to Catherine Price’s book How to Break Up With Your Phone and I was inspired by her alliterative 3-step process for building new phone habits:
What For (“What am I going to do on my phone right now?”)
Why Now (“Why am I feeling the need to scroll at the moment?”)
What Else (“What might I do instead?”).
These three steps align well with habit formation, where we experience a cue, which prompts us to take an action, which is somehow tied to a resulting reward. This is not to say that everyone has the same experience with developing habits, nor that building a new habit is simple, but I have found it helpful to pause and consider why I reach for my go-to actions.
WHAT FOR
Recently I’ve been reaching for my phone to either check the news or check social media. I’ve been having trouble focusing on my research and writing, so my phone is a welcome distraction to procrastinate on tasks that feel aversive.
WHY NOW
Right now, the new U.S. administration is making wide-sweeping threats and doing terrifying damage to marginalized communities, and I’ve been struggling with staying off news websites. Even though I literally have a PhD in Rhetoric and I know that headlines on news websites are formulated to get clicks and ad revenue by provoking my emotions—it’s still hard not to fall into a frantic cycle between my three go-to news sites.
When It comes to my “Why Now” for social media, it’s often because I’m having trouble focusing on my work tasks and I want a little distraction. The stressors in my life are outside of my control right now, and while I do have access to tools that can help me tend to my nervous system, I’ve been struggling to focus on creative work and critical thinking work, so it’s been so much easier to just scroll comics or ceramics or clothes on Pinterest or Instagram.
WHAT ELSE
To limit news and social media
My new tool Brick has been helpful for me in terms of accelerating to the “What Else” stage. Brick is a little box that you tap with your phone and it blocks access to apps you put on your “no” list. To turn off the block, you need to physically touch your phone to the Brick again. If I have my Brick activated and I reach for my phone to check the news or Instagram, it’s literally impossible for me to access what I’m looking for. Unless I want to get up from my desk, walk all the way downstairs, and grab the Brick tool from on top of my fridge (and I’m only 5 foot 3 inches, so it takes some effort), I’m fast-tracked to the “What Else” stage.
To help with focus
Since I’m trying to work on focusing, I’ve been gamifying my approach by using the Forest app on my phone, which is a Pomodoro app. They’ve been having little challenges recently where, if you focus for a certain amount of time, you get in-app currency to buy new background sounds or animated trees to plant. Even if focusing still feels like walking through mud, at least I’m not picking up my phone—I want to earn the new lofi background music or the new little flower I can plant in my digital forest.
Another thing that’s been helping me is writing by hand and getting away from my screens. This could look like writing a brain dump on a piece of paper to identify all the things on my to-do list, mapping out project plans on paper, or handwriting newsletter drafts.
To regulate my nervous system
I’m thinking about listening to Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. I’m also going to dial up my listening to Tara Brach’s meditations and talks, which have been helpful for me in the past when I’ve needed some step-by-step support. I’m also going to lean back into listening to nourishing podcasts, like For the Wild, as a way to consider steps I can take now to support the world and support myself.
I want to end by saying that none of this is a perfect science and we’re all doing our best. If you’d like an exercise in writing by hand and reaching for something that isn’t your phone, I invite you to check out the third edition of my little habit formation e-zine, which I made during my first tending year in 2018! I just made some edits to it and you can download it here to either print it out or fill in the PDF.
Sending you wishes for self-compassion and care for your communities,
Dr. Kate