Doom scroll much?
Welcome to the club.
I don’t care who you are, if you have a mobile phone, ADHD or no ADHD, chances are you fall along a universal spectrum of social media addiction.
Heck, we all know now that these ‘devises of mass distraction’, to quote a meditation teacher I admire, are actually designed to keep us on them! The developers of these devices and platforms, most notably the late Steve Jobs, have openly admitted that they don’t let themselves or their kids ‘get high on their own supply’ by limiting their family’s access.
And yet we use this empirical situation as just another way to beat ourselves up!
Just stop it already.
The thing about social media is that it is also a tool, a force for good, like eating, which is also subject to abuse.
So what to do?
First of all, we must admit we have a ‘problem’ or what I prefer to call a normal predisposition toward addiction when it comes to the consumption of digital media.
As with any negative habit, we have to be willing to change it. That starts with wanting to change it in the first place. But why would you want to? Therein lies the question:
What is your WHY?
The more powerful your reason for abstaining from digital excess, the more willing you will be to do so. Because willingness is the basis of will-power.
If you REALLY want to finish that essay, paint your room or create a business plan, you will do so by any means necessary. You may have to give your phone to your spouse or roommate, or put it in the back of the closet during certain hours of the day.
Or, you will need to establish rules around social media and find a way to quickly remember why..your why… you have those rules in place when temptation arises.
Some of my clients delegate their email and social media to someone else altogether and only engage with highly curated content, like important and time-sensitive email. If you’re serious about being in business for yourself, I highly recommend this if you can afford to.
If you don’t have that money to spend, you’re gonna need rules. I’m not in the habit of coaching by prescription because usually our best answers are found from within, however this is a blog, not a coaching conversation so I invite you to try this: Check twice a day and set a timer for 15 minutes in five minute increments. Segment it: scroll your notifications for up to 5 minutes, comment and like for five, and do a quick perusal of the newsthread for five. Maybe you do Facebook in the morning and Linkedin at night, or vise versa…
And for goodness sake, turn off your alerts.
If this doesn’t work for you, I’m happy to schedule a time to see whether I can help your find your own solution.
Good luck. Please let me know how it goes!
