I spend too much time doom-scrolling on Twitter (X), Instagram, YouTube… I’m trying to convince myself that this is a necessary part of my work to be aware of technology news and design trends. How can I be a good professional if I’m disconnected from the industry, right? The uncomfortable truth, as you can imagine, is that I’m hooked. Yep, I can’t go to the toilet without my phone. Every work break that I take, I need to check the latest posts. Before going to sleep, of course, I check my news feed until I fall asleep.
It’s 2024. We all know how this shit works: dopamine short-term satisfaction, clickbait, social FOMO, customized algorithms tailored to our interests and fears… We all understand that ads rule the content, “if the product is free, you are the product.” Yes, we all know that, but I’m not writing this to say everything is fucked, and Zuckerberg and his algorithms are pure evil, we should ban them all. Nope, social media has aspects that I like. It keeps people connected. I can share the projects that I’m working on, and I see what others are doing. We can connect and start professional or personal relationships. Social media also powers decentralization and permitless freedom of speech. Independent journalists and content creators can share their news and points of view on their own YouTube channels or X accounts. They can reach millions of viewers without asking permission from any traditional or established TV or newspaper, and all of this is great!
The real problem
Then, if social media is fine, what is the problem? It’s me! My unhealthy relationship with social media. Gathering dopamine shots feels good in the moment, but makes you feel more anxious and sad after long scrolling sessions when you realize you spent much more time than you wanted. Sometimes, you end up consuming content from people that you don’t like about topics that you don’t care, but there you are keeping scrolling. I’m aware of my issue, but since I can’t go to the pharmacy to buy the equivalent of nicotine gum for my social media addiction, I need to find my own cure. I’ve tried to disable notifications; it didn’t work out, I still have the habit of opening these apps. I’ve tried to track my screen time with the “Settings > Screen Time” feature. It only works to acknowledge the shameful number of hours that I spend on these apps but doesn’t stop me from keeping going there.
My plan
I just wish to spend at least half of these hours doing something that makes me feel better. Not necessarily something productive, since it is part of my free time. Something that can entertain me but without the mental damaging side of social media, something like reading books. I have many books collecting dust on my bookshelf that I want to read. Books that I’ve already started and enjoy. I wish to finish them, but my lack of long-term focus makes it quite hard to do so.
Working out sucks, but I love it!
Over doom-scrolling social media is like over eating fast food. It feels great at the moment, but makes you feel bad afterward. Going to the gym or working out, is the opposite. Sometimes you can have fun, but usually, it makes you feel bad at the moment. It’s hard, painful, you sweat, you just want to stop, but it feels great afterward. Reading books is like going to the gym for me. It can be fun sometimes, but is hard at the moment. Hard to keep the focus, difficult not to be distracted about the 100 other inputs around me, like screens, music, people talking… However, every book that I finish, sometimes every chapter that I finish, it feels great! Especially if I learned something new or I been engaged with the story. It gives me this feeling of progress. I don’t regret at all if I spend more time than I planned for my reading session. What about you? You are in the middle of reading this article now. How does it feel? Is your mind starting to feel tired? Wondering why spending your time and cognitive energy with me when you can read some easy and short X posts or watching satisfying short videos with music and confetti on TikTok? I can’t give you a sexy dance, but if you keep reading till the end, I have a little gift for you at the last paragraph.
Reading books is a habit
You have to build the habit of going to the gym regularly before it becomes something natural or part of your day-to-day routine. I don’t go to the gym nowadays, but I do daily workouts at home every morning. After I wake up and before going to shower and having breakfast, I have my 20-minute moment for my exercises in my dining room. It’s almost automatic. I don’t have to plan it, I don’t have to organize anything, I just do it without thinking. It wasn’t like this at the beginning. It was difficult to find the right moment, I was easily distracted, spending more time than I planned and struggling with the consistency until I took it seriously, and I started to track my sessions. I signed a “contract” to myself to achieve my goals. Then, I started working out every day until I began to feel the accomplishment and notice the results.
What has been helping me to read more so far is exactly the same strategy I used with my workouts: setting goals, tracking my reading sessions, and visualize the progress. I’m still working on it, I haven’t achieved all my goals yet, but I’m progressing. At the end, what I’m doing is building a good habit by following five simple steps that you can follow too. There are a lot of books and online content about building habits, but the main idea is as simple as that. You can use a piece of paper, a spreadsheet, a reading tracker mobile app or like I did: build a customized mobile app. Using an app is probably the easiest way, but all the other options are valid.
The 5 steps that are helping me build my reading habit:
1. Setting up my goals and reasons
My main goal is to spend half of the time I used to spend on social media reading books instead. This means reading a minimum of 10 pages per day. That’s my goal! Also, it’s important that you understand the reasons why you want to read more. For example, they could be:
- Improving concentration and enhancing the ability to focus on tasks for longer periods without distraction.
- Building critical thinking skills.
- Fostering a habit of lifelong learning and curiosity.
- Escaping into other worlds, relaxing, and reducing stress.
2. Make it obvious
Set a clear intention. Schedule a specific time and place for reading every day. For instance, I’ve decided to read five pages every morning with my coffee and five pages before going to sleep. The truth is that once you start reading, you often end up reading more than your goal. It’s a way to trick your mind; you think it is only five pages, but then sometimes you just enjoy the session and keep reading. Other times, you might not, but that’s okay too. Start small. If reading feels daunting, begin with just one or two pages per day. The goal is to make the task so simple that it’s hard to say no.
3. Track your progress
Use a habit tracking system to keep your motivation. Note the number of pages per session you read in an app or on a piece of paper, and feel proud of your progress when you review it! Occasionally, reflect on what you’ve read. This can be through writing book reviews, discussing books with friends, or even keeping a reading journal or simply taking notes from time to time.
4. Make It Attractive
Make book lists by status and categories. What books do you want to read next? Which category of book do you read most often? You can also reward yourself. Create a reward system for completing reading milestones, such as treating yourself with something you enjoy after finishing a book. Seeing a visual representation of your consistency and progress can be very satisfying in the long term, too.
5. Make It Easy
Reduce friction. Keep a book with you during the day or use a reading app so you can read whenever you have a few spare minutes. If you keep your book together with your phone, every time you feel the urge to check your Instagram, think twice; maybe it’s a good moment to read a couple of pages of your book.
Hey! Did you come directly to the last paragraph just for the gift? Come on!!! Go back! 🙂 Ok, you’ve read the entire article now. Congrats! As I promised, here is my gift: In this link, you can download my app. The app that I designed and coded to help myself improve my reading habits by following the previous five steps. You can use it for free by bypassing the paywall, but if you decide to pay for the Pro version, your support will be much appreciated. It’s still a new app, so your feedback is more than welcome! Hope it helps you, as it is helping me to spend less time on social media and more time reading books. Happy reading!
