Lifestyle, Minimalism, Minimalism

10 Things You Can Do Besides Scrolling Through Social Media

mindbeautysimplicity

One of my ultimate goals for this year, that I mentioned in my Mindsets To Leave Behind This Year post, is to be online less often. As a blogger, it’s easier said than done where most of the behind the scenes work with promoting comes from social media. But with the help of scheduling tweets & Instagram posts ahead of time, I’ve been able to be more intentional with my time & allow myself a break from the digital world. This idea of being online less often came to me when I was reminiscing of my childhood. I’m a part of the generation that had the best of both worlds – a life without internet & a life with the internet. I still remember the days it would take me 20 minutes to watch a 2 minute Youtube video thanks to good old dial up. But the one thing of my childhood that sticks ot is the fact I played outside far more often than any kids do now. And so, I thought although social media & the internet are huge parts to our lives, it’s nice to unplug once in a while. Here are 10 Things You Can Do Besides Scrolling Social Media

Read A Book

My TBR list for this year is so long! I plan to do a What I Read in 2022 at the end of the year because reading as become a huge part of my life. It’s a great way to shut off the world & be at peace for a little while. I’m trying to read at least two books a month – one fiction & one “self improvement” or motivational book. I feel like the more I read, the more growth I have. I gain new perspectives & a sense of clarity that helps me tackle obligations.

Listen To a Podcast

My favorite podcast at the moment is Mood by Lauren Elizabeth. She focuses on self growth, self care & our moods [ hence the name ]. I find her so motivating & inspiring. And listening to podcasts are quite relaxing while I’m running errands, taking walks or biking & cleaning.

Get Moving

Whether it’s just a walk around the neighborhood, a yoga practice or a hard core workout – getting active is always a healthy habit to establish in our daily routines. I find so much clarity during these sessions even if it’s only a 20 minute walk outside. Taking in your surroundings & the sounds of nature really ground ourselves & literally bring us back to Earth.

Get Lunch With a Friend

Put your phones away & be as engaged as possible during these outings. Nothing bothers me more than two people sitting at a table just scrolling through their phones & not giving a crap about their company. We need to learn to be more present especially when we specifically plan get togethers. These moments are a perfect excuse to unplug, let that call go to voicemail or read that text later. Having true conversation where we actively listen to each other is a habit we all need to relearn. This will allow you to strengthen said relationships & create amazing memories.

Write A Blog Post

This is obviously directed to my fellow writers, but writing is rather therapeutic whether it be for your site or just for recreation. When we write, we reflect on our thoughts & dreams which ultimately help us grow. If blog posts aren’t your thing, you can start a gratitude journal or a manifestation journal. Not only is it a form of self care, it’s also interesting to read the passages back later on to see how you’ve changed.

Have a Game Night

I love playing board games & having a game night with a group of friends or family. Some of my favorite games include Cards Against Humanity, Monopoly, Scategories, & classic card games. This kind of goes back to childhood roots of those non-technology days.

Listen to Music & Dance Around

When I was a teenager, I had this blue stereo system with CD racks on both sides on my bedroom dresser. As an activity, I would blast The Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears, dance around my room & even jump up & down on my bed with my hands up in the air trying to touch the ceiling. As a dancer in high school – I would practice all the time on routines & choreography. As an adult now – I wish I did this more often because it truly boosted my mood back in the day. Ever since we started wedding planning, my fiance & I have even spent the evenings practicing our first dance together.

Start a Home Project

The pandemic actually turned us into home improvement connoisseurs. We became the biggest homebodies & I don’t know if it’s just because decorating your own home is a lot of fun or quarantine made us notice every problem in the house. I will say – painting or putting together furniture is quite satisfying. We even renovated our backyard which caused us to be outdoors a lot more often. Yay, Vitamin D! And when you see people or they visit your home – it’s fun to tell them about our home projects & the end results.

Learn Something New

Not to sound like a cliche – but knowledge is power. Even I’ve considered going back for grad school because I honestly miss learning. I think we can learn new things every day though – through reading, listening to podcasts or watching a how to Youtube video. Just getting out & experiencing life without starring at a screen can allow you to gain so much knowledge.

Clean The House

I personally love cleaning the house, organizing & decluttering. There’s something so motivating about this routine. Not only this but a clean home can truly spark creative & productive inspiration. Anytime I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed even, I will clean. Do a load of laundry, organize your closet, vacuum or even scrub some dishes. A clean home makes me feel like I’ve earned some downtime or self care.

Surprise Surprise – there are tons of things you can do besides spend hours scrolling aimlessly through social media. I’m sure you [ who is reading this ] can think of other activities.

-B

Published by mindbeautysimplicity

56 thoughts on “10 Things You Can Do Besides Scrolling Through Social Media”

  3. I remember as a kid listening to music and dancing around the house was a daily thing. I need to put this back into my life. Thanks for reminding me.

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  4. I’ve actually planned to get lunch with a friend in a few days!! I’ve had social media deleted for YEARS now. I’m quite proud of me, honestly. The only social media I use now is YouTube. It’s very minimal usage though. And I guess WordPress reader if this counts.

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  7. Great tips! There are places in my room that could use some cleaning. Currently, I’m trying to get back into reading and I started a CD collection in 2020 and I’m making time for my CDs. You know, it’s funny you mentioned the Backstreet Boys because as I’m typing this, I’m currently listening to the Backstreet Boys, haha!

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      1. “Everybody” is definitely in my top five. The fact that the band performed that song in the ending of ‘This is the End’ makes it even more awesome! My favorite Backstreet Boys song is either “Incomplete” or “As Long As You Love Me.” That’s so cool we both like the Backstreet Boys!

        Liked by 3 people

  9. awesome! I was waiting for the ‘write a blog post’ one LOL we get so addicted to social media that we should remember that there is more to life than just mindlessly scrolling through the sm feeds

    btw, sorry if this sounds nit picky but there is a tiny little typo towards the end of your intro paragraph. I think you mean ‘besides’

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  13. Reading a book is always my go-to. I think I spend more time reading than I do just about anything else – outside of work, of course. It’s just my favorite activity in the entire world. Whiiich is why I’m a book blogger and bookstagrammer, I suppose! 😉

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  17. I needed this! I have been getting worse and worse with constantly scrolling through my phone. It is a habit at this point and it is completely mindless. These are nice, productive alternatives and next time I notice myself pointlessly scrolling, I will try one of these instead.

    Brianna- briannastryker.com

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  19. Listening to podcasts whilst I clean the house or walk home from work is one of my favourite things to do! I find I absorb more information from them when I’m doing a mundane, repetitive task, for some reason. Some great ideas here : )

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  24. That’s a great list! I feel like blogging is a great outlet and alternative to social media! I feel like I go to social media out of boredom and usually end up ignoring the things I really want to do like reading and learning

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