Let's face it: Social media addiction is real. And although we know that there are tons of productive things we could do instead of social media, it's hard to resist the urge to go on social media first thing in the morning as we peruse our Instagram feeds and watch never-ending TikTok videos.
And if you find yourself checking your social platforms throughout the day and late into the night, well ... you're not alone in that either. While we're all for spending time on social media—hey, there's a lot of great content there!—it's important to work toward doing it in moderation. If this sounds like you, here are 53 productive and relaxing things to do instead of spending time on social media.
What to Do Instead of Being on Social Media
Here are 53 ideas:
1. Create a vision board of all the things you want to call into your life
2. Write or draw in a bullet journal
3. Start a side hustle
4. Learn a new language
5. Find a new hobby
6. Meditate
7. Do a deep breathing exercise
8. Sleep in
9. Cook a delicious meal
10. Read a book
11. Free write
12. Plan a trip with friends and family
13. Go to a museum
14. Color
15. Listen to your favorite song
16. Dance around your bedroom
17. Go for a walk
18. Do yoga
19. Play a board game
20. Do the dishes
21. Call a friend
22. Make your bed
23. Write a poem
24. Go to the park and people watch
25. Make a to-do list for tomorrow
26. Make a gratitude list
27. Go to a concert or show
28. Do a crossword puzzle
29. Join a book club
30. Catch up on emails
31. Start a blog
32. Clean out your refrigerator
33. Set monthly goals
34. Declutter
35. Stretch
36. Take a bath
37. Make a playlist
38. Sip on a cup of tea
39. Play solitaire
40. Have a Netflix marathon
41. Make a bucket list
42. Go to a cafe and people watch
43. Go for a run
44. Play sudoku
45. Volunteer
46. Plan your next day
47. Go shopping
48. Go through your camera roll and delete photos
49. Garden
50. Visit your local farmer's market
51. Clean out a junk drawer
52. Learn to draw something
53. Stretch
How to Kick Your Mindless Scrolling Habit
While it's great to have the intention to replace social media with other activities, kicking a mindless scrolling habit is easier said than done ... especially because tapping into certain apps often feels automatic, and by nature, social media is addictive. In other words, once you start, it's hard to stop.
To get out of that mindless scrolling habit, start by deleting (or hiding) certain apps on your phone, and be careful of loopholes—like opening Instagram on your desktop browser and scrolling through there.
If you do happen to open one of your social media apps or want to spend a certain amount of time on them every day to keep up with things (and hey, sometimes social media can make us really happy!), simply set a timer for 15 minutes, or however long you want to spend on the app, and get off of it when the timer's up.
You can also use you phone as a kind of timer and have it let you know when your time on an app is up. Just don't fall into the trap of extending that time! Trust us, with a little time and effort, you'll be spending a lot less tie on social media and more time doing real-life things that actually make you happy.
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