I may not be in my teenage years anymore, but calling me a “screenager” is unfortunately accurate. My brain is completely fried from endless scrolling and constantly watching short-form content. I can barely sit through a movie without picking up my phone, and even a thirty minute TV show is a struggle. When I noticed my ability to completely focus on a book was withering away, I knew it was time to stand up and fix this mess. Instead of being mad at myself and feeling ashamed for spending too much time on Instagram reels, I found some ways to start fixing this problem. I also know it’s not just me who has a ruined attention span, so let’s go back to the basics and recondition our brains together.
Do you remember in elementary school being sent home with a reading chart each week? My school required 20 minutes of reading a night, and every Friday we turned in our completed reading logs for star stickers. While the idea of doing this as a grown adult is humbling, it has seriously helped me stay focused on reading for longer. I have adjusted the concept slightly, though. All I do is set a timer for thirty minutes, and leave my phone on the opposite side of my room while I read. At first I would reach for my phone without thinking or set down my book to check notifications, however I did get used to not having my phone near me. The more I have done this the easier it has gotten, and I have been able to slowly increase the timer. I can confidently say that reading marathons are so back after using this tactic.
Using a timer is also really helpful for writing. I love to journal but struggle to stay focused on my writing. In turn it makes it a struggle to get in touch with myself so that my journaling can be beneficial. By setting a timer I am able to just focus on the paper and my thoughts. After doing this for so long, the timer will go off and I just keep writing or I get to a point where I don’t need to set a timer at all. Although I don’t give myself star stickers like my teachers used to, it’s still important to celebrate bettering ourselves!
Next up is a classic and I cannot recommend this tactic enough. You need to get on Youtube. In middle school, I was always on Youtube watching videos and for some reason short form content took over as I grew up. I also know this pipeline is not one I have experienced alone. But, like I said, we are going back to the basics. What I have been doing is sitting down to eat and having Youtube videos playing. Youtube eventually became the background for other activities. I painted my nails with Youtube, I cleaned my room with Youtube, I got ready in the morning with Youtube. Now, instead of picking up my phone to endlessly scroll, I put on a video and watch the whole thing without having the urge to pause and do something else. The more that I did this, the more I found myself opening my phone and going to watch an hour long video instead of TikTok.
My next suggestion is in a way a challenge. I love to go for really long walks, and usually I would listen to music. The problem with this is I was constantly pulling out my phone to skip songs or change the playlist and then automatically checking instagram or another app. What helped is making up a challenge in my head. Stay with me, I promise I am not crazy. Tell yourself that you are not allowed to take your phone out of your pocket for the whole walk. Come up with some serious reason as to why you can’t take out your phone and if you have a zipper pocket, you better zip the phone away. I promise, this helped me so much, and instead of constantly looking down at my phone, I spent a lot more time focusing on my surroundings and my thoughts and how my body felt good while I was moving.
My final recommendation to you is to be performative. I would see online jokes about people who would read or write in journals in public as being “performative”. But, I took that so seriously. I started bringing my book in my purse when I was going anywhere. Did I feel silly and out of place when I would pull it out? Yes, absolutely. However, that feeling is so irrelevant and eventually fades. Taking my book or journal with me places eventually stopped being performative and is now natural. When I am going out for the day and packing my purse, I automatically bring my book. My thought process is no longer about how I will just pull out my phone to keep me entertained on the train, and instead I turn to whatever book I am reading.
In the spirit of honesty, I really did struggle to fix my attention span, and I am still struggling. I constantly check my phone or scroll endlessly, but it’s a habit I hope to change. I also know it’s not just me who is frustrated and wanting to get out of this brain rot cycle. I hope that some of the things I have done can be helpful for others, despite the fact that they take a lot of will power and brain rewiring.