Going back to Paper
I’ve ditched technology in some areas of my life, and switched to more manual methods
The last session with my therapist was eye opening.
I came away from the session in pieces. I was all over the place. Couldn’t focus on a single thing - instead my mind was whirling and I needed a reset.
Sitting at home later that day, having consulted my phone for the 15th time in as many minutes, I realised that I was overwhelmed by technology. Constant pings from social apps. Constant ‘I need to check this as I think of it’ urges. I had to call time on the whole thing.
Twitter/X? gone.
Instagram? gone.
My endless todo list of meaningless tasks? gone.
My phone screentime has dropped 68% since I made the change. All my todo list items are in a notebook that I carry around, with a pen attached. I write three things I’m grateful for in the same notebook. If I want to look something up, I turn it into a task, write it in my notebook, then go back to living.
I still find myself looking at the phone, searching for something to read, and realising that the old staples are no longer there. Doomscrolling stopped. I pick up the phone through pure muscle memory, realise the old timewasters are no longer there, and put it back down again. Over time I’m sure I’ll lower my screentime even further.
I’m also spending time sharpening my LinkedIn skills. Yes, the cursed hellsite that I swore I would engage with more, but on my terms. I’m not doing it on my terms yet, but I’m nearly there. The first muscle I’m exercising is the daily post one - gradually driving up engagement while practicing the whole ‘writing for an audience’ thing.
It helps! I even came up with a new idea for structuring the content for my business while I was writing, and I much prefer it to the old idea.
As with everything else I present as the ’new me’, I’m still cynical about it. I’ve learned that ADHD makes everything shiny and new and interesting for about two weeks, then my interest rapidly drops off. So I’ll hold off on announcing a great success until I’ve been sticking with it for slightly longer.