One of the biggest shifts in quarantine is how small our worlds have become. Because of this, more and more of it is contained within the screens we carry with us at all times. Many of our friends are only available to us through these screens- we use them to keep up with each other, share our lives, feel connected. But our phones aren’t solely for connection. I once heard a friend refer to the constant string of distractions and noise that stream into our brains from our devices as novocaine— a numbing agent. The amount of time I’ve spent addicted to my phone in quarantine, constantly stimulated and consuming and yet never learning or gaining anything from it, terrifies me.
Looking at my phone has become such a reflex; it’s the first thing I do when I don’t know what to do. I don’t want my phone to be my whole world. I want to remember that I have a physical body that exists in physical spaces, that I can experience things in reality instead of through a screen even when my options are more limited now than they have been in the past. Using a phone to catch up with a loved one or check in on the world is certainly a blessing. But if you’ve found yourself reaching for it without thinking, as a distraction from your life, you might enjoy a list of easy alternatives.
Here’s a list of fifty things you can do instead of looking at your phone if you feel like you’re battling phone addiction.
- Go for a walk outside.
- Eavesdrop on a conversation and see if you learn anything interesting.
- Write down the characteristics of birds you see and try to identify them later.
- Pick a flower or two and press them in a book.
- Make a quick 5-item list of things you’re grateful for at this exact moment,
- Practice drawing your favorite animal until you get it perfect.
- Call a friend on a whim.
- Stretch.
- Do five minutes of deep breathing.
- If you have a pet, spend a few minutes playing with them or brushing them or just showing them some affection.
- Take any cups, dishes, or finished beverages out of your room.
- Pick up a book you bought six months ago and haven’t gotten a chance to read yet.
- Write a letter to a friend just because.
- Make a collage out of anything interesting you find in today’s paper.
- Clear out a junk drawer.
- Plan a fancy meal for yourself.
- Pick a short mantra and meditate on it for 5 minutes.
- Paint your nails.
- Look through any physical photos in your house and reminisce.
- Write a quick summary of your week so far and keep it in a place where you can keep adding to it.
- Write down a story about someone you love. If it feels right, consider mailing it to them.
- Sketch a quick self portrait.
- Rearrange the furniture in your room.
- Spend 5 minutes writing about something that’s been troubling you and see if you feel better afterwards.
- Write down 5 goals you have for the next month or year. Keep it someplace where you won’t forget about it.
- Make a list of 10 places in the world you want to visit.
- Open up your fridge and try to invent a meal out of what you have.
- Write down your 5 favorite places in the world with a few reasons for each.
- Make a physical list of friends’ birthdays so you can remember them easier.
- Go through your closet until you find a piece of clothing you love but forgot about.
- Pick up a craft or hobby you haven’t had time for in a while.
- Plan 5 nice things to do for yourself this week, whether it’s picking up spa supplies at the store or ordering a yummy meal for delivery.
- Think up five compliments you could give a loved one or significant other and resolve to share them with that person over the next week.
- Make a cup of tea and let your mind wander as you drink it.
- Look through your books and pick one to mail to a friend you think would enjoy it.
- See how many plants and trees in your yard you can identify by name. Look up any you don’t know afterwards.
- Pick 5 pieces of clothing out of your closet to donate.
- Talk to your plants.
- Pull up a video of any dance and try your best to learn it.
- Write down 5 or 10 memories you treasure from the previous year. Add to this list again whenever you can until you have a good account of the happiness you felt last year.
- Try on things in your closet you haven’t worn very much this year and try to make interesting outfits out of them.
- Start making a list of gift ideas for holidays and birthdays that normally sneak up on you.
- Make your bed, declutter your bedside table, or rearrange the pillows on your couch.
- Put on an album you’ve been meaning to listen to.
- Write down 10 bullet points about what your dream home would look like. See if there are any of them you could incorporate into your current home (get a window-box herb garden, buy one new piece of furniture, look up DIY solutions, etc).
- Stare at the clouds and count the shapes you can see in them.
- Look up a tutorial on how to do a makeup or hairstyle you’ve always liked and try it out.
- Write down 5 things you admire about yourself and 5 things you could improve on.
- Write down 5 interesting icebreakers to ask the next time you’re on a group call or Zoom with friends.
- Let your mind go blank and reminisce about someone you love or something you loved doing for a few moments.
When looking at our phone is our default, a small action that is the easiest thing to do at any given time, we start to forget all the other possibilities for that moment that exist. Being present can often feel threatening, especially when our current reality has so much hardship in it that’s hard to ignore. But our imagination, creativity, and happiness are muscles that need to be stretched, and though it may be hard at first to re-train them we’ll often feel better afterwards. I hope you can come back to this list and pick a new item whenever your instinct is to open social media or indulge phone addiction. I hope that it helps you feel more present and alive and helps you remember the gift that is turning your attention and focus away from distractions for a few moments.
