THE LIGHT SWITCH TOO? –
Jan. 12, 2022 – My life was starting to shift completely online, like one of those dystopian tech movies where the protagonist starts identifying more with their on-screen avatar than the real world. I justified it by saying “everything is online, so I have to be too,” but a part of me knew my routine was growing unhealthy. It wasn’t just the hours spent on my phone that bothered me; it was how I spent my time and what it took away from me. I frequently caught myself engaged in doomscrolling at the cost of losing my workout time, losing sleep, and even missing deadlines.
This had to stop. I tried the typical willpower games of putting the phone in another room while I worked or using website-blocking apps, but these were mere Band-Aids. I wanted to understand the core issue and work on it inside out.
A coach helped me understand I’m trying to solve the wrong problem. “You’re trying to force yourself to reduce your screen time, but the issue lies in how you’re approaching tech,” she said, stirring an aha moment in me.
I was embarking on an unnecessary uphill climb. I was forcing myself to un-screen my life, which isn’t quite possible nowadays, especially for someone like me who makes her living online. You can’t stop using technology overnight, but you can change your relationship with it, my coach suggested, triggering yet another sit-up-and-take-notice moment.
