Social media. It’s a sticky beast that affects millions of us. With New Years upon us, consider incorporating a change with how frequent you view your accounts to reclaim more of your life back. Here are five simple ways to make this possible:

1) Ease of access. Just like if you wanted to go on a diet you wouldn’t keep your shelves fully stocked with fattening sweets, consider the same mindset for social media. Some ways in which this might play out include:
– deleting the apps off your phone or shortcut buttons on your internet browser on your computer
– log out after use so it takes an additional step, and thus time delay, for you to question what your purpose is in hopping on the site
– use website restriction apps like SelfControl, Freedom, or Cold Turkey

2) Replace. This is a habit that was socially engineered on purpose. So it will take time to work with this. As with any addiction, replacement is the name of the game. The creators of Facebook will tell you that all the hard work that went into creating the platform was done to make the experience as addictive as possible. From the notification bells to the algorithm on the news feed. So learn to take your power back and find other ways to get your dopamine kicks.
Step back and ask yourself how best you WANT to use your free time. What other activities do you wish to pursue either on a daily basis or more broadly aside from being on social media? Do you have projects you wish to accomplish? Spend more time with family or friends? How is your exercise? Diet? Sleep? Start small with these goals but be intentional. Which leads me to my next point…

3) Make a plan. Again, just like with any other form of addiction, making a plan is one of the most important steps! Have an accountability partner and share your plans with them. Research shows by broadcasting our goals we’re more likely to stick them (BTW, keep this in mind for all your New Year’s resolutions).
There are two ways to make a plan. The first is to go all out and detox, which means to cut off cold turkey. This could be for a weekend, a week, or even a 30 day social media “cleanse”. Know that if you take this approach it will naturally be most difficult in the beginning so stick with it. There are resources online to help you pursue these types of media diets.
The other approach is to slowly wean in your way off. Some examples of this include setting an intention ahead of time. When you go out with friends for dinner, set a rule for yourself (or with them) to not look at your phones during the meal. Also be intentional about your usage. Do you really have to check in when you go to Starbucks or the laundromat?

4) Buy an alarm clock. No, I don’t mean a paid app; a physical alarm clock! One of the worst times to slip into what I call “black hole time” is when we’re in bed. We transfix on our screens while mindlessly scrolling or tumble down rabbit holes all while burning the midnight oil. By using an alarm clock, we can either put our phones further away from the bed (and thus much less likely to zombify at night or first thing in the morning) or – better yet – charge your phone outside the bedroom.

5) Cultivate a mindfulness practice. Increased awareness is one of the biggest anecdotes to our bad habits. Ultimately we want to move from unconscious reacting to intentional responding. There are so many benefits that come with this type of non-judgmental, present moment practice and this is one of them! The more aware we are to the things we wish to change, the quicker we are at course correcting when we go back to autopilot. Remember, “awareness is always the first step towards change.” Consider starting a 5-minute breathing routine to strengthen the muscle of attention. Or if you need to start smaller, another idea for point #2 above of replacing is to use a mindfulness app.

Here’s to creating a more intentional and less time-absorbed 2019!