Reading time: About 3 minutes
Do you lose writing time to doomscrolling? Here are seven ways to stop doomscrolling…
Are you guilty of doomscrolling? I know I am! And frankly, I’m getting tired of my own nonsense. My distraction of choice is the New York Times, and I’ll scroll through it mindlessly, all day long, trying to reach the bottom of the page, like some demented digital archaeologist.
The Times updates its feed regularly — every few minutes, with breaking news — so I always want to scroll through the entire feed again to stay on top of what’s new. I know I’m hard-wired to be a “completionist” — someone who wants to finish whatever they start. (Do you see the problem I create for myself with trying to “finish” the news? It’s like trying to count grains of sand while standing in an hourglass.)
Sure, I enjoy benefits from being reasonably well informed. But I have to ask myself, wouldn’t I be better informed if I read more than one media outlet? Particularly another one that wasn’t just American?
Recently, I’ve tried to limit myself to reading the Times over breakfast only, but that good resolution fell by the wayside shockingly quickly, and I’m back to scrolling — and feeling badly about myself for doing it. So let me call it what it is. Unadulterated doomscrolling.
Doomscrolling is the act of continuously consuming media, mostly with a negative spin, often through social media or news apps, even when it’s emotionally taxing, even when you simply don’t want to. It’s basically emotional self-harm with a Wi-Fi connection.
And it causes lots of negative issues:
- It disrupts our sleep.
- It leads to lower productivity.
- It increases our feelings of hopelessness.
- It worsens our anxiety and stress.
- It causes us to feel numb inside.
- It makes us feel isolated and disconnected.
- It leads to our putting writing on hold.
But stopping doomscrolling isn’t just about willpower. Your smartphone is engineered by evil geniuses to grab your attention with sneaky hooks offering fast hits of dopamine — a hormone and neurotransmitter that plays a key role in pleasure and motivation.
The trouble is we haven’t done anything to “earn” this dopamine, so our body doesn’t create new reserves of it. And this leads to a depletion that leaves us craving more — without the capacity to get it, except by more doomscrolling. It’s a classic Catch-22 that would make Joseph Heller weep.
A Harvard study from 2024 suggests the habit of doomscrolling likely intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as readers tried to stay ahead of threats in distressing newsfeeds. Because apparently we all thought if we just read enough articles about supply chain issues, we could personally fix them.
But seductive though it may be, you don’t have to let doomscrolling drag you down or govern your life. Particularly not your writing life. Here are seven tips for how to short circuit it:
1-Name it when it happens
We don’t have power over anything until we notice it and name it. The next time you find yourself on your phone and feel yucky about it, say to yourself, “I’m doomscrolling.” Then ask yourself what you’re really looking for. Is it a relief from boredom? (Ask yourself what else you could do.) Is it a mindless habit? (What else could keep your hands busy? Knitting? Juggling? Jazz hands?)
2-Set a schedule for your news and social media and stick to it
Don’t go onto your phone for news or social media endlessly or automatically. Instead, give yourself several carefully curated windows during the day for doing so. Right after lunch might be a suitable moment. Set a timer (perhaps 15 minutes?). And don’t allow yourself to go beyond the ding of the bell.
3-Write before you read any news or social media (or email)
Writing is a lot easier if you do it in the morning — especially if you do it before reading the news or social media. Develop the habit of writing — even if only for five minutes — before you allow yourself your first phone check-in of the day.
4-Unfollow the worst offenders
Several years ago, I became addicted to TikTok. It made my children laugh at me because I am definitely not the demographic for that platform. But I started watching it during my daily lunch break and noticed I was having a really hard time putting down my phone — as if it had been superglued to my palm. After six weeks, I deleted TikTok from my phone, and I haven’t looked at it since. And I feel so much better about myself, although less informed about teenage dance moves or what to buy on Amazon.
5-Use a mantra
If you’re finding the news distressing (and who isn’t these days, what with what’s going on in Gaza and Ukraine?) you may need to recite a phrase to help calm yourself after reading the news. Here are three sentences you can say to yourself:
- This moment is difficult, but it will pass.
- I am grounded, safe and present right now.
- I accept what I cannot change and focus on what I can.
6-Replace doomscrolling with something else
You can’t fully break any bad habit until you can replace it with something else. Here are five replacements:
- Read something uplifting or fun. (I always have a novel on the go.)
- Go for a short walk or do a stretch.
- Write a quick journal entry.
- Do a breathing exercise.
- Do a small, satisfying task like tidying your desk or washing a few dishes.
7-Accomplish something
Most of us crave accomplishment. And it doesn’t have to be curing cancer. Decide you’re going to finish reading a certain book by Friday. Decide to make a home-cooked dinner tonight. Promise yourself you’ll write in your journal every day this week. Satisfying a sense of accomplishment is the most powerful dopamine hit that exists, and you actually earned it.
Here’s the truth
Doomscrolling promises to keep us informed and connected, but it actually leaves us depleted and paralyzed.
As writers, we need our mental energy for creating, not for consuming an endless stream of digital anxiety. So, close the apps, place your fingers on your keyboard and channel all that restless energy into something that actually matters — your writing.
The world’s problems will still be there when you’re done writing, but at least you’ll have created something new. And isn’t that a much better use of your creative brain?
If you liked this post, you’ll also like Why you should write in airplane mode.
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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.
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My video podcast last week described a good writing ritual. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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Do you have ways to stop doomscrolling? Tell us about them! We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Sept. 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)
