Deleting Social Media To Align My Habits And My Goals

I deleted social media from my phone a few months ago, and I unexpectedly got about 1.5 hours of my life back every day.

Prior to this, I didn’t use my phone excessively; I spent about 3.5-4.5 hours a day on my phone. About half that time was work: recording and uploading videos, Circle, Slack, and email. But that means 1-2 hours was social media, mostly just scrolling Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. Almost all of that time left no impact on me. I learned random facts and tips occasionally, but how many hours have I lost watching videos I would forget three scrolls later?

Making a change

I decided to try something; I deleted the apps from my phone. I started with Instagram, and quickly learned that YouTube Shorts can be just as addictive. Now, I delete and redownload the apps each time I want to use them. This has reduced my phone use by about 1.5 hours a day.

So what do I do with that time? Getting an extra hour and a half of your life back per day sounds extreme, but when it is just small bursts throughout the day, it doesn’t feel like much. Now I try to focus on: stretching more, getting chores done on weekdays, going for morning jogs, journaling, reading, studying, and trying to learn photography. 

The new norm

A normal morning looks something like this now:

Wake up - Start Coffee Pot - Dishes - Stretch and Drink Coffee - 2 Mile Run - Shower - Make Breakfast - Pack Bag - Drive to Work

Before, the dishes would have waited until Saturday; I would have sat on the couch and “caught up” on Instagram instead of stretching. I would have skipped the run, too. 

The issue isn’t just the time lost to scrolling, but the motivation drop that happens when you get your dopamine hit while sitting still, being comfortable, and having a nice cup of coffee. Once you do that, you will not get on the floor and stretch. The problem is that it feels good, and things that feel good become habitual. You don’t even notice it, and until you do, you won’t be able to change.

How to break the habit

If you have read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, then you are familiar with the steps to break a habit. The first step is “making it invisible”. You do this by removing the cue to start scrolling. Deleting the apps also accomplishes his third step: “making it difficult”. You don’t get an immediate hit of dopamine if you have to wait for it to redownload before you can scroll. Suddenly, the “5 minutes” I would have spent scrolling don’t feel worth the effort.

I tried using apps that block my social media, but having the option to click “15 more minutes” was so easy, and it never really stopped me from scrolling. I know I need to keep deleting the apps because the second I have the apps again, I find myself scrolling. Even if my husband has his phone open and is scrolling, I get drawn right in. The craving hasn’t changed; I just removed the cue and made it harder to access.

I want to be the type of person who stretches in the mornings, gets chores done proactively, and regularly learns new things. For me to be this person, something had to give, and I chose social media. I am not perfect at this; I am still working on it, but I am making progress. I have also found that the more I talk and share about this, the more it reinforces the desire to keep my new habits up. So I hope by sharing this blog, it continues to hold me accountable AND encourages you to give this a try. 

I don’t think social media is inherently bad, but for me, removing easy access to it created space for the person I actually want to become.