Counter-Program your brain.

How to cut down on your digital consumption.

When was the last time you tried to read a book but found it extremely hard to concentrate? You couldn’t even read one page before you were tempted to check your phone.

With so much digital content available to us, our brain’s have become badly programmed to crave it more and more. How would a piece of paper satisfy us, when we can go binge watch a new show on Netflix?

The good news is, it is possible to take some steps to re-program your brain.

Keep your mornings Screen Free

If you have the habit of checking your phone as soon as you wake up, it’s time to stop sleeping with your phone on your side.

Make it a point to keep at least the first hour every morning “screen free”. Decide on a routine for yourself. You could brush your teeth, make coffee, make your bed, maybe read a book and then go to your phone or your laptop.

Cut down on the digital “Junk Food”

If you write down what you consume online and rank them in order of importance, the stuff at the bottom would be your digital Junk Food. This could be Twitter, or Reddit or Instagram. This is stuff you could live without. You need to take a stand and get rid of it.

For me, I found this was YouTube. At one time I spending 4–5 hours each day on Youtube. So I decided to stop that this year, and I have been able to use the time I have saved to do more reading.

The phrase “You are what you eat” applies to your digital consumption as well. Instead of browsing Instagram mindlessly, go do a free course on Coursera or Khan Academy. Listen to a good podcast, read a blog. Your time is precious, make sure you spend it wisely.

This story is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — The largest living creature that ever existed.