You only meant to check the time, and a minute later you are back in the feed. Before setting strict limits, notice which moment pulls you in: waiting for the kettle, a paragraph that won’t come, the end of a meeting.

Change one entry point

Pick the app you open most often without a reason, and make one change:

  • Turn off one of its non-essential notifications.
  • Move its icon off the home screen into a folder, or sign out so it takes an extra step to open.
  • While working, don’t keep the feed open in a window next to you.

Keep the messages and services you need. Change one thing at a time, so that after a week you can tell whether it helped.

Not all screen time is the same. Work, maps, and chatting with family and friends are different from scrolling a feed with no purpose. Change the specific habit; don’t judge yourself by one total number.

Prepare something else for that moment

Removing an entry point doesn’t remove the moment, so decide what to do instead:

  • If scrolling fills a gap: stand up, get water, look out of the window, or simply do nothing.
  • If it shows up when a task gets stuck: write down the next step before deciding whether to pick up the phone. Deleting an app won’t make the hard problem any clearer.

Review after a week

After a week, ask two questions: am I opening it without thinking less often? Did I miss anything important?

Keep what helps and undo what doesn’t. This isn’t a streak challenge. A long evening of scrolling doesn’t erase the pattern you noticed.

Try one round with the timer

Ten minutes in three parts:

  • 3 minutes notice: pick one app and recall when and where you usually open it.
  • 5 minutes change one entry point: notifications, icon position or signing out.
  • 2 minutes prepare an alternative: choose what you will do in that moment instead.

Next

Copy the mindless scrolling reset checklist and come back in a week to tick the last item. If scrolling usually starts just before you begin work, read how to prepare for a focus session.

Sources

Partly adapted from HowToLiveBetter by eternity4719 and contributors (14 October 2026 snapshot), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Todo & Timer rewrote the steps and examples.

Book entries used: chapter 3, “Don’t waste energy”: 3.20; chapter 4, “Don’t waste time”: 4.10 · 4.15 · 4.16.