Substack is such a hard one, I love it here. But I need to be able to make my own thoughts and opinions and a lot of the time that is going to require shutting out all the other voices for a bit.
The tricky thing for me is that as my readership has grown, responding to comments takes a lot of time. But I feel a responsibility to reply to everyone who takes the time to comment! So I’m trying to balance that with not letting it take over my life 😅
Such great points and all totally valid! I know exactly what you mean, and so much of it resonates for me. I especially resonate with the parts about all the productivity guilt and the idea that I wouldn’t use my time to write a book if I wasn’t on my phone because I’m not on my phone when I have that kind of energy and brain power! I also like how you listed all the things you’ve tried. Great post!
I have an issue with notifications too. I cannot stand seeing the growing numbers, so I disabled them everywhere and only allow them for emergency channels with a very small, select group of people.
I do not check email unless I have a specific purpose, like checking Substack subscriptions or waiting for something important. It is an exercise in agency; I have to intentionally go and check. I did the same with TikTok. After COVID, I became addicted to the point where I developed a strong reaction to avoid using it last year. My solution was to disable the algorithm entirely; now I only open the app to check specific profiles I find interesting. I never get content notifications, so if I do not feel like engaging, I just do not open the app.
I was never a big fan of social networks. I deleted my Facebook account almost 15 years ago. This has had a real effect on my life; people around me know the only reliable way to get to me is a phone call or a face to face visit.
It also helped me recover that agency by looking the beast in the eye, so to speak. When I have the urge to scroll or get my brain melted by content, I try to stop for a second before I react. I try to check my environment and the reasons why I felt anxious in the first place. That small buffer was super difficult at the beginning, but somehow now it feels more automatic.
My biggest screen time sink is my computer, used for entertainment, coding, hacking, art, research, and community relationships. It was not always this way, but right now I am in a phase where I basically only carry my phone to check the time and access my computer remotely.
I disabled all notifications too years ago and yet I still open the apps to see if I have any!! 🫠 I am still working on it, trying to find what works for me.
Replacing scrolling with something productive just adds shame to depletion and drives us back to the phone. Match the swap to the actual drive, not the ideal one. And the Matrix DVD as your unlock key is quietly brilliant! You didn't out-discipline. You built physical friction into the reach. And it's the same reason you protect the two transitions, sleep and waking. You've designed the environment so the impulse meets a wall. The apps engineered the friction out. You've engineered it back in. Bravo. Awesome piece Percy. 💚
I loved this piece but my favorite part by far was the matrix. Ultimate hack.
lol an excellent reminder of what I’m logging back into 🌝
This was really good. I need to rein in my Substack time. Might try that phone locking app you suggested. And the Matrix hack is genius!
Substack is such a hard one, I love it here. But I need to be able to make my own thoughts and opinions and a lot of the time that is going to require shutting out all the other voices for a bit.
The tricky thing for me is that as my readership has grown, responding to comments takes a lot of time. But I feel a responsibility to reply to everyone who takes the time to comment! So I’m trying to balance that with not letting it take over my life 😅
I feel that, I feel so bad sometimes when I just don't have the mental space to come up with a reply :(
Same—I’m learning it’s okay to just heart something when we don’t have the capacity for more!
Such great points and all totally valid! I know exactly what you mean, and so much of it resonates for me. I especially resonate with the parts about all the productivity guilt and the idea that I wouldn’t use my time to write a book if I wasn’t on my phone because I’m not on my phone when I have that kind of energy and brain power! I also like how you listed all the things you’ve tried. Great post!
I have an issue with notifications too. I cannot stand seeing the growing numbers, so I disabled them everywhere and only allow them for emergency channels with a very small, select group of people.
I do not check email unless I have a specific purpose, like checking Substack subscriptions or waiting for something important. It is an exercise in agency; I have to intentionally go and check. I did the same with TikTok. After COVID, I became addicted to the point where I developed a strong reaction to avoid using it last year. My solution was to disable the algorithm entirely; now I only open the app to check specific profiles I find interesting. I never get content notifications, so if I do not feel like engaging, I just do not open the app.
I was never a big fan of social networks. I deleted my Facebook account almost 15 years ago. This has had a real effect on my life; people around me know the only reliable way to get to me is a phone call or a face to face visit.
It also helped me recover that agency by looking the beast in the eye, so to speak. When I have the urge to scroll or get my brain melted by content, I try to stop for a second before I react. I try to check my environment and the reasons why I felt anxious in the first place. That small buffer was super difficult at the beginning, but somehow now it feels more automatic.
My biggest screen time sink is my computer, used for entertainment, coding, hacking, art, research, and community relationships. It was not always this way, but right now I am in a phase where I basically only carry my phone to check the time and access my computer remotely.
I disabled all notifications too years ago and yet I still open the apps to see if I have any!! 🫠 I am still working on it, trying to find what works for me.
Replacing scrolling with something productive just adds shame to depletion and drives us back to the phone. Match the swap to the actual drive, not the ideal one. And the Matrix DVD as your unlock key is quietly brilliant! You didn't out-discipline. You built physical friction into the reach. And it's the same reason you protect the two transitions, sleep and waking. You've designed the environment so the impulse meets a wall. The apps engineered the friction out. You've engineered it back in. Bravo. Awesome piece Percy. 💚