"The Small Changes That Stopped My Endless Scrolling"

Oh no! Not again…

Sometimes you just want to relax, and before you know it, you're deep in some random video about a dog that drives an F1 car, or a parrot that speaks nine languages — including Mandarin. And somehow, you're also cracking up at memes you didn’t even know you needed — not until you started scrolling, anyway.

And those drops of dopamine? OH BOY — they hit so hard, you’d swear your body just switched to turbo mode.

But here’s the thing: What starts as “just 5 minutes” can easily turn into an hour, and afterward... it’s hard not to feel drained or guilty.

The Real Problem? Not Laziness — It's Your Environment.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear explains something powerful:

“You don’t rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.”

At first, that sounded discouraging. But then I realized... It's actually good news.

It meant I didn’t have to rely on motivation alone — I just needed to build better systems that made good habits easier and bad habits harder.

So, I made two small changes that completely turned things around:

1. I Made Bad Habits Harder

I didn’t quit Instagram — I just made it harder to access.

I moved it off my home screen and tucked it inside a folder called "Do You Really Need This?"

I even started logging out of Instagram after each use.

It sounds silly, but it worked. Every time I reached for my phone, I’d pause and think, "Wait… do I actually want to do this?"

That tiny pause? Game changer. Most of the time, I’d give up before logging in.

2. I Made Good Habits Easier

Then I tried the 2-Minute Rule:

Instead of saying, "I need to finish this big task," I’d tell myself:

"Just read one paragraph."

"Just do one push-up."

"Just fold one shirt."

It felt small — almost too small — but that’s the point. Most of the time, starting was all I needed. One push-up would turn into ten, and “one paragraph” would turn into three pages.

Why This Works

James Clear explains that habits follow a simple pattern:

Cue — Something triggers you (like boredom or stress).

Craving — You feel an urge (like opening Instagram).

Response — You act on the urge.

Reward — You feel satisfied (even if it’s just a temporary escape).

By moving Instagram and logging out, I disrupted that automatic response.

And by starting with tiny steps, I made positive habits easier to build.

The Result?

I won’t pretend I’m perfect now — I still scroll sometimes.

But these two small changes? They’ve saved me hours of mindless scrolling. I still get to enjoy social media — but now it’s on my terms, not by accident.

So if you’re stuck in the ‘just 5 minutes’ trap, try this:

Move your biggest distractions out of sight — make them harder to access.

Don’t pressure yourself to “finish everything” — just start small.

It’s not about quitting social media. It’s about controlling it — instead of letting it control you.