I spend a lot of time doing nothing. Or rather, I do things that contribute nothing to my life. Like constantly playing games on my phone or obsessing over something that has nothing to do with me. I get caught up and addicted to these things that distract from real life. It’s an escape.

A good friend of mine brought up that he had a lot more mental energy because he deleted an app. I have been thinking about this a lot. How much mental energy can we free up if we get rid of the useless things in our lives?

Thinking about this made me realize that I expend a large amount of energy on apps. I literally feel drained and didn’t realize it until I started thinking about this. So, I decided to write about it and come with an action plan. To address this, I’ve identified some of my reasons:

• Boredom
• Pass the Time
• Distraction
• Stimulation
• Social Interaction
• Curiosity
• Depression
• Anxiety

The last two are definitely something I struggle with. I think its my anxiety and depression that makes me want to ‘remove’ myself from what is going on around me. Unfortunately, I am feeding a cycle of bad energy. How can I improve if I stay in this cycle? I can’t. So, I wanted to write out and focus on what I can do to counteract this problem.

Be More Mindful

I definitely need to practice this one. I have attempted this through meditation. I don’t do this enough though. I usually live in my head or in my distraction or addiction, paying attention to anything else than my reality.

To put this into action, I will try the following:

• Meditation
• Get out into nature
• Slow down
• Set a time for mindfulness throughout the day
• Breathing exercises
• Mindful walking

Create Structure

I need to add direction and purpose to my actions. I have to have structure or I don’t know what to do with myself. My thoughts go in all different directions and I end up getting nothing done. I think this is why I need to take a class but can’t just learn on my own.

To put this into action, I will try the following:

• Develop a morning and evening routine
• Give myself an objective
• Create a list of tasks and a reason for each
• Prioritize
• Assign myself due dates
• Treat myself when I make a deadline but don’t beat myself up when I don’t

Journal How Time is Spent

I don’t know why, but journaling is really difficult for me. I think that is why I am finding relief writing on here because it creates an outlet to finally release my thoughts.

I know my obsession with perfection gets in the way of my writing. I’m sitting here thinking about if I have the right pen, is my handwriting nice, does this look good… the list goes on and on and that is one of the reasons I get stuck. I do this in conversation with people too… I start focusing on random things that I become a dud in the conversation or any sort of small talk. Another topic for another day.

To put this into action, I will try:

• Keeping a journal with me everywhere
• Log all my activities, no matter how small
• Journal at the start and end of the day
• Read over what I wrote each day and reflect

Create a List of Alternate Activities

I think this will be really helpful. I can make a list of positive activities that I can choose from when I’m feeling I’m going to waste time due to the above reasons. I think it is important to list more fun activities because I think if I list chores, I’m not going to do it.

Some of the actions I can take:

• Write
• Spend time with family
• Learn something
• Take a walk
• Cook something special
• Work on my art
• Read something interesting
• Talk with a friend

I have to work on the list above. I think I have expended all my thinking energy for today to think of anything else.

Schedule a No Technology Day/Time

I think this is an important one. I think if I took technology off the table, I would focus on something else more meaningful. You would think after all I’ve been through, I would do more with my time! But nope. So, I think I will need to establish rules for myself, like no phones at the dinner table.

Take the Challenge

I am going to challenge myself and do the above and see if that alleviates some of the depression. Sometimes, we put ourselves through a never ending cycle of negativity. We feed our negativity, deplete our energy, worsen or create a depressive state when we focus on the things that don’t matter. So, I better get started! If there are any other ideas, I’d love to hear them!