Scroll better

Make this mindless time more satisfying

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to scroll better. There are some points in
all of our lives when we are going to be

(00:24):
spending mindless time on our phones. Figuring out how to
upgrade that time just a little can make life feel
more satisfying. So I know there is a lot of
literature out there on how to break up with our
phones or kick the phone habit. I know this literature

(00:44):
contains a lot of good ideas we all should spend
less time scrolling. But the truth is that there are
some points in our ordinary daily existences when we are
going to wind up wiling away time on our little devices.
Maybe you are suddenly waiting in a line that you

(01:06):
didn't foresee. Maybe you are watching a kid who is
playing semi independently. You can't get up to get a
book or magazine without changing the situation, So there you are.
Phones make these little boring moments a little less boring.

(01:27):
So rather than just lament our phone addictions, maybe it
is possible to spend these little online moments a little
more wisely. We can scroll better, even if we are scrolling.
For instance, I have noticed that the comments on well
moderated blogs or in any sort of closed community are

(01:51):
often more wholesome than the comments on social media. The
Patreon community for my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds
will often have long and helpful discussions with eighty comments
or more. Reading those can definitely fill some scrolling time.
I also enjoy reading, say, the one hundred helpful comments

(02:14):
that often follow a post by the Frugal Girl on
her blog. So why not read some old school blogs
or join some closed but active online communities and read
through those comments. You just might learn something. I have
also realized that social media algorithms can easily redirect me

(02:36):
from what I was hoping to see. Online retailers, on
the other hand, want to keep you focused, so I
have been spending some scrolling time doing the equivalent of
window shopping. For instance, I've been looking through galleries of
miniatures at Factory direct Craft. Creating miniature rooms is a

(02:58):
new hobby of mine, so I scroll around and look
at prices and styles on a dozen little mini dishwashers.
Is it a great use of time? No, but it
feels a little less icky than some of the name
calling I see on Twitter. If you tend to check
email while you are playing around with your phone, then

(03:20):
you might try to make your inbox a little more engaging.
For instance, you might subscribe to some interesting newsletters, and
of course, if you like to scroll around, you can
buy subscriptions to newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or
the New York Times and read real articles rather than
people's idle speculations on their Instagram pages. In any case,

(03:45):
I am sure we should all spend less time on
our phones. I also recommend putting ebooks on your phone
and spending some time that you would be scrolling reading
books instead. But all that said, you are just going
to scroll. There are still ways to make this a
better experience, so best to avail ourselves of those in

(04:12):
the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

(04:32):
you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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