25 Productive Things to Do Instead of Social Media
Are you stuck in a rut of scrolling endlessly for hours at a time? Well today, I’m going to explore 25 productive things to do instead of social media.
Social media is addictive.
It’s so addictive, that people spend an average of 147 minutes on it, every day.
147 minutes is enough time to cook dinner, clean, have a shower, and watch a TV show.
I find it crazy how even though we spend that much time on it, we can barely remember what we’ve watched, or even learn anything useful.
So to combat your social media use, let’s get straight into the productive things to do instead of scrolling.
1. Make your bed
A great alternative to picking up your phone and scrolling the first thing when you wake up is by making your bed.
This starts your day off on the right foot and achieves a sense of accomplishment with a simple two-minute task.
2. Schedule your day with a to-do list
A to-do list keeps you accountable and helps organise your busy schedule.
Spending just five minutes writing a to-do list the night before, will help plan your day tomorrow, and help manage your life better.
Useful tip: When creating a to-do list, never add more than 10 tasks to it. This just keeps it from becoming overwhelming and helps you decide which tasks are most important for the day.
3. Listen to podcasts
Podcasts are an excellent thing to listen to instead of scrolling on social media.
They are motivational, and informative, and can even feel like chatting with a friend.
- The School of Greatness
- TED Talks Daily
- How to Fail
4. Create a playlist on Spotify
Music helps me become my most productive self, and creating playlists for different moods has become a fun hobby to do.
You could create different playlists for tasks like cleaning, cooking, exercising, and more.
A study also showed that songs with a BPM of 50 – 80 make people more relaxed, therefore increasing their productivity and concentration.
5. Spend time with pets
Playing with pets can release dopamine, and serotonin, and can help relieve stress and anxiety.
I find it nice to relax and hang out with my pets whenever I can, plus you’ll build a better bond with them.
6. Take photos of your pets
When hanging out with your pets, try to take fun-themed photos of them. It could be outside, with fairy lights, or in a costume.
I like to take a yearly Christmas photo of my dog in front of the Christmas tree. It’s a great memory to have, and I love looking back on them.
7. Water your plants
Give your plants a drink of water, but don’t overdo it. I’ve killed my fair share of plants and overwatering was the main problem.
Helpful tip: Learn the signs of plants drooping and soil moisture (by touch). These will help you keep plants alive and thriving better than a watering app will.
8. Discover and learn about plants
The app ‘Picture This‘ is a great way to discover and learn about plants in your backyard or nature.
All you have to do is take a photo of any plant, and the app will scan it and let you know exactly what it is, and some basic facts about it.
It’s accurate, will help you connect with nature, and is a fun way to get outside.
9. Take photos of your backyard
A unique challenge to test your photography skills is to take photos of your backyard.
I’ve always loved photography, and think that sprinkling it into your hobbies is a great way to boost your creativity.
All you have to do is take unique photos of your backyard. They could be macro, landscape, portrait, or pet photos.
I think it’s a fun way to push your creativity in a very familiar place.
10. Grow an avocado seed
After opening an avocado, don’t compost the seed!
Instead, keep it.
Peel the entire brown outer layer of the seed off, this will take around five to ten minutes.
After the seed is peeled, wrap it in a moist paper towel, in a container, and leave it in a dark area (like a closet).
After two to four weeks, the seed will crack down the middle and a root will be growing out at the bottom.
Once the root has protruded out of the seed far enough (around one inch), place it in a water jug (with the root touching the water only).
I like to use old glass jars and spirit bottles with labels removed.
Place your avocado seed on a sunny window sill and watch it grow leaves.
This is a free and fun experiment to try by yourself, with kids, and you’re rewarded with a free plant at the end of it.
Tip: Change the water every 1 – 2 weeks to prevent algae formation.
11. Spend time outside
Go outside and soak up some vitamin D, you could bring a book or hang out with your dog.
15 minutes of soaking up sunlight do the body wonders.
12. Take the dog for a walk
While you’re outside, take your dog for a walk.
It’s their favourite part of the day, it’s good for exercise, and you’ll both be happy at the end of it.
While walking your dog, you could also listen to a podcast.
13. Unsubscribe from annoying emails
Unsubscribing from mailing lists takes two seconds, and it prevents your inbox from clogging up with thousands of marketing emails.
14. Let your mind wander
Sometimes, I like to lie in bed, look out the window, and let my mind wander.
It’s a great thing to do instead of social media because you can recap your day or week, and learn what you’re most grateful for.
Tip: Playing some calming music will make this feel like meditation.
15. Watch the sunrise or sunset
Watching sunrises are my favourite, and I think they always look better than sunsets.
Waking up early to watch the sunrise with a coffee is a great way to start your day off on the right foot.
16. Stargaze
Much like watching sunrises or sunsets, you could also stargaze.
It’s best done in a low-light pollution area, and you could download an app like ‘Night Sky’ to learn star patterns.
17. Read a book/series
One of the most productive things to do instead of social media is to read a book or series.
I like to read both fiction and non-fiction, as fiction books are a great way to increase your creativity.
18. Draw something
Sometimes, it’s fun to draw, sketch, or paint.
It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad, creating art is a good way to unleash your creativity, and you could find that you’re quite good at creating.
19. Cook a meal
Cooking a meal from scratch is a rewarding task because you get to eat your creation at the end of it.
I’ve found a passion for cooking, and think it’s excellent for everyone to learn.
It’s a life skill that will save the cost of ordering takeout every night, and you can cook whatever you like, whenever you like.
20. Learn on Skillshare
Whenever I feel like learning a skill, I like to turn to Skillshare.
Whether it be something tech-wise, art-wise, or learning a YouTube skill, it’s my go-to learning platform.
21. Sell items online
Deep clean your room, and sort through items as a keep, donate or sell pile.
Earlier this year, I went through my entire room and sold hundreds of dollars worth of stuff I just didn’t use anymore.
It’s great because it declutters your room, you feel better about it, and you make some money back.
Win-win.
22. Clean your fan
Cleaning my daily-use fan is always at the bottom of my list, but I feel 100x better after I’ve cleaned it.
Take it apart and wipe down all surface area of it, it’s quite gross that we use a fan covered in dust when you think about it.
22. Organise your drawers
Clean your drawers.
Some days, I like to go through and clean all the drawers in my room, including the desk, bedside, and clothing drawers.
The whole process takes around an hour, but playing some music makes the process a little less daunting.
23. Play a card game
Play a card or board game with your family or friends.
If you don’t have anyone to play with, then you can play a game like Patience or Accordion by yourself.
24. Help out around the home
Whether you live at home with your parents or not, helping out around home for 10 – 15 minutes a day will make your parents, roommates or partner, much happier.
It could be doing chores like the dishes, taking the rubbish out, vacuuming the house, or helping prepare dinner.
15 minutes a day is nearly two hours a week, which is two hours fewer chores that your parents now don’t have to do.
25. Hang out with friends
Socialising is the perfect thing to do instead of social media. It’s best to put your phone down and just live in the moment.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, this list has shown you many productive things to do instead of social media.
While social media is so addictive, it’s good to see you are proactively trying to reduce your usage, and any of these 25 tasks is good to do.
Even reducing your usage by one hour a day will work wonders for your brain and mental health.
What’s your favourite thing to do instead of scrolling on social media?
