Immersion
A search for how to live a meaningful life in the modern world. Exploring psychology, philosophy, and the world around us. Let’s dive 30 minutes beneath the surface each Sunday together. | Hosted by Pamela Carey
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This podcast is a production of Bounding Husky LLC doing business as Pamela Carey Enterprises
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or licensed psychologist
Immersion
Ending Excess Screen Time (Habits that actually work)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We’ve all heard the basic advice: turn off notifications, put your phone in grayscale, or just "try harder." But if you’re like me, those tips didn't stick. After years of experimentation and diving into the psychology of habit formation, I’ve finally found a system that is working for me.
In this episode (Part 2 of our series on technology), we are moving past the philosophy and getting into more specific action steps. We’re talking about building friction, managing decision fatigue, and finding the "why" that actually keeps you away from the screen.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The Power of Friction: Lockboxes, website blockers, and "dumb phones."
- Beating Decision Fatigue: Creating a "Guidelines List" so you don't have to make constant difficult choices.
- Drilling Down to Your "Why": Finding a compelling reason to change.
- Why adding fulfilling activities is better than just "stopping" (Shout-out to Cal Newport and his "Deep Life" work!).
- Analog Switches: Why using tools such as paper planners, watches, and physical notepads helps more than we may have initially thought.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro: The bold claim about ending screen time
01:10 Strategic Friction: Using lockboxes & blockers to break the habit
07:20 Ending Decision Fatigue: How to create your "Guidelines List"
15:39 The Deep Life: Why "just stopping" doesn't work (inspired by Cal Newport)
17:29 The Core Shift: Digging to your compelling "Why"
19:27 Analog Wins: The psychology of paper, pens, and watches
23:46 Join the Conversation: How to leave a voice note (SpeakPipe)
24:33 A Personal Note: Life update & why the schedule changed
Resources and Episodes Mentioned:
- Changing Your Relationship With Technology (Part 1): https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318937/episodes/17789635
- Finding Purpose and Meaning: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318937/episodes/18932472
- How to Organize Your Mind: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318937/episodes/17960805
- Cal Newport’s The Deep Life Podcast: https://www.thedeeplife.com/
- Gretchen Rubin: Abstainers vs. Moderators: https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/abstainer-vs-moderator/
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