Ideas
What to do instead of scrolling: 12 ideas that actually work
Most advice about scrolling less tells you to put the phone down. That rarely works, because the scrolling fills a gap — five minutes on the metro, the last half hour in bed. These ideas fill the same gap with something you will remember afterwards.
The trick: swap, don’t quit
Scrolling is easy because it asks nothing of you. A good replacement has to be almost as easy to start, fit into a few minutes, and leave you with something at the end — a finished page, a few lines, a plan. Pick one or two from the list and attach them to the moment you usually scroll.
12 ideas
- Color something. A coloring app gives your hands and eyes something to do, and five minutes is enough to finish a page.
- Read one chapter of a book or a long article you saved earlier, instead of a feed.
- Plan tomorrow’s outfit. Lay it out, or color it first and see if the colors work.
- Write three lines about your day in the notes app.
- Learn ten words in a language app.
- Sketch what is in front of you, badly. Nobody needs to see it.
- Listen to one album start to finish, with nothing else open.
- Stretch for five minutes while the kettle boils.
- Edit your camera roll: delete twenty photos and favourite five.
- Do a crossword or a sudoku.
- Make a mood board for something real — a trip, a room, a season’s wardrobe.
- Message one person properly, instead of reacting to ten stories.
Why coloring works well on a phone
It is one of the few things you can do on the same device, in the same five minutes, that feels like making something rather than consuming it. You choose, you tap, you see the result, and at the end there is a finished page you made. Color the Look is a fashion coloring app for iPhone and iPad with 250+ outfit pages in 29 collections. Each look takes a few minutes, and the finished outfits collect in your own Lookbook.
Try a page instead of the feed
Frequently asked
What can I do instead of scrolling on my phone?
Swap scrolling for something equally easy that leaves a result: color a page in a coloring app, read one chapter, write three lines in a notes app, plan tomorrow’s outfit, do a puzzle, learn a few words in a language app, or message one friend properly.
What to do instead of scrolling at night?
Choose something calm and short that has an end: one chapter of a book, a coloring page, a few lines of journaling, or a stretch. Things with a clear finish make it easier to stop.
Is coloring on a phone better than scrolling?
Many people find it more satisfying, because coloring is active and ends with a finished picture, while a feed has no end. Coloring apps such as Color the Look are designed for short sessions of a few minutes.
