Alright, let me tell you about this thing I started doing, kinda called it my “brat stop entertainment” practice in my head. Wasn’t anything fancy, just something I cooked up ’cause I was getting fed up.
See, I noticed I was just… losing time. Like, hours would evaporate. You know how it is. Mindless scrolling on the phone, clicking through videos that weren’t even interesting, refreshing news feeds like something world-changing would happen in the next five minutes. It felt like this little brat inside me was constantly demanding easy, junk-food entertainment, and I was just handing it over.
Getting Started
So, I decided enough was enough. Willpower alone wasn’t cutting it. I needed a system, even a crude one.
First step, I just pinpointed the worst offenders. For me, it was those super short video apps and hitting the same three news sites over and over. Real time sinks.
Then, I made a simple rule. The moment I realised I was doing the mindless thing, I had to physically stop. Like, right then and there. No “one more minute.”
The Actual Doing Part
Okay, stopping wasn’t enough. The brat would just find something else five seconds later. So, the rule included an immediate switch. I had to do something else, something specific and totally different.
My choices were dead simple:
- Grab the actual, physical book I kept on my desk. Read one paragraph.
- Stand up, walk away from the screen, maybe look out the window for 60 seconds.
- Take a sip of water consciously.
Sounds basic, I know. But the point was to break the cycle, right there, right then. The first few days? Man, it was kinda ridiculous. My fingers would just automatically go for the phone or open a new tab. Habit is strong stuff.
Sometimes, I literally mumbled “Stop” to myself. Felt a bit silly, but it honestly helped jolt me out of that zombie mode. I even started making a little check mark on a sticky note each time I successfully caught myself and did the switch. Seeing the marks pile up felt like a small win against that demanding inner brat.
What Happened
After maybe a week, maybe ten days, something shifted. It wasn’t completely gone, but the automatic urge started to fade a bit. I wasn’t reaching for the phone quite as often without thinking. The check marks on my sticky note got fewer.
The biggest change? I actually started reading again. Not huge novels, but dipping into that book on my desk. Finishing articles I’d saved instead of just adding them to a pile. It felt… quieter in my head? Less frazzled from the constant input.
I wasn’t trying to become some monk or ban all fun. I still watch shows, play games sometimes. But this little “brat stop” thing helped me pull back from the compulsive, low-value stuff. It made my entertainment feel more like a choice again, not just a reflex.
It’s not perfect. Some days the brat gets its way more than others. But having this little routine, this practice I built for myself, it gives me a way to push back. It’s my own little system, born from just trying stuff until something clicked. Simple, maybe kinda dumb, but it works for me.
