I finally won the Procrastination battle (& it changed my life)

When your attention is stolen, your life is stolen. Minute by minute.

(Long thread but worth it, I promise)

At some point, we've all felt like quitting social media.

My story is no different.

It drains energy. Sometimes, makes us insecure.

There's ofcourse some subtle pleasure, but those cheap dopamine hits start to haunt us.

I had this same feeling.

Tried dozens of productivity apps, watched hundreds of YouTube videos (literally), and wasted time reading productivity articles.

Some 'hacks', 'tricks' worked for some time, but then I got into the same bad habit again. Scrolling for hours without realizing.

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Result? Guilt.

And the worst part, it kept repeating every single day.

Well, before we dive into the solution, let's understand this simple fact

What makes Social Media so addictive?

Short answer: It's designed that way.

In his book 'Stolen Focus', Johann Hari talks about Consumer Capitalism.

He states that Sleep Deprivation is a massive problem today.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, people rest 20% less than they did a hundred years ago.

But why isn't it managed globally if it's such a big issue?

The answer is Consumer Capitalism. Your rest is of no benefit to the economy.

When you sleep, you don't shop, you don't scroll, and you don't produce anything.

Several companies would lose loads of money if you slept a few hours more.

They don't want you to sleep.

The prosperity of the economy flourishes on sleepless people.

More screentime = more ads/sales = more money for tech companies.

The more you remain active, the more you earn.

If you think about it, it's not too difficult to observe how it's evolving.

I will give you an example.

A few years back,

WhatsApp had simple features of messaging. If you looked at someone's profile, it had a Profile pic, name, and a sweet 'About' section - just text.

But then, just to make it more addictive, they introduced 'Status' features (which were just a replica of Instagram stories)

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Now, even if you don't have any text messages, you keep coming back to check your friend's updates.

Well, it was in a different tab, 'Status'.

Now, to make it even more addictive, they introduced - Status Profile Rings.

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Now, they have added Channels, Communities, Music Status, and the list goes on.

More Screentime = More Earnings

Technically, you are just data. Part of their statistics.

And they keep personalizing it to manipulate you more and more, day by day.

The same goes with Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and all major social platforms. Think about it.

They will do everything to keep you looking at the screen.

The Solution

Well, what chances do you have against an army of Silicon Valley engineers, who are literally paid millions to make apps as addictive as possible?

Their full time job is to keep you distracted.

You've got to be very, very smart.

Over the years, I tried several productivity hacks (feel free to try what works for you)

• Uninstalling apps - Worked. However, most of the time I reinstalled them again or used them in browser. It helped to an extent, but not a permanent solution. I'm a freelance digital strategist, so needed for work & research sometimes. Well, we all have our reasons (read excuses) to come back.

• Blockers - Same thing. Worked for some time. But, often I would disable them and forget for months.

• Turning off notifications - Better than having them enabled. But found myself checking the device even without notifications. A feeling of FOMO or something urgent may be there.

• Keeping phone away - Good to do, but takes lots of willpower to take this initiative. Even if you do, a single call or text will again make you have it in your hand for hours of doomscrolling.

And the list goes on. Lots of other stuff, but I was striving for a permanent solution.

One day, while travelling in a local train and I saw a guy with a dumbphone. And the inspiration struck.

I thought,
No social media, no browser, no internet = No distractions

Well, a 'not so easy' decision.

I did my research for a week. Some YouTubers swore it works, but others just outlined the restrictions you have to face and how it didn't work for them.

Nevertheless, I ordered it online.

The Dumbphone (A dumb idea?)

Received it. Unboxed. Ta-da. Celebration time

(real pic of my dumbphone, just captured while writing this :)

I turned it on. That Nokia tune felt nostalgic.

Now what?

I got the dumbphone, but to use it, I had to buy another SIM card.

Ah, didn't think before ordering.

Anyway, I went to the telecom operator and got the SIM card.

So now I have two mobile numbers.

For the first two days, I pretended to use it. I set my alarms, carried it with me everywhere.

The problem? No one knew my new number.

Everyone still called me on the old SIM.

I thought of switching the SIM, but all banking/UPI apps didn't let me switch.

I was again caught up in the matrix - the same loop of procrastination on the smartphone.

I didn't find any reason to use dumbphone. As all my conversations were on a smartphone.

Things went on for months. I felt like my decision to buy a dumbphone was actually dumb.

Then, I got an idea. I needed a reason to use it.

Forwarded all my calls. Saved frequently called numbers on the new SIM.

And the magic happened.

For the first time in my life, I went out to walk without my smartphone.

Just me and my NOKIA.

The urges to check social media subsided.

Within the first few days, I felt a bit of discomfort but

• My productivity skyrocketed.

• I felt happier.

• Started accomplishing more in a day than I would accomplish in a week.

• Slept on time. Woke up refreshed.

• Actually felt the life.

I was no more looking at my phone to escape conversations.

Suddenly, I had time to learn my favorite musical instruments, learn to cook, workout, gardening, follow my morning routine, look at the sky, laugh, spend time with family, and start this newsletter. Over all these years, I never felt this much flexibility.

It's been a year now, and I can proudly say, this single decision changed my life.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to connect :)

I'd love to hear your feedback and what bold steps you will take to battle procrastination?

Let’s keep the conversation going. Your perspective might just inspire someone else along the way.

- Pranav

P.S. - I have not used any AI tools, etc, to write this. Just shared my honest experience. Please excuse any minor errors in grammar or spelling you might find.