Task one: do report; Task two: scroll on social

I spend a large part of my day following my to-do list closely.

But what that means is that tasks not on my to-do list can feel like things I have to sneak away or “cheat” to do, so I hoard those activities because I’ve made them feel like some sort of forbidden fruit because they are not on my “real list.”

So I’ve been trying different things to counter these feelings. One thing I’ve done lately is I have been putting on my to-do list “20 minutes on Reddit” (which is my social media platform of choice).

At some point in the day, I do “my Reddit time” and can check it off the list. I’ve found I’m less likely to go over 20 minutes because it’s not a “secret escape”, it’s just another routine, legitimate task.

Besides something like “20 minutes on Reddit”, other ideas of things you could also put on your to-do list things are:

• Like 5 friends’ Instagram posts

• Post weekend pictures on Facebook and comment on 3 posts

• Scroll on LinkedIn until you find a new sales prospect to message

• Check X, Y, and Z accounts on TikTok (and then hop off!)

For me, by making social media have a spot on my to-do list, it takes the guilt factor out of scrolling and makes me less likely to go overboard… because it’ll be on my list again tomorrow, I don’t need to hoard it today.

-Molly Beck