Scroll and Stream Free September: What I Did, Why I Did It, and What I Found

This September I gave myself a challenge: no scrolling and no streaming. No Netflix, no Prime, no YouTube rabbit holes… just a clean break for a month. I allowed myself stretching videos when I needed them, but no endless swiping, no “just one more episode.”

It has been a whole month, and I have done it.

Why I Started

I was restless, overstimulated and cross with myself. Work and play had blurred together because both centred on screens. After a day of emails I would automatically flop into a loop of scrolling and watching, often with my phone and laptop on at once. It was not even enjoyable, just itchy and distracting.

Feelings of frustration at being 'chained' to my phone

I wanted to reclaim my focus and presence. I wanted to build capacity by nurturing myself with happier behaviours, not simply rely on discipline to avoid old patterns. I had tried many times before, with rules about when and where to use screens or stepping away from social media, but I had never tackled streaming and video fully. I was curious about what life would feel like without that constant drip of content.

What Helped Me Keep Going

I set clear rules and stuck to them. When cravings came, I reminded myself of the truth. I had not really been enjoying the old habit. I was restless, half looking up the actress in the programme, half scrolling on my phone, and never settling.

Cravings became signals. They told me I needed comfort, stimulation or rest, and I learned to meet those needs more directly. Sometimes that meant going for a walk, sometimes journalling, sometimes heading to the gym or simply lying down to reset.

Using an old phone for my alarm and spotify audio helped remove the temptation to scroll in bed!

A practital strategy that helped was switching off my phone and leaving it downstairs, so I bedroom became a place where I only used an old, sim free, app free phone for sleep audio tracks as well as my alarm clock!

I also replaced video with audio. Instead of slipping back into YouTube for podcasts or music, I switched to Spotify for audio and found other platforms where I could listen without being tempted by the autoplay of video suggestions. I noticed straight away how much easier it was to stay on track when I separated audio from video.

And I made a conscious effort to do one thing at a time. Painting the shed board by board, slowly, without needing background noise, became a minful moment of presence in itself. I like to listen to voice notes from friends on my walks, but I also made space regularly to listen to the birds and the breeze too. Simple yet profoundly lovely!

Before and After of My Gardening Efforts

What Changed

• Quality of time improved. I felt less agitation and more calm.

• Reading returned. I read several books, including Brave New World again. (Last time I read that one was thirty years ago!). My attention span bounced back like a re-inflated bouncy castle.

• Creativity grew. I painted, gardened, cooked, made illustrations for people, and had many moments of creative daydreaming along with actions on projects that had been waiting for my attention.

• Self care became real. I journalled, got better at meal prep, went to bed earlier, and remembered the joy of a regular routine, e.g. bath and bedtime. In a way, it felt like I was caring for myself like a toddler, and relearning how to manage my nervous system in micro moments that seem obvious now, but I had lost track off.

• Movement came back. I went to the gym three times a week and began running again after a couple of years away. Building back up to 5k felt like such a victory.

• Family felt lighter. I laughed more with my husband, was less irritable with my son, and got things done that genuinely benefit us. One evening when my son was at a sleep over, we put music on, danced in the kitchen while tea cooked and had great conversations instead of defaulting to TV.

• Presence deepened. I was more able to give myself to one thing without needing constant distraction.

  

  A view from one of the many extra walks I enjoyed during the month.

  
  

What I Learned

Every past attempt at this was not failure. It was practice. Like building sandcastles that wash away with the tide, each one prepared me for the next. I had been building muscles and skills all along. This time the materials were better, the methods stronger, and the castle held.

I have learned that capacity comes before discipline. That supportive use of technology is very different from passive consumption. That cravings for comfort are often just signals that something else in me needs care. And that joy grows when I slow down and give myself to one thing at a time. The struggle with this side of life has a high probability of rearing it's head again, but this time I feel like I have a solid successful experience to build on.

What’s Next

I do not want to lose the learning or the space I have created. October feels like the right time to refine the structures that will support me to carry this forward.

• I will use Meta Business Suite to manage my Instagram posts so I can share my work without being pulled into scrolling when I post.

• I want to keep TV and films as a social activity, not a default at home. From October, I will only watch them in company and outside the house, at the cinema or with friends.

• I will continue to give my time to supportive uses of technology, whether that is planning, creating, connecting or problem-solving.

• And I will keep tending my garden and my home as a mirror of this practice, clearing, planting, decluttering and enjoying the beauty that grows from space, attention and sunlight.

  
  

This month has been a reminder that the things I want most, presence, joy, creativity, movement, connectio, are all waiting when I put down what does not serve me and make room for them.