Intervention of Choice – Ryan Anderson

For my self intervention, I chose to cut down on my daily wasted time on electronics. I instead substituted the gaps in my day that are normally used for mindless activity for creative/rewarding activities that I enjoy, but never ‘find’ the time to do normally. This included reading and drawing/painting. Both of these are activities that I have always enjoyed, but rarely manage to do while I’m in school. Normally, during my breaks between classes and time before going to bed, I’ll be on my phone looking at instagram or reddit for far longer than I should.
For this week, I decided to read or draw any time I had a break and felt like looking at my phone. I hoped that this would make me appreciate how it is possible to relax while doing something personally productive. At the beginning of the week, I found myself questioning whether I was truly relaxing as these activities still partially felty like some work, albeit work that I enjoyed far more. However, it didn’t take long for me to really start looking forward to these breaks where I would either be able to continue my reading, or get a chance to draw. I found that both activities (I would alternate each time) were far more effective at helping me temporarily take my mind off of what was stressing me out. This has proven to me that, even with relaxing, the easiest option is not always the best. I have also come to appreciate just how much you can accomplish my maximizing the free space in your day, as I am able to say I’ve read this many pages or drawn this much over the course of a single week, whereas I would have nothing to show for that amount of time spent on my phone. This also reminds me of what I used to do before owning a phone or laptop during my free time. After this week, although I won’t be as strict with how little I use my phone, I believe I’m going to be more profficient with how I spend my free time.

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