Things to Do Instead of Scrolling That Are Actually Worth Trying

Somewhere between checking the headlines, saving another recipe, and looking at things we have absolutely no intention of buying, our free time has a way of disappearing. Maybe the answer isn’t to put our phones away forever. Maybe it’s to find something we’d actually rather be doing.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with spending time on your phone. I’ve found recipes online that became family favorites, and YouTube helped me relearn how to knit.

But there’s a difference between finding something interesting and actually doing something interesting.

And when you’re tired, bored, or just enjoying a little free time, it’s surprisingly easy to default to whatever is already in your hand.

The usual advice is to read, take a walk, start a hobby, or organize a drawer. Which is fine, except sometimes it’s eight o’clock at night and you have absolutely no interest in becoming a more productive human being.

You’d just like to enjoy your evening.

Here are a few things that might actually be worth trying, depending on how much time and energy you have.

01 — Read Five Pages of a Book You Actually Like

I’ve tried keeping a book beside my bed, figuring that if it was right there, I’d naturally pick it up instead of my phone.

Apparently, proximity isn’t everything.

What I’ve found more helpful is setting a small daily reading goal. One chapter. Five pages. Something manageable enough that I don’t need a completely free evening to accomplish it.

Five pages might not sound like much, but if the book is good, there’s a decent chance I’ll keep reading.

I also think it matters what you’re reading. This isn’t the time to force yourself through a book you feel you should finish because everyone else loved it.

Choose something you’re genuinely looking forward to opening.

If you’re trying to spend less time scrolling at night, this is one of the easiest alternatives to test. You don’t need supplies, a new skill, or an elaborate plan.

Just a book you want to read and a small commitment to opening it.

02 — Knit Something Small. A Washcloth Counts.

I relearned how to knit using YouTube. My skills are still pretty basic, and I can make a washcloth.

I’m not knitting complicated sweaters. Nobody is waiting for my debut collection.

But I like that knitting is portable. Once you know the basics, you can keep a small project nearby and pick it up when you have fifteen or twenty minutes.

And a washcloth is a forgiving project. It doesn’t have to fit anyone, and it doesn’t need to be particularly impressive to be useful.

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need yarn, needles, and a little patience. Look for a beginner tutorial that teaches you to cast on, work a basic stitch, and bind off.

Learning will take longer than fifteen minutes, and the first attempt may not be especially relaxing. But once you know what you’re doing, it’s an easy activity to return to without much setup.

If you’re still figuring out what kind of hobby you’d actually enjoy, Want a Hobby? Start Here can help you narrow it down.

And the first washcloth is allowed to look like a first washcloth.

It can still wash dishes.

03 — Make Something Without Comparing It to the Internet

I used to really enjoy scrapbooking.

Then I started looking at the beautiful pages other people were making online. The elaborate layouts. Perfectly coordinated papers. Gorgeous lettering.

Suddenly, the pages I was making didn’t seem nearly as good.

And something that had been fun started feeling like something I wasn’t particularly good at.

Which is a shame, because the point of scrapbooking was never to create a portfolio of award-winning paper crafts. It was to do something creative with photographs and memories I cared about.

I think that’s an easy trap to fall into with creative hobbies. You start because something looks enjoyable, then spend so much time looking at how beautifully other people do it that your own efforts stop feeling worthwhile.

If you want something creative to do instead of scrolling, choose a project small enough that you can actually enjoy making it.

Make one scrapbook page. Write down a family story. Put a few favorite photographs together. Use the supplies you already have.

And perhaps give yourself a little distance from everyone else’s finished version.

The person making the gorgeous scrapbook pages online may have been doing it for twenty years.

She may also have an entire room devoted to paper.

You are allowed to have a kitchen table and a glue stick.

04 — Actually Make One of Those Recipes You’ve Saved

This is one area where I think the internet deserves some credit.

I’ve tried plenty of recipes I’ve found online. Some were forgettable, but others became family favorites. There’s a peppermint brownie recipe that gets requested over and over again.

That’s what I love about finding a genuinely good idea online. Something that started as a recipe on a screen becomes something people look forward to eating together.

The less satisfying version is saving approximately four hundred recipes and then having absolutely no idea what to make for dinner.

If you’ve got a little time and feel like cooking, open the recipes you’ve already saved instead of searching for more.

Choose one you have the time, ingredients, and energy to make.

Check the instructions first. A recipe requiring overnight preparation and six specialty ingredients is probably not the right choice for an ordinary Tuesday.

And if you find a source that consistently has good ideas, consider subscribing. That’s something I actually do.

I’d rather have a handful of reliable places to find inspiration than spend hours searching for something new every time.

The goal is to get something out of all that inspiration.

Preferably something delicious.

05 — Give Yourself a Reason to Leave the House

One thing I enjoy is wandering around our local outdoor shopping area with my husband or one of my kids. I like browsing the home shops, and there’s a green where activities sometimes take place.

Occasionally we’ll stumble onto something interesting without having planned anything in particular.

I probably wouldn’t go wandering around the shops by myself. For me, part of the enjoyment is having someone along.

And I think that’s worth considering when you’re trying to find something better to do than scroll.

Sometimes it’s not the activity itself that makes an afternoon enjoyable. It’s the company.

You don’t necessarily need a big outing.

You could browse a home shop, garden center, bookstore, or little shopping district. Check your local town center or community calendar to see if something simple is happening nearby. Visit a bakery, neighborhood, or shop you’ve driven past a dozen times but never actually stopped at.

Choose somewhere close enough that going doesn’t become a whole production, check the hours before you leave, and keep the outing flexible.

An hour is plenty.

And you don’t need to buy anything to justify going.

Sometimes an ordinary afternoon gets better simply because you decided to go somewhere.

06 — Make Seeing a Friend Easy Enough to Actually Happen

Sometimes the thing you’re missing isn’t another activity.

It’s another person.

I enjoy going out to eat, visiting with friends, and wandering around shops together. None of those things requires an elaborate occasion.

But somebody still has to make the plan.

And “We should get together sometime” has probably been responsible for approximately zero actual lunches.

A specific invitation is much easier.

“Want to grab coffee Thursday morning?”

“I’m going to wander around the shops Saturday afternoon. Want to come?”

“Come over for a glass of wine or tea if you’re free. Nothing fancy.”

That last one is worth remembering.

Having someone over doesn’t have to mean hosting.

You can sit on the porch. Talk in the kitchen. Order pizza.

Nobody needs a centerpiece.

If coordinating schedules gets complicated, try giving two options instead of opening negotiations with “When are you free?”

“Tuesday or Thursday work better?”

Much easier.

And if there’s someone you consistently enjoy seeing, consider making the plan recurring. A monthly lunch or standing coffee date means you don’t have to start over every time.

We’ve written more about that in Bring Back the Standing Plan.

The point is to make seeing people feel like a normal part of life, not another logistical project.

07 — Use Your Screen to Create Something Instead of Just Consuming

I don’t think every worthwhile alternative to scrolling needs to be screen-free.

Right now, one of the things I genuinely enjoy is creating and testing business ideas. It’s creative, challenging, and interesting to me.

And yes, much of it happens on a computer.

But I’m making something, trying things, and learning along the way. That’s a very different experience from looking at whatever happens to appear next.

The same was true when I used YouTube to relearn knitting. The screen helped me do something I wanted to do.

Maybe there’s something you’ve been curious about learning or creating. A simple design project. A skill you could practice. A story you want to write. A photograph you want to edit.

Rather than watching twenty people demonstrate something interesting, choose one thing and try it yourself.

You don’t have to turn it into a business, a side hustle, or a long-term hobby.

Sometimes experimenting with an idea is enjoyable enough on its own.

08 — One Thing I Would Put a Time Limit On: The News

I like knowing what’s happening in the world. I think it’s important to stay informed.

But there’s a point where staying informed starts looking suspiciously like supervising the entire planet.

You check the headlines in the morning. Then again at lunch, just in case the world has resolved any of its issues.

By dinner, you’ve read six opinions about the same story, learned that everything is somehow worse than you thought, and accomplished absolutely nothing about any of it.

Apparently, the world continues to operate whether I’m monitoring it or not.

I don’t think the answer is to stop paying attention. There are important things happening, and sometimes there’s something meaningful we can do.

But I do think the news deserves a time limit.

Read enough to understand what’s going on. Follow up on what matters to you. Take action where you can.

Then close the app.

The planet has a lot going on.

You are allowed to go make dinner.

What Would You Actually Rather Be Doing?

I don’t think we need to turn scrolling into another thing to feel guilty about.

Sometimes your phone is entertaining. Sometimes it teaches you something. Sometimes it leads you to a recipe that becomes a family favorite or a hobby you rediscover.

And sometimes you’re looking at your phone simply because it’s there.

The next time that happens, ask yourself whether there’s something else you’d enjoy more.

Maybe it’s five pages of a good book. A little knitting. A visit with a friend. A recipe you’ve been meaning to make.

It doesn’t have to be impressive, productive, or even particularly useful.

It just has to sound like a better way to spend your time.

And if you end up making something wonderful, by all means, take a picture.

Just don’t spend the next forty-five minutes comparing it to everyone else’s.