Observe when it happens and negotiate with yourself

In yesterday's article, I mentioned the main reason for your lacking self-control being a conflict with your executive (orderly, structured) mind and intuitive (chaotic, playful) mind.

How do we solve the conflict?

By doing one of the following things:

1. Observe and come back to the present moment (Total Presence)

Whenever you find yourself scrolling, bingeing, and stuck in general, take a breath. Just take a minute to do nothing and look around. Feel the stress, pain, and frustration you feel in the moment.

Then after that, you will naturally decide if you should step away or continue with what you did.

2. Plan time for your productive tasks and use your unplanned time for scrolling (Hyperproductivity)

It might sound crazy to you but the intuitive mind is often right. Sometimes you do need to indulge in what others can show you via the internet.

My Barbell System solves this by allocating time for what you should do (by planning it) and allowing time for doing whatever you want. This way, both the executive and intuitive minds get to have the cake and eat it too.

By planning in your calendar when you will not scroll and allowing scrolling otherwise you will become

• Highly focused when you do want to work

• Relaxed otherwise and find other complementary alternatives to doomscrolling

3. Be extremely happy when you are stuck (Personal Antifragility)

Now you lose your mind and shout

"What do you mean by being happy scrolling?! I don't wanna trick myself or encourage that behaviour in me!"

But this moment is a gift. You have found out what is NOT working, which is often more precious than finding out what does. By looking the situation for what it is, you can extract the best solution from the situation and not fall back there again.

An example, when you find yourself scrolling on Twitter or social media, ask yourself the following question:

"How can I make this situation the best thing that ever happened to me?"

Your unique answer, whether it is number 2 in this article or some other rules, will come naturally to you. You will become stronger because of it