Stop staring. Engage your brain.
Have you ever found yourself going about daily life when suddenly you realize something has quietly taken over? That happened to me recently while staring at a screen. It wasn’t the content I was reacting to, it was the screen itself.
I try to live intentionally, with mindfulness, so this realization surprised me. Over time, screen time had crept in until it became the majority of my indoor hours. It started with TV, then laptops, and finally smartphones.
With each new screen, I lost a little more time. And then content exploded: entertainment on demand, endless research for my shop, non-stop news cycles, and social media. Everything is available at a glance.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing. How could it be wrong to look up the latest herbal studies, check headlines, or even watch a tutorial on fixing a water heater? The answer is; it isn’t. The problem is what happens around it.
For me, there are two negatives. First, I rarely stop with the one task I started with. Whether it’s checking headlines or brushing up on an herb, there’s always one more article, one more scroll. Thirty minutes easily stretches into two hours.
The second is more subtle: when I’m consuming content on a screen, my brain stops. Time, mindfulness, presence all fade away. And that works against what I truly value: being intentional, being present, living a life I can actually feel.
So here’s my plan moving forward, and maybe it will help you, too. I’m starting a screen time diary. I’ll note when I engage with a screen, how long, and what I’m doing. Just like a food diary, it will help me see what’s necessary and what isn’t. It will also remind me to balance it with what I love most: reading physical books, gardening, and simply being outside.
And I’ve even given myself a silly little mantra: Stop staring, engage your brain. It makes me smile, but it also keeps me mindful. That’s the whole point.
EarthWise Organics 