My biggest waste of time, which I'm only slightly reformed about, is scrolling on the Gram (that photos app which became the Indian TikTok and, embarrassingly, my main source of news) during potty time (yes, I don't have a better phrase, because "when I'm on the John" sounds even worse!)

I used to spend about 45 minutes, not because of IBS issues, but just so that I can watch that extra useless reel for another 30 seconds. I realized that I came outta the loo feeling worse than when I went in (which is usually not how one is supposed to feel after relieving oneself!)

Then I did what any rational human being would try -

  1. Set a screen timer - I deleted the timer and continued scrolling
  2. Uninstalled the app - Opened the Gram on the browser and scrolled for the same 45 minutes, but with a worse experience because browser UX sucks!
  3. Played Duolingo - wasn't as gratifying as the Gram
  4. Went through Strava - there's only so much I could look at people killing their runs
  5. Went through LinkedIn - there's only so much I could look at people posting AI takes
  6. Took a book - Was so sleepy that I read nothing
  7. Sat with my thoughts - best option I've found till now! Initially was horrible because being alone with one's thoughts isn't always fun (I'll deal with the deeper issues later!) but as time went, was not bad at all. I actually got things done faster :)

Now I need to actually do the useful thing - read a book, or just sit with my thoughts. Funny thing is, I already found the answer at point 7. Apparently that's not enough.