Unpredictable news checks can make it harder to stop scrolling. Set specific times to check updates, silence non-essential alerts and use screen-time limits to protect your attention.
Then reduce distressing content in your feed. When the urge to scroll returns, choose a calming offline activity instead. I find it helps to focus on one practical change at a time: decide which adjustment is most likely to make a difference for you, and put it in place.
Set Specific Times to Check the News
Set two or three short times each day to check the news, and stick to them. Choose times that fit your routine, such as after breakfast, at lunch or before dinner. Set a clear limit for each check and use a timer to help you stop.
Outside those windows, return to your priorities rather than reopening news sites. If a major event breaks, ask whether it genuinely requires your immediate attention or can wait until your next check.
I find that a clear routine makes it easier to stay informed without letting headlines dictate the day. After each check, take a short walk or pause before returning to work.
Turn Off Doomscrolling Notifications
Turn off non-essential news alerts
Notifications can make it harder to give sustained attention to the decisions that matter in your business. Turn off alerts from news apps, social platforms and discussion forums if they don’t require a timely response.
Turn off non-urgent alerts so you can focus on the business decisions that deserve your attention.
Keep alerts for direct messages from important contacts and emergency notices. Within each app, disable trending stories, recommendations, live updates and engagement prompts, while retaining essential account and safety alerts.
Decide when you’ll check the news and open your chosen sources at that time. I find it useful to treat this as a simple management choice: let your priorities set the rhythm of the day, rather than allowing notifications to set it for you.
Set a Screen-Time Limit to Stop Scrolling
A screen-time limit gives you a clear point at which to stop, before a brief check becomes an hour of scrolling. Set a daily cap for news or social media apps, then use your phone’s timer to enforce it.
Choose a limit that reflects what you need from these apps. When the alert appears, close the app rather than granting yourself more time. I find a simple pause helps: before opening an app, ask what you want to get from it.
Review your usage each week. If scrolling is still interrupting your work or attention, reduce the cap. The aim isn’t to avoid these apps altogether, but to use them deliberately and protect time for more important priorities.
Clean Up Your Feeds to Reduce Distressing News
Your feed can influence how often you encounter distressing news. Review the accounts, publishers and topics you follow. Unfollow or mute sources that repeatedly increase your anxiety without adding useful context.
Use platform settings to hide keywords, limit recommendations and report misleading or sensational posts. Keep trusted sources that provide accurate reporting and practical perspective. I find it helps to decide in advance what information is useful, rather than letting a feed set the agenda.
Review your choices regularly as your interests and needs change. A more deliberate mix of updates can reduce distress and make each visit more purposeful.
Plan What to Do When Doomscrolling Urges Hit
When the urge to scroll hits, pause and identify what triggered it. Choose a practical alternative before you reach for your phone, such as taking a short walk or returning to a specific task.
If you do check your phone, set a firm time limit and stop when it ends.
Recognize Your Triggers
Notice what prompts you to reach for your phone. It may be boredom, stress, loneliness or a breaking-news alert. The same principle applies at work: leaders need to understand what interrupts their attention before they can manage it.
For a week, record each urge to check your phone. Note the time, place, mood and what happened just before you opened an app. Look for recurring patterns, such as scrolling after a difficult meeting or while waiting to sleep. Treat the notes as information, not a reason to criticise yourself.
Then decide what you’ll do in the moments when you’re most likely to be distracted. You might wait before checking an alert and ask whether it requires action from you. Review your notes each week and adjust your plan as circumstances change.
Choose a Replacement Activity
Decide what you’ll do when the urge to scroll appears. Choosing in advance makes it easier to act without debating with yourself.
Match the activity to what you need. Call someone if you want connection, take a short walk for a change of pace, or read a few pages to focus your attention elsewhere. Keep a short list of options somewhere visible, such as a note beside your phone.
Choose one calming offline habit, such as stretching or making tea, and practise it regularly. When the urge to scroll comes, put your phone down and begin. A simple plan makes it easier to follow through.
Set a Time Limit
Set a firm time limit before opening a news or social media app. Choose a specific period, such as ten minutes, and set a timer. This gives you a clear stopping point without relying on willpower.
When the timer rings, close the app. Don’t bargain for one more post. Decide in advance what you’ll do next: stand up, have a glass of water or return to a task that matters.
If you feel the urge to check again later, pause and ask what you’re looking for. Then choose the alternative you planned. A clear stopping rule can limit exposure to distressing content and help you reclaim time and attention.
Replace Scrolling With a Calming Offline Habit
Choose a calming offline activity for moments when you feel the urge to scroll. Keep what you need close by, so getting started is easy. Set aside a regular time each day to make it part of your routine.
Choose a Soothing Activity
When the urge to scroll arises, choose a calming offline activity you can begin straight away. Stretch, sketch, water a plant or make tea. Pick something that holds your attention without requiring much effort.
Notice the sensory details: the warmth of the water or the feel of a gentle stretch. Breathe in slowly, then make your exhale a little longer as you settle into the activity.
Set a modest goal, such as stretching for five minutes. When you finish, pause and notice whether you feel less tense. Return to the activity whenever scrolling starts to feel automatic.
Keep Offline Supplies Handy
Keep a few calming offline activities within easy reach. When scrolling becomes automatic, a visible alternative makes it easier to pause and choose deliberately.
Set aside a shelf with a puzzle, sketchbook, paperback or other materials you genuinely enjoy. Keep the options simple: too many choices can make it easier to reach for your phone instead.
You could also keep a small kit in your bag or at your desk, with a notebook, pen and pocket-sized reading material. When you feel the urge to scroll, put your phone down and pick up one item. Making the alternative easy to access turns good intentions into a practical habit.
Build a Calming Routine
When does scrolling tend to take hold: during a stressful pause, before bed or between tasks? Identify the trigger, then choose a simple offline response.
If tension prompts you to reach for your phone, take five slow breaths or stretch.
Before bed, read a few pages or lay out tomorrow’s clothes.
Between tasks, step outside or drink a glass of water without a screen.
Choose habits you can start straight away, and keep what you need close by.
Schedule mindful breaks at predictable times, then note whether they reduce the urge to scroll.
A consistent response can help you regain control of your attention.
Conclusion
You do not have to let every headline dictate your attention. Set specific times to check the news, silence non-essential alerts and use screen-time limits to protect time for your work.
Pay attention to what prompts you to scroll. Curate your feeds, then choose an offline habit that helps you pause and reset. For leaders, the practical question is whether news-checking is informing decisions or simply interrupting them.
Start with one boundary today. Review it after a week and adjust it to suit your priorities.
