Browsing the boundless sea of social media eats up so much time within our day. Whether it's first thing in the morning, on your lunch break, during your morning bus commute or simply an idle thirty seconds waiting on a friend at the cafe, our lives are punctuated by this inexhaustible, continually updating mass of information.
No one can argue with social media's resourcefulness - traffic updates, weather forecasts, directions to that party - its real time information that has come to our rescue many times.
Yet, if you find yourself vacantly gazing at your phone screen without motive and without really absorbing any of the media before you, then perhaps you are experiencing social media overload.
It might be time to take a step away for a while and do something different. Why not try gearing the time you put into social media towards some of these simple activities? After all, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter aren't going anywhere any time soon, so why keep yourself constantly plugged in?
Put a Scrapbook Together
The scrapbook-like appeal of Pinterest might be pretty great but it is nowhere near comparable to a physical book of lovingly and thoughtfully arranged photos and memorabilia. Most of our photos these days are limited to Facebook, yet when you think about it, it feels wrong not having physical copies of your favourite moments the past four years or so.
All you need to do is buy a blank scrapbook and some glue and the rest is completely up to you. You could make a scrapbook full of photos of your pets, travel, your fashion inspiration or simply just special moments shared with friends and family. You could even make it into a present for someone!
Cook Something Different
We tend to not have the time (or effort) to go full Nigella Lawson in the kitchen every evening, but now and then cracking a cookbook out and making something you've never tried before can be a fun way to spend the evening. Developing your cooking skills and having a new meal option in your itinerary for dinner will feel very rewarding.
Have a Boardgame Night
Yes, you heard me, try playing a game with friends that doesn't involve sending out Candy Crush invites! Call up a few friends, order some take out and remember the joys of Jenga, Guess Who and Scrabble (to name but a few) together.
Colour In
Admit it, those adult colouring books in the supermarket hold a very real, intriguing allurement you've been swallowing down. Who knows, maybe it's just a satisfying nostalgia wired into our brains since childhood but either way you should succumb to your curiosity and get back in tune with your inner child.
Adult colouring books feel like a ridiculous idea because colouring is an essentially useless activity and adults are after all supposed to be thoroughly productive beings. Yet whenever you think about it, idly scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed and seeing photos of distant acquaintances is no more productive really. Colouring is a great way to unwind at the end of the day and access some of the inner calm and mindfulness that social media tends to just bring you further away from.