Some of you who’ve followed me for a while might know about my occasional Reddit addiction.

I’ve mostly lurked, sometimes on snark pages for social and cultural cues I wasn’t aware of when I was younger, and sometimes on mental‑health‑related subs.

It always felt “educational,” which made it easier to justify.

But last year I came across a Redditor whose advice was so blunt and so perfect that I saved it immediately. They said:

1. Stop doing it.
2. Don’t do it.
3. Keep not doing it.

It sounds simple, but point number three is where I falter most of the time. That’s definitely where I tend to relapse.

What helps me the most is noticing how much time I’m allocating to the habit I want to break versus what I could be doing instead.

At the peak of my Reddit usage (and this applies to other platforms too), I wouldn’t even notice how many hours had passed.

It was a form of escapism, relaxing after a long day, and because it involved reading, it felt productive.

But the tradeoff is real.

Time spent scrolling is time I’m not spending on things that actually nourish me: reading books, sketching, journaling, or just doing something gentler for my mind and nervous system.

Scrolling a few pages doesn’t look unhealthy. It’s quiet, it’s still, it’s not dramatic.

But for me, the signal is internal. When I start feeling uncomfortable about how I’m spending my time—when my internal radar goes, “Hmm, something’s off”—that’s when I know I need to step back.

Breaking any habit isn’t about perfection.

It’s about noticing when the balance shifts, and choosing to redirect your attention toward the things that actually make your life feel fuller, calmer, or more aligned.