80+ Things To Do Instead Of Social Media

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Do you feel like social media is wasting your time and that’s draining you mentally and physically? Today I want to talk about 80+ things you can do instead of social media.

Did you know that an average person spends 2 hours and 33 minutes per day on social media? That comes to around 5 years of their life spent on social media.

Honestly, this is something I’m still working on.

After realizing that scrolling through my feed every day was very contagious and sometimes led me to waste my time, I decided to spend less time on social media and do something more productive instead.

Don’t get me wrong, I love social media because it lets me connect with my friends and family, and see posts that inspire me, but sometimes I find myself scrolling through posts that don’t benefit me in any way, and it kind of turned into a bad habit.

Now, my life is getting much better as I can work on something more important or something I truly enjoy.

I’ve seen people, and to be honest, I was even one of them, whose schedule looked like this

They wake up and the first thing they do is grabbing their phone and checking Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
While having breakfast, they’re scrolling through it again
On the way to work/ school, they look at it again
During their lunchtime – scrolling through social media
Doing that between classes or even during their classes
After work/school
Before going to bed

It works the same way with watching TV or series on your laptop.

And if you find yourself having a similar schedule, you should read this post.

Instead of wasting your time, you could be spending it doing all the things you love, spending time achieving your goals, or spending time on self-care!

So here are over 80+ things you can do instead of social media.

Have a real conversation

Communicate with your loved ones at home. Sometimes even while eating together you can be using your phone all the time. It can hurt your relationships.
Spend time playing with your kids, brothers, sisters.
Call people, sometimes it is exactly what your loved ones need. If they are far away, arrange a video call.
Book a lunch date. Catch up with your friend. Just have quality time!
Write a letter or a thank-you note and send it in the mail, your loved ones will surely appreciate it.
Chat with your neighbors.
Talk to a stranger. How many times do we just stare at our phones when we are in public? Have a conversation with someone, at the end of the day you never know who that person can become to you.

Stop waking up and going to bed with your phone

This is still something that I am working on, but I’m sure, changing this habit is essential.

Not only it’s bad for your vision, but also the blue light from the screen suppresses melatonin, which is a hormone responsible for controlling your sleep-wake cycle. So when your body runs low on it, you can experience insomnia, tiredness during the day, and irritability.

Try to cut off your screen time 1 hour before bed, and you will see the changes.

Maybe a month ago I quit waking up and checking all my social media and emails right after because it could easily take an hour of my day and actually “hijack” my attention.

In other words, my mind would be occupied with other people’s plans — not my own.

Educate yourself

Read more. Have you started reading a book only to find you never have time to finish it? That’s happened to me too! But if you cut out some social media time you will be able to get back to reading. Pick up a book whenever you find yourself scrolling through social media for too long.

Learn how to cook a new recipe. Nowadays the internet is filled with amazing recipes of delicious food that you can learn how to cook. You can also check out Pinterest and save some dishes you’d like to try out.

Learn a new language. The ability to learn something new makes you feel alive! I don’t know if any of you know, but English is not my first language. I had to take English classes during my middle and high schools. Specifically, I fell in love with English in high school, and that was exactly when I started learning. Another language I learned was Korean. I attended a language school in Korea for a year, and then I got my bachelor’s degree from a 4-year college, where most of my classes were in Korean.

Learn how to invest. If you want to be financially free you got to learn how to invest, how to budget and how to prioritize.

There’re so many things out there that you can start learning right now!

Go outside

Get some fresh air, move your body, and enjoy every moment of it, because being active is one of the most important aspects of being healthy physically and mentally.

Do some exercise outside
Stroll around the city
Meet up with a friend
Go for a bike ride
Do some yoga
Go for a hike
Go fishing
Explore souvenir shops
Check out a flea-market
Go camping
Try kayaking
Find new attractions
Go to a park and have a picnic

Experience new areas of life

Attend a concert. Check out if there’re any free concerts in your area.
Visit a new restaurant you’ve never been to and try new food.
Attend a master-class on a subject you have always been interested in.
Cook something new.
Plan out a trip with your family or friends.
Go on that trip!
Always wanted to learn photography, but never pursued it? It’s the time!
Learn how to use Photoshop.
If you enjoy extreme outdoor activities, try something you’ve never tried. Bungee Jumping, zip-lining, skydiving, snorkeling, etc.
Never made time for learning how to paint, sing, or play instruments? Take a class or learn online! There are a lot of resources where you can learn for free.
Learn about other countries. Pick one country and make a research about its culture, language, people, food, etc.
Go on a camping trip; sleep under the stars

Do things around your home

There is always something that needs to be done in your house, but you always procrastinate doing it. Sometimes I can relate.

Try to do these things instead of scrolling your social media.

Clean up your house.
Organize your kitchen. Make space by organizing your kitchen drawers, cabinets, and pantry.
Take out the trash.
Organize your photos. Whether it’s real photos or digital, stored in your computer folders, phone, or in your cloud account, which is probably maxed out with weird blurry pictures.
Rearrange the furniture around the house to make it feel fresh.
Repot and trim your plants.
Organize your closet.
If there’s something broken in your house, fix it.

Do a random act of kindness

There’s nothing more inspiring than a random act of kindness because it can lift anyone’s spirits, and you hold the power to make someone’s day with some small but selfless acts.

There’s a National Random Acts of Kindness Day which is celebrated on February 17th. But why not make it more often than just one day a year?

Here are some ideas that you can do instead of social media:

You can find opportunities to give compliments to your loved ones or random people you see in a supermarket. It costs nothing, takes no time, and could make someone’s entire day.
Donate to your favorite charity and if you don’t have one, research.
Help a teacher/professor get the supplies needed for class.
Donate your clothes, and items from your home that you barely use or don’t use at all.
Volunteer for something that you love doing.
Collect soda can tabs and donate to Ronald McDonald House to help sick children and their families.
Donate food or cook an extra portion of dinner (or dessert) for someone who needs it.
Donate blood. There’s even an app called Blood Donor App. It alerts you when there’s a shortage or need for your blood type in your area and connects you with local blood drives.
Say thanks to someone who helped you, even if some time passed. Trust me, it will be appreciated.
Make a note or write a letter to say “thanks”.
Help someone carry their shopping bags.
If you can foster an animal, do it.

Find more ways to make extra money

Improve your financial situation by cutting back on social media and investing that time in making extra money.

It can help you:

Pay off your credit card debt, loan, etc.
Save up for your short or long-term goals such as travel, buying a house, buying a car, etc.
Turn your passion into a full-time job, so you can leave the job you hate.
Stop living from paycheck to paycheck.
Save for emergencies.
Save for retirement and More!

So here I want to give you a list of different ways to help you make some extra money:

Teach online – You can teach Engish to children online, create your flexible schedule, and make around $18-$22 per hour. I heard of a good platform called VIPKID. Or if you are bilingual you can also find a similar platform to teach Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, or any language you’re good at.

Participate in surveys – It’s not a bad way of making extra money just by participating in surveys and giving your opinion. Free recommended platforms: SurveyJunkie, Swagbucks, Inbox Dollar, American Consumer Opinion Pinecone Research, and some others.

Sell your stuff – Many of us have items that we don’t use and we keep them for only one reason “What if one day I will need it?”, but eventually, all those items do – collect dust. So you can sell them on Craiglist, eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace.

Trade-in your electronics for cash – some helpful websites are Craiglist, eBay, Swappa, NrxtWorth, Amazon, etc.

Start a successful blog – If you are interested in blogging, and you want to share, educate, and inspire people about any subject (whatever you’re passionate about, cooking, fitness & health, technology, etc.) you can start your blog and you can do it for as little as $3.95 per month (regular price is $7.99) plus you will get a free domain for a whole year. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee. I can tell for sure that nowadays blogging can be very profitable!

Some more:

Write an ebook – If you acquire practical knowledge about something, you can monetize it by creating an ebook where you can give people a step-by-step guide on a specific subject. Make sure you pump up your content and then, use the right marketing strategy.

Become a tour guide – If you enjoy telling people about your city and its attractions, you can make extra money by giving people a tour. That’s what I and my friend did back in Korea, it was our occasional side job after college or on the weekends. We could make $100 each for around 5-6 hours.

Babysit – If you like being around the kids, you can make extra money babysitting other people’s children. I heard Sittercity and Care.com are good platforms where you can look for people who need nannies and babysitters.

Become a Lyft or Uber driver
Become a part-time bartender/waiter
Mystery shop
Start a business
Proofread
Walk dogs/pet sit
Start affiliate marketing
And more!

Related article: 10 Best Tips On How To Save Money Fast

Be more productive

Being more productive is something we should always strive for.

Try to be more productive at work, at home, outside. Not a lot of people know HOW to be productive.

Here are some quick tips:

Stop switching from doing one thing to another. We often call it multitasking. Our brain cannot multitask and it’s proven by scientists. Focus on one task at a time.
Set a timer.
Map out your goal/s.
Prioritize your tasks and set them in order.
Try to do the hardest and most important task in the morning.
Write a To-Do List each day.
Use productivity tools. You can read more about them here: 10 Best FREE Tools To Boost Your Productivity.

I’m sure that doing at least one-third of these things instead of social media can improve your life!

How often do you use social media a day? Do you find yourself drained sometimes? What things help you be more productive?

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