News Health: How to unplug

Happy Sunday,

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Colossians 3:2-4

How to unplug.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about intermittent news fasting: giving yourself a window of time to catch up on the news, but otherwise unplugging from the 24/7 news cycle. That language seemed to resonate with a lot of you, so here’s a brief follow-up.

The key for me was figuring out how to actually “unplug.”

The news ecosystem is not only set up to always be available, it’s also set up to interrupt me when it decides something is worthy of my attention. I needed to break this. Moving forward, I decide when I want updates on the news. 

So, here are of the different plugs the news has had in my life, and how I’ve unplugged them:

• News Apps: Delete them. Instead of having a convenient news app, force yourself to type the URL in your browser each time. At a minimum, turn off push notifications.

• Social Media: Delete your accounts. Alternatively, set a password-enforced time limit. (I get 15 minutes a day to check on TPO’s accounts and scroll—after that I’d need to shamefully ask Nate for more TikTok time… which doesn’t happen.)

• Cable: Cancel the subscription. Or, follow James Clear’s advice on how to break bad habits and “unplug the television and take the batteries out of the remote after each use.”

• Email Newsletters: Unsubscribe. The ones I actually read and value are auto-filtered to a separate folder, skipping my main inbox. I have to seek them out.

• Websites: Delete website bookmarks. Another idea that I haven’t done but like the theory of… block news sites on your phone and force yourself to open your laptop to check the news. 

You may have noticed a theme; the best option is to simply delete or forcibly block access to the news on most mediums, but if that’s not realistic (maybe your work requires you to have a social media account), a next-best alternative is to add obstacles to your typical news consumption habits.

This added friction will reduce “accidental” or impulsive news checking, forcing more intentional news habits.

What do you think?
Jason

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