6 Easy Things to Do Instead of Scrolling This Summer
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Finding easy things to do instead of scrolling shouldn’t feel like a chore, but when it’s eighty degrees out and the air is thick with the scent of cut grass and neighborly charcoal grills, the digital rabbit hole feels especially offensive. It is a specific kind of summer heartbreak to realize you’ve spent the best light of the day watching 15-second clips of people you don’t know making salads you’ll never eat.
We all know the feeling. It’s not that you don’t want to be present; it’s that the phone has become a default setting for our nervous systems. When the heat makes us sluggish, our brains crave the path of least resistance, which usually leads straight to a glass screen.
But summer is meant to be felt, not just viewed through a blue-light filter. Whether you’re trying to reclaim your attention span or just want to feel like a human being again, there are simple, low-energy ways that can replace the scroll without requiring a total life overhaul.
Quick Answer: Easy Things to Do Instead of Scrolling This Summer
If you want to stop scrolling and reclaim your time, the best alternatives are low-friction activities that engage your senses without overtaxing your brain. These summer-specific ideas help break the dopamine loop by providing immediate, tactile satisfaction.
The most effective things to do instead of scrolling include:
- Window Gardening or Plant Care
- Reading a Physical Magazine or Breezy Paperback
- Preparing a Simple Cold Beverage (like Vegan Matcha)
- Sensory Grounding with “Ice Gazing” or Cold Plunging
- Low-Stakes Summer Sketching or Journaling
- Listening to a Full Album from Start to Finish
Why Is It So Hard to Stop Scrolling in the Summer?
There is a biological reason why your phone feels like an extra limb during the warmer months. When the temperature rises, our bodies often go into a state of “heat lethargy.” We are physically tired, perhaps a bit dehydrated, and looking for a way to “rest” that doesn’t involve moving. Scrolling feels like rest, but it’s actually a high-arousal activity for your brain. You’re processing thousands of data points—colors, faces, tragedies, ads, aesthetic kitchens—every few seconds.
I call it the “Digital Sunburn.” You don’t feel the damage while it’s happening, but by the time you look up, your head is throbbing and you feel strangely depleted. During my time living in London, I noticed how everyone would flock to the parks the second the sun peaked through the clouds. There was this collective urgency to be in the light. But even there, amidst the daisies and the picnic blankets, you’d see people hunched over their screens. It’s a global habit we’ve all developed to avoid the perceived boredom of just existing.
We scroll because we are seeking a “glimmer”—a tiny micro-moment of joy or interest. The irony is that summer is literally made of glimmers. The way a cold glass of oat milk matcha sweats on a coaster, or the sound of a distant lawnmower, or the smell of a sudden thunderstorm hitting hot pavement. We are looking for life on our phones because we’ve forgotten how to look for it in front of us.
How Do I Stop Doomscrolling When It’s Too Hot to Move?
Breaking the habit isn’t about willpower; it’s about reducing the friction between you and a better activity. If your phone is in your hand and your book is in the other room, the phone wins every time. To fix this, you have to “salt” your environment with better options.
Think of it as creating “analog altars” around your house. Put a physical magazine on the coffee table. Leave your knitting or your journal on the chair where you usually sit. If you make the better choice the easier choice, you’ll find yourself reaching for your screen less often. It’s about moving from a reactive state (responding to notifications) to an intentional state (choosing your sensory input). It’s also about acknowledging that summer heat makes us “lazy,” so the alternatives have to be low-effort. We aren’t training for a marathon here; we’re just trying to look at something that doesn’t have a refresh button.
Window Gardening and the Joy of Tactile Plant Care
There is something deeply grounding about putting your hands in dirt, even if that “dirt” is just a small pot of herbs on a sun-drenched windowsill. In the summer, plants are at their peak, and they need us. Instead of checking your feed, check your soil.
Pruning a few yellowing leaves or misting a fern is a tactile, sensory experience that pulls you out of your head and into the physical world. It requires just enough focus to be engaging but not enough to be stressful. It’s very “slow living” energy, and it gives you a tangible result. Plus, there’s the bonus of having fresh mint or basil within arm’s reach when you’re making a late-afternoon snack. (I’m currently trying to keep a rosemary bush alive and it’s become my entire personality, which is probably a bit much, but it’s better than being an expert on celebrity drama.)
Reading a Physical Magazine or a “Beach Read” Paperback
Digital reading is not the same as physical reading. When you read on a screen, your brain is in “scan mode.” You’re looking for keywords, jumping around, and fighting the urge to click a link. When you hold a physical book or a glossy magazine, your brain shifts into a different gear.
Summer is the season of the “breezy read.” This is not the time for dense, 800-page historical tomes (unless that’s your vibe, in which case, go off). This is the time for something that feels like a treat. Think of magazines as “scrolling, but better.” You get the visual stimulation and the short-form content, but without the blue light and the soul-sucking comments section. There is magic in flipping through a magazine while sitting near an open window, feeling the pages under your fingers. It’s an elevated, intentional way to consume information.
The Ritual of the Summer Beverage (Oat Milk Matcha Edition)
Sometimes, the urge to scroll is actually just an urge for a transition. We finish a task and our brain asks, “What now?” Instead of reaching for the phone to fill that gap, try the ritual of the Summer Beverage.
For me, this is usually a vegan matcha with oat milk, whisked until it’s perfectly frothy and poured over way too much ice. The process itself is the activity. Measuring the powder, watching the green swirl into the white milk, hearing the ice clink against the glass—it’s a five-minute meditation. It satisfies that “I need something” feeling without involving a screen. I’ve found that if I make the drink aesthetic—using the good glassware, maybe a glass straw—the ritual feels like a “low effort glow-up” for my entire afternoon.
Sensory Grounding with Ice Gazing and Cold Plunging
If the heat is making you feel particularly scattered or “buzzy,” lean into the sensory power of cold. “Ice gazing” sounds like something a Victorian poet would do during a fever dream, but it’s actually a great way to snap out of a digital trance.
Take a single ice cube and hold it in your hand. Focus entirely on the sensation—the cold, the way it melts, the clarity of the water. If you want to go further, do a quick cold plunge (or just splash your face with ice water). This physical “shock” resets your nervous system and stops the dopamine-seeking loop of scrolling in its tracks. It’s hard to care about what someone on the internet is saying when your entire face is submerged in freezing water. It’s the ultimate “reset button” for a foggy summer brain.
Low-Stakes Summer Sketching and Observation
You do not have to be an artist to enjoy the act of putting pen to paper. The goal here isn’t to create a masterpiece; it’s to observe. Pick something in your room—a vase of flowers, your sunglasses, a half-eaten peach—and try to draw it.
When we scroll, we are passive consumers. When we draw, we are active observers. You start to notice the way the light hits a curve or the specific shade of a shadow. It’s a way of “romanticizing” your life that doesn’t require a filter. It’s quiet, it’s introspective, and it’s incredibly satisfying. My drawings usually look like they were done by a very talented toddler, but the act of doing it makes me feel like a sophisticated gothic heroine, so I keep going. (And yes, I have definitely scrolled through “how to draw” TikToks while trying to draw, which defeats the purpose, but we’re practicing self-compassion here.)
Listening to a Full Album Start to Finish
We live in a playlist culture. We skip, we shuffle, we graze. Listening to a full album from start to finish is a radical act of attention.
Choose an album that feels like summer to you. Maybe it’s something cinematic and moody, or maybe it’s a bit of Papa Emeritus if you’re feeling that “unhinged but stylish” energy. Lie on the floor (the floor is always cooler), close your eyes, and just listen. Don’t do anything else. Don’t check your emails. Don’t fold laundry. Just let the music move through you. It’s a deeply immersive experience that makes time feel expansive instead of depleted. It’s the sonic equivalent of a slow-motion walk through a meadow.
Why Do I Feel Guilty for Scrolling All Day?
The guilt we feel after a scrolling binge is actually a form of grief. We are grieving the time we can’t get back. Summer feels so fleeting—a handful of weeks that we’re supposed to “make the most of”—that spending them on a screen feels like a waste of a precious resource.
But here’s the thing: you aren’t a robot. You aren’t “broken” because you find it hard to put down your phone. These apps are designed by some of the smartest people in the world to keep you looking at them. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s awareness. Every time you choose a physical book or a window garden over a scroll, you are winning.
How Can I Romanticize My Summer Without Social Media?
We often think we need to document our summer to make it “count,” but the most romantic moments are the ones no one else sees. It’s the way the light looks in your kitchen at 7 PM. It’s the feeling of clean sheets after a long day in the sun. It’s the quiet joy of a DIY project that went slightly wrong but was fun anyway.
Romanticizing your life is about shifting your internal monologue from “I should be doing more” to “I am enjoying this moment.” You don’t need a viral video to prove your summer was beautiful. You just need to be there to witness it. (Even if “witnessing it” occasionally involves eating vegan ice cream straight from the tub while watching comfort shows—that’s also valid character development.)
One Thing to Try
If you feel stuck in a scroll-hole right now and need an immediate exit strategy, try this: The Five-Minute Analog Reset.
Put your phone in a drawer—not just face down, but out of sight. Set a timer for five minutes (use a kitchen timer or a watch if you have one). In those five minutes, do one purely physical task. Water one plant, grind some coffee beans, or just stand by an open window and count how many different bird sounds you can hear.
When the timer goes off, you’ll likely find that the “itch” to scroll has faded. You’ve successfully moved from the digital world back into the physical one. It’s a small, grounded shift that reminds you that you are the boss of your own attention. You’ve got this. Summer is waiting for you, and it’s way more interesting than your Discover feed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Easy Things To Do Instead Of Scrolling
Why do I keep scrolling even when I am bored?
You are likely stuck in a dopamine loop where your brain is seeking a tiny hit of novelty to offset summer under-stimulation. It is a biological “itch” for connection or information that your phone lazily satisfies with very little effort required from your heat-exhausted nervous system.
How do I stop scrolling my phone so much in the summer?
The most effective way to stop is by reducing friction for analog activities, like keeping a physical book or your vegan matcha whisk on the counter. If you have to go looking for a hobby, you will just pick the phone because it is ALREADY in your hand.
What are some easy things to do instead of scrolling when it is hot?
Focus on low-energy sensory tasks like ice gazing, misting your plants, or listening to a full vinyl record. These are easy things to do instead of scrolling because they require zero physical exertion but provide the tactile feedback your brain is actually craving during a heatwave.
Why does scrolling make me feel more tired?
Digital consumption is high-arousal even if you are lying down, meaning your brain is working overtime to process a literal mountain of data. You aren’t actually resting; you are just overstimulating your eyes and mind until you hit a state of total cognitive burnout.
Can anxiety make me scroll more during the day?
YES, scrolling often acts as a numbing mechanism or a “digital pacifier” when you are feeling restless or overwhelmed. It is a way to check out of your own life for a minute (which Barry always catches me doing right before a big deadline, unfortunately).
What are good screen free hobbies for adults that are not expensive?
Start small with window gardening, low-stakes sketching of household objects, or taking a micro-walk without your device. You do not need a fancy setup; you just need to engage your hands and eyes with something that exists in three dimensions rather than a glowing rectangle.
Is it normal to feel guilty after scrolling for hours?
It is incredibly common to feel that “post-scroll slump” because you are mourning the lost time and sensory experiences of your summer. Please be kind to yourself—your brain is simply responding to an app designed to be addictive, and you can always reset in five minutes.
How do I break the habit of doomscrolling at night?
Create a “charging station” in another room and replace your phone with a physical magazine or a cozy comfort show (Golden Girls energy only). Giving your hands something else to do—like applying a thick hand cream—creates a sensory barrier that makes picking up the phone feel less appealing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa, Slow Living Enthusiast
Hi, I’m Lisa. I write about slow living, nervous system care, and creating calm, intentional routines for everyday life. After spending 10 years living in Europe, I learned firsthand the art of savoring moments, embracing simplicity, and letting life unfold at a more human pace. My mission is to help you soften the edges of modern life and create space for a more intentional way of living.