The One Bad Habit Holding You Back in Business (And 6 Things You Can Do to Squash it for Good)
My friend Brittney Richardson, a mindset coach and thought leader in the Founding Females Mastermind, publicly shared her goals with her following earlier this year. Going into the new year, she listed habits she was going to stop, including “Scrolling like I don’t got goals.”
“Oh crap,” I thought. “I’m also scrolling like I don’t have goals.” Oooh, I needed to hear her wisdom. (See? This is how thought leaders motivate each other in inspiring ways and if you’re interested in following Brittney, you can find her at her mindset podcast or connect with her in the Founding Females Mastermind!)
Brittney sharing her own goals really hit home, and clearly it’s been marinating in my thoughts ever since.
If you’re also guilty of scrolling like you don’t have goals, keep reading.
First, we’ll look through some undeniable statistics about the effects of scrolling and social media addiction.
Then, we’ll talk about how these habits are stealing your business success and your happiness.
Last, we’ll talk about six practical things you can to do to change the habit, with one of them being leveling up with a women’s business community.
Statistics About Social Media Addiction and Scrolling
First, the statistics about social media addiction and scrolling. Here are four important statistics about the damaging effects of mindless scrolling and social media addiction:
70% of users engage in social media to alleviate boredom, and 51% do so to ease loneliness. However, excessive use can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression. (Pew Research Center)
Comparison and Self-Esteem: Research suggests that social media use is correlated with increased feelings of social isolation and decreased self-esteem. (University of Pennsylvania study) Ironic that it’s called “social” media, isn't it?
The average attention span dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2020, partly due to the influence of social media and digital devices. (Statista)
Overuse of social media can lead to decreased intimacy and relationship dissatisfaction. (Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking)
Addiction to scrolling is undoubtedly robbing you of the business success you’ve invested so much of your heart into. Next, let’s talk about how this negatively affects your business.
8 Ways Mindless Scrolling Robs You of Business Success
Here are 8 ways mindless scrolling robs you of business success.
#1 Someone else is monetizing your attention, and it’s not you.
Big tech companies like Meta and Amazon leach off of our attention. We aren’t monetizing our own attention when we’re mindlessly scrolling, but someone is and they’re making bank for it. Every minute you spend scrolling mindlessly is literally taking money out of your pocket and putting it into someone else’s.
That’s because your own thoughts, ideas, and plans have value. If you were spending time curating your own thoughts, you could turn them into actual dollars.
#2 When you scroll mindlessly, you’re more likely to spend mindlessly.
Habits beget habits.
That $40 Stanley purchase (I know, “Francie, don’t come at me for my Stanley”.)
Impulsive purchases the influencers said you “had” to have?
The overpriced skincare item that felt like a cost savings because it promised you wouldn’t need expensive laser treatments?
When you’re spending mindlessly, you aren’t investing those dollars for things that will actually make a difference in your business.
#3 Mindless scrolling and important entrepreneur qualities are at odds.
For example, mindless scrolling trains your brain that it’s okay to give into immediate gratification, rather than delayed gratification.
Which muscle are you strengthening? The muscle that leads to being broke, disconnected, and wayward, or the muscle of work ethic, delayed gratification, and investing your energy to build something amazing?
#4 When you’re scrolling aimlessly, you aren’t minding your own business, literally.
You can’t keep complaining that you don’t have time as an entrepreneur when the time you have is spent on non-lucrative, unproductive activity. According to both the Lanier Law Firm and Statista, a statistic portal for market data, the average person spends 2.5 hours on social media.
How could you uplevel with an extra 2.5 hours each day?
Two and a half hours each day equals 77.5 hours in a month and 930 hours in a year. If I calculated how I could monetize that same time at my current hourly rate of $150, that would equal $139,500 per year. No wonder tech companies have spent billions to better understand how to strengthen the addiction.
#5 You’re telling yourself scrolling is “marketing,” but have very little ROI for it.
The damaging effects of mindless scrolling become especially convoluted for entrepreneurs whose work intertwines social media so closely with marketing activities.
Being on social media feels productive because we chalk it up to “marketing.” It’s easy to tell ourselves we’re doing it for the business, albeit we’re opening the Facebook or Instagram app multiple times in one hour to check for new followers and likes.
Why? It’s because every time your brain experiences a notification, you get hit with a dose of dopamine, further reinforcing the belief you need social media in your life. Never mind the fact that those notifications don’t actually equate to real dollars for most small businesses.
#6 Social media tricks you into believing you’re connecting on a human level.
But the stats are clear. People are spending more time than ever on the apps, but have never been lonelier. The National Institute of Health says that the more time people spend on social media, the lonliner they tend to be.
Even when you do show up to connect with others at networking and conference, it’s likely you use your phone as a distraction from connecting with the very people you’re there to meet. As an introvert, I’m very guilty of this.
It can be scary to connect in real life, and social scrolling gives us a distraction. It can be easier to pretend like you’re doing something very important than to start a conversation with someone who could change the trajectory of your business.
#7 You get caught up in comparison.
Your energy is a limited resource, so when you invest energy into comparing your life, business, and happiness to the curated facade others want you to believe, you lose out as a business owner because you aren’t investing that same energy into getting your own results.
#8 You’re diluting the value of your original thought.
It’s easy to lose your own voice in the midst of a noisy online space. Your original thought leads to your secret sauce. It’s what makes you special. The depth of your original thought is diluted as you’re constantly consuming the message someone else wants you to embody.
The first step in making change is naming the addiction. I know, Karen. Gasssp. I bet you’re thinking, “Me? An addict?!” The truth is, nearly every one of us has developed an addiction to a smartphone. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather identify the hard truth than go on believing I’m the exception.
Make no mistake. Apple and Amazon have hit trillion dollar valuations because they know how to keep people using their offerings nearly constantly. I believe the addiction epidemic will become impossible to deny. I also believe eventually phone addiction will become categorized in a similar way to drug, alcohol, and relationship dependence.
Once you recognize the problem, you can begin taking steps to eliminate it.
6 Things You Can Do to Change Your Scrolling and Social Media Addiction
Now that your eyes have opened to the debilitating effects of mindless scrolling and social media addiction as a female entrepreneur, let’s focus on habit change.
As my very smart friend, Leann says, “Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now,” so let’s talk about what you can actually do about it.
#1 Plan ahead to make a habit change.
Going cold turkey will leave you falling back into old habits when the change becomes uncomfortable. Plan how you’ll limit notifications, reframe your work day, or engage in activities the moment you begin to feel boredom or social anxiety.
#2 Give your brain a roadmap toward change.
To make sustainable change, envision the benefits to come from breaking the addiction. Swapping the scrolling habit will bring beautiful benefits like making more money, reading the book you’ve been meaning to start, diving into a workout routine, or teaching your kids what a healthy relationship with technology looks like.
#3 Designate a “phone home.”
This is a place where your phone stays put unless you have a purposeful reason to remove it from its designated spot. My “phone home” is in my bedroom - the room I spend the least amount of time awake during the day. That way, I’m not opening the temptation for a “quick check” all day long.
#4 Use the DND setting
When you must take your phone with you, use the DND setting to avoid distractions. When you aren’t getting interrupted, you also won’t be feeding the addiction of constant notifications.
#5 Designate purposeful, time-sensitive check-ins.
Here, you’ll prepare your brain for the onslaught of dopamine. Set a timer if that feels life-giving. Before you take each intentional check-in, designate the purpose of using your phone and what you intend to get out of it. Maybe it’s checking to see if your kids contacted you or you received the client email you were waiting on. When you set boundaries with yourself, you’ll be more likely to tear yourself away after your check-in is over.
#6 Join a community where the conversation is intentional.
The vibe inside the Founding Females® Mastermind is welcoming, safe, supportive, and intentional. When you show up inside the community, you’ll be confident your time will be spent upleveling because that’s what the content is designed to do - grow your business into something more profitable.
Conclusion
Social media addiction and scrolling are detrimental to female entrepreneurs because our time is wasted mindlessly consuming content that won’t help us uplevel.
If you want:
More time in your day
To build the profitable business in your vision
Feel happier
consider taking steps listed in this post to address the scrolling habit and put a stop to it today!
Female Entrepreneur Blog
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P.S. Here are some of my top favorite female small business resources:
Dream, Build, Grow Free Resource Suite - free business templates for your business plan, marketing plan, ideal client persona, financial statements, and more!
Founding Females Community - an online female mastermind space for entrepreneurs to connect, support, and get inspired
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business - a guided handbook including everything you need to know from business idea to launch to profiting and scaling your business.
Free Downloads for Female Entrepreneurs
Free PDF Download: 25 Ways to Market Your Business (Aside from Social Media)
Free PDF Download: 33 keys to Business Success
Free PDF Download: SEO Tips for Entrepreneurs
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About Founding Females®
The mission of Founding Females® is to help build a better future for female entrepreneurs through business education and female entrepreneur events. We create safe spaces for women to share business challenges and receive peer support.
In addition, Founding Females® offers an online female business mastermind, a how-to guidebook for female entrepreneurs called Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, and in-person events, like an annual women’s business conference and local Founding Females Meet Ups.
Founding Females® was founded by small business educator, Francie Hinrichsen. She believes anyone with a dream on their heart can pull up a seat to change the world through entrepreneurship. Click to learn more about working with Francie.
Curious to connect with women business owners who are paving new paths, providing tremendous value to customers, and growing their businesses? Our Women’s Business Mastermind blog series features women business owners who are raising the tide for all of us.