Managing the Drip — Arjun Desai

I’ve been trying to be more mindful of addictive forces in the last month.

One is my relationship with technology. These are triggers that cause a spike in dopamine aka the “the drip” — such as alerts, notifications, badges, and endless scrolling.

Like a slot machine, I was repeatedly pulled back into my devices to numb myself from an emotion: anxiety, boredom, or malaise.

Some of the changes I’ve been trying to implement:

No red badges: It was intoxicating to see the counter go up, especially on social apps that doled out “likes” or “comments”. Turning these off and seeing a clean screen allowed me to choose apps I wanted to go to, versus being told to go into.

Reducing push notifications: I had this compulsive need to look at my phone for any notification, especially a text. I took a hard look at what I really need to be notified immediately vs. in summary.

Removing home-screen apps: When I opened my phone, I immediately looked at app icons that pirated my screen time. Starting at these apps made me wonder what content I was missing. Hiding these away from my home screen was a forcing function to help break the spell of wonder.

It’s been a winding road, and I definitely break down on many days. But I am trying to build my tech environment to move from pure willpower (which fails constantly) to strong systems.

Any steps you’ve taken to detox from the drip?