HastyWhat to do instead of doomscrolling
8 October 2026 · Hasty
The short answer: swap the scroll for something with an ending. A feed never runs out, which is why it’s so hard to put down. Activities that finish (a letter, a page, a walk, a puzzle) give your brain the “done” signal that scrolling never does.
Why doomscrolling is so hard to stop
Most feeds are built on infinite scroll: there’s no bottom of the page, so there’s never a natural place to stop. Add notifications (the average person gets about 146 a day, one every ten minutes, according to a 2024 musicMagpie study) and your phone becomes a slot machine you carry everywhere.
It isn’t a willpower problem. It’s a design problem, which is good news: you can design around it too.
Things to do instead (that actually end)
- Write one letter. A letter has a beginning, a middle and a sign-off. When it’s sent, you’re done, and now something is on its way.
- Read one chapter. Not a book: a chapter. Small, finishable goals beat vague ones.
- Do something with your hands. Drawing, cooking, a jigsaw, journaling, sorting a stamp collection. Hands busy, thumbs free.
- Go for a ten-minute walk and leave the phone at home, or in your pocket on silent.
- Plan something to look forward to. Anticipation is a pleasure of its own, and it’s one scrolling can’t give you.
Make the phone a little more boring
- Turn off every notification that isn’t from a person.
- Move social apps off your home screen, or into a folder on the last page.
- Put the phone to charge outside the bedroom.
- Keep one app you enjoy opening that doesn’t have a feed.
Why endless scroll is so hard to stop
Infinite scroll, or endless scroll, removes the bottom of the page. Without a natural stopping point, “one more” never ends. That’s why the most effective way to stop doomscrolling is to choose things with an ending.
Where Hasty fits
Hasty is a letter-writing app with no feed at all. There’s nothing to scroll: you write a letter, it travels the real distance between you and your pen pal (about an hour across town, up to a day or two across the world), and you wait for the reply. It’s built to be put down.
Letters that take the long way
Hasty is a slow, calm pen pal app for adults, coming soon to Android. Be the first to write.
More guides
- Left on read: why it hurts, and messaging without read receipts
- Should you delete Instagram? How to keep friends without social media
- How to make friends as an adult (without dating apps)
- The dead internet and AI slop: why we built Hasty around letters
- How to spot a pen pal scam (and stay safe writing to strangers)
- Questions to ask a pen pal (and what to write in a letter)
- What is snail mail? Happy mail, mail art and why letters are back
- Stamp collecting for beginners: philately, postmarks and postcard collecting
- Slow living: calm apps, analog hobbies and less screen time
- Feeling lonely? Gentle ways to feel less alone
Questions people ask
How to stop doomscrolling?
How to stop doomscrolling (or how to stop doom scrolling): turn off non-human notifications, move feed apps off your home screen, and replace the scroll with something that ends: a letter, a chapter, a walk.
What to do instead of scrolling?
What to do instead of scrolling: write a letter, read one chapter, do something with your hands, or plan something to look forward to. Doom scrolling fills time; these fill it with something.