I know it’s good to be aware of and control my breathing. Still, 99% of the time, I’m not.
And if I forget to breathe, I don’t suffocate and die. It just happens anyway.
I also know that being in control of my hand- and finger movements is healthy. But they are just as automated as the breathing, to provide me with doom scrolling.
It annoys me so much.
That hand. It picks up the phone, swipes to unlock, swipe down for suggested apps and open Instagram without ANY queue from my consciousness. Suddenly it’s just there again, feeding my brain dopamine.
And every time, I lose focus or get stuck for a few (ok, more than a few) minutes for something that provides zero value to me.
So I decided to try something different. A pattern interrupt.
Why now?
I’ve been super busy lately with customer work, having production days and tight deadlines while also working hard to finish the documentary about coffee from my Brazil trip last October.
It has the potential to become a really interesting and beautiful film about how we can save coffee from going extinct in 25 years. And it feels both urgent and important to me to make the best out of it.
However.
Editing a documentary requires large chunks of time, where my distraction levels are as low as possible. And for me it feels like EVERYTHING is trying to pull my focus away.
And this uncontrolled behavior from my hand that’s kidnapping my brain is not exactly helping.
So what did I do?
I’ve been aware of this problem for years. I’ve tried a number of apps that puts a time gap between the click and the result, interrupting the instant dopamine hit.
But it didn’t really work… sure, it cut the usage time down, but it was just annoying in a different way. Like it kept reminding me that I’m doing something wrong… And shame never really helped anyone.
So what I realized a month ago after landing back in Stockholm after my trip to India and Bali, where I had some time to process life, is that for me the answer is found exactly where the problem shows up: in the iPhone Suggested Apps.
It knows EXACTLY what you crave. It’s too easy to just swipe down and open that thing.
But when I did a simple press and hold on the Instagram icon on that Suggested Apps screen, I get the option ”Do not suggest this”.
Boom. So I did that for all apps that I want to avoid using (combined with hiding the apps in some obscure place on page 7).
The post stress trauma
To help this experiment, I also decided to take a break from posting anything anywhere. No Linkedin, no Instagram, no Substack. Just to clear my mind.
And that turned out it’s a whole other challenge.
The famous “I’m trying to build my audience, so I need to stay consistent and post everything everywhere”-stress.
Sure, it’s a good thing if you are able to do it. But at what cost?
Instead of doing the thing I want work on (the documentary), I do the small tasks I subconsciously believe I need to do for the big thing to be successful.
But if it never gets finished it doesn’t matter, does it?
This decision has been so liberating. Instead of feeling the NEED to do this, I’m now starting to wrap my head on HOW I can do it in a sustainable way.
And the result of all this?
I still use Instagram occasionally, if I feel like it. But it’s not automated. I actually have to decide to find it.
- My phone screen time is waaay down. I now spend around 1 hour per week on Instagram, down from maybe 1 hour per day.
- I have made huge progress on the documentary without it feeling painful.
- I have shipped client work more efficiently than ever.
- My brain feels free. I can form thoughts and ideas with more clarity.
And this is all because of one little behavior tweak. Making it totally without shame. (again, shame can be an efficient motivating force, but if you can, stay away from it.)
Now I can finish the film, think strategically about how to build momentum for it, create and post that content with intention and make it actually work.
Which is so much better than an easy dopamine escape that is being used as an excuse for doing the real work.
Do you also struggle with the same sort of thing? Is suggested apps where your hand automation go too?
Let’s talk more about this.
Oh and here’s a trailer for the documentary. And if you haven’t already… check out my Youtube for previous films in the series.
MUCH LOVE <3
/Robin
Originally published on Substack on 13 May 2026. Subscribe there to get new posts by email.