At New Years, I did the thing I always do: I set a very ambitious program of self-improvement. A reading schedule, a writing goal, a walking routine, a strength-training regimen, etc. Last week, I found the chart I created to track it all. I have failed at most of it.

So for Lent, I just decided to focus on one thing: reducing my phone usage. I removed all social media from my phone. Then I went into the settings and made the screen gray-scale. I have kept the app that tracks all my usage. I was fed up with the phone sucking away the hours of my life, that I even got an early start. My average usage is around 6 hours a day. Tuesday and Wednesday this week I’ve spent less than 3 hours a day. It’s working.

I also decided to relegate all social media usage to 5-6pm and only on the laptop. If I’m busy at that time…it can wait the next day. So far, so good. I managed to get in my first walk in a long time. I got a healthy nap. I read before bedtime.

Jesus once taught that when an unclean spirit leaves a person, it wanders through the air looking for a new host. Meanwhile the old host cleans the room (their spirit) and leaves it empty. The old unclean spirit will come back and bring his friends making the situation worse than before.

I am wary of removing the unclean spirit of social media and not filling it better spirits. For now that is walking, reading and napping. At least for the first day, it feels like a change for the better.