How to Stop Doomscrolling: 3 Hacks to Reclaim Your Energy

Picture this: The kids are finally asleep, you collapse onto the couch, and you pick up your phone just to unwind for a minute. The next thing you know, an hour has passed. You’ve been deep in a "doomscroll," and now you feel heavier, more anxious, and more drained than when you started. Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever felt like your energy is being drained by the constant flood of bad news, work demands, and family needs, you’re not alone. As a mom and a CEO, your energy is your most precious resource. Yet so much of it leaks out when we pour our mental and emotional bandwidth into things that are just plain outside of our control. Right now in the U.S., with so much economic and political uncertainty, it’s easy to feel that drain. Small business owners are feeling the squeeze of inflation and policy changes, and the constant stream of negative media is fueling anxiety and distress for everyone. The good news is, you have more power over your energy than you think. There’s a powerful saying: "Where your attention goes, energy flows." Let’s talk about how to direct that energy back to where it belongs—with you.

You don’t need more overwhelm—you need a system that works. This is a simple but powerful framework I learned from the great Stephen Covey, and it’s going to change everything for you. Imagine a target with three rings. The outermost, largest ring is your Circle of Concern. This is where all your worries live—the economy, political news, global events, and everything else that keeps you up at night. Spending all your time here is like trying to plug a fire hydrant with a band-aid. It’s exhausting, and you don’t make a dent.

The middle ring is your Circle of Influence. These are the things you can actually have an impact on. Think about your team's productivity, your family's well-being, or the mood of a friend. You can't force an outcome, but you can definitely nudge it in the right direction.

And that bullseye in the middle? That’s your Circle of Control. This is your kingdom. It includes your attitude, your responses to things that happen, the habits you choose, and even your nail color. These are the things you have 100% authority over. Your "Power Zone" is that sweet spot—your Circle of Influence and your Circle of Control combined. When you focus your actions here, you stop feeling like a victim of your circumstances and start feeling like the powerful creator you are.

Okay, but what about those days when a worry just won’t let you go? You know that feeling—that thought loop spinning in your head, stealing your focus. I have a fix for that. It’s a 5-minute reset I call the "Brain Dump and Destroy."

Here’s how it works:

• Step 1: Grab a piece of paper you can destroy and set a timer for five minutes. For those five minutes, you’re going to write down everything—the good, the bad, the ugly—about the situation that's eating you up. Don't edit, just dump it all out.
• Step 2: When the timer goes off, take a deep breath and look at your list. Ask yourself: "Is there anything on this page that I can actually do something about right now?" Circle anything that falls into your Power Zone.
• Step 3: If an action takes less than two minutes (like sending a quick text), do it immediately. Get it done. If it takes longer, schedule it in your calendar for sometime in the next day. Give it a home so it stops living rent-free in your head.
• Step 4: Now for the fun part. Take that piece of paper and destroy it. Rip it into tiny pieces, crumble it up, flush it. As you do, imagine all that worry and anxiety leaving you. Feel that weight lift.

Finally, let's plug one of the biggest energy leaks for moms: social media. It’s designed to pull you in and keep you scrolling, often leaving you feeling triggered, jealous, or just plain drained. Studies have found a strong link between heavy social media use and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and loneliness. It can fuel feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction, which is the last thing you need when you're already juggling so much. It’s time to take back your power.

Here are three things you can do today:

1. Curate Your Feed: Go through who you follow. If an account consistently makes you feel a little bit jealous or anxious, hit the mute button. You don't have to unfollow them (nobody will know!), but you can protect your peace by removing their content from your feed.
2. Set Time Limits: Your phone has tools for this! Go into your settings and set a daily time limit for those apps that suck you in. When your time is up, it's up. This is tough love for yourself, and it works.
3. Create Friction: If you find yourself constantly bypassing the screen time limits, you might need a stronger tool. I use an app called Brick. It's a little device that you have to physically get up and scan to unblock your apps. That little bit of effort is often enough to break the mindless scrolling habit.

You are a powerful creator, leader, and mother. Your energy is too precious to be wasted. By identifying these energy leaks and choosing to focus on your Power Zone, you'll find you have more vitality and more capacity to show up for the life you want to live. Imagine a week from now, feeling more in control and less drained. That’s what this system gives you. Let’s start now.