It Gets Better After Grad School

OK everyone, hope all are doing well. I know I have not been blogging on here much since I graduated, but I wanted to add another post for those still following along.

First off, life is definitely different after grad school. I can finally eat healthy food again, I am not constantly anxious, and I actually have money set aside for rainy days. Trust me, for those still grinding through it, life really does get better after graduation.

Today I wanted to talk about something I recently did that I honestly wish I had done during graduate school: dealing with my phone addiction.

I know I have written about this topic somewhere on this blog before, but it finally got to the point where I realized I needed to seriously change my habits. I needed a digital detox after grad school.

We All Have a Phone Addiction

Let’s just admit it. Most of us are addicted to our phones.

These apps are literally designed to hold our attention for as long as possible. How many times have you opened Instagram or Twitter for “just a minute,” only to realize 30 minutes disappeared? Probably more times than you can count.

Eventually I realized I needed to make a change, so I bought an app and website blocker called Brick. Don’t worry, this is not sponsored or anything. I am just sharing what helped me.

I basically blocked all the apps I constantly scrolled through like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other websites that kept sucking me in every day. I made it genuinely difficult for myself to access them.

The First Week Was Rough

I am not going to lie, the first week was difficult.

The first 24 hours especially were brutal. I kept instinctively reaching for my phone every few minutes just to realize the apps were blocked. Which honestly meant the blocker was doing exactly what it was supposed to do.

After a few days, I noticed I was way more irritable than normal. One day I was just angry for absolutely no reason. I wanted to be left alone and everything annoyed me.

Looking back, I honestly think it was withdrawal.

That sounds dramatic, but I really do think social media trains your brain to constantly expect stimulation and dopamine hits. During this period I still gave myself maybe 30 minutes per day on those apps, just enough to ease off them slowly, but that was it.

I Started Forgetting My Phone

After about a week and a half, something weird started happening.

I began forgetting where my phone was.

That sounds small, but for someone who always had their phone within arm’s reach, it was honestly shocking. I realized I no longer cared where it was all the time. I stopped carrying it around constantly and it actually felt freeing.

At the same time, I started noticing that things I normally hated doing suddenly became more appealing. Cleaning, working, cooking, even random chores around the house all felt easier to start.

I started going on walks without headphones. One night I even left my phone at home during an hour-long walk and it honestly felt amazing.

Learning How to Be Bored Again

One thing I noticed was that I finally started feeling boredom again.

And honestly, I cannot remember the last time I truly felt bored before this.

At first it was uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. But eventually I realized boredom is actually important. It pushes you toward doing real things instead of endlessly consuming content.

Suddenly I became interested again in hobbies I had ignored for years like cooking, gardening, fishing, writing, and blogging.

Things started feeling interesting again.

My Anxiety Dropped Dramatically

Now I want to mention something that I think is especially important for graduate students.

My anxiety dropped massively after cutting down social media.

Honestly, I would say my anxious thoughts decreased by like 90%.

I realized I was constantly feeding my brain negative information all day long. Doomscrolling news articles, comparing myself to other people online, watching videos that made me feel like I was falling behind in life. It was exhausting.

Even seeing fishing videos online would annoy me because I wished I was out there doing it myself instead of sitting inside staring at a screen.

I was comparing my life to everyone else’s highlight reel and it was making me miserable.

Now, instead of watching people live life online, I actually go do the things myself.

Social Media Makes You Feel Like You Already “Did” Something

One thing I realized is that social media satisfies the craving you have for actually doing things.

Why go explore nature when you can watch someone else hiking through a forest on YouTube?

Why go fishing when you can watch fishing videos for two hours?

Why go out and meet people when you can endlessly scroll through everyone else’s lives online?

The problem is you are not actually experiencing any of it. You are just watching life happen through a screen.

Now the things I used to only watch online, I actually go do myself. I go outside more. I walk more. I fish more. I talk to people more.

I honestly feel like I am living again instead of just consuming.

For My Fellow Grad Students

For those of you still in grad school feeling isolated or lonely, social media can honestly make those feelings even worse.

You start seeing people getting jobs, going on vacations, getting married, buying houses, and starting families while you are stuck writing papers or sitting in a lab at midnight.

It can genuinely make you feel like your life is going nowhere.

That is why I am going to say this very directly:

Get off these damn apps.

Go outside without your phone. Go for a walk. Sit somewhere quiet. Try hobbies you forgot you enjoyed. Let your brain breathe for once.

And if you genuinely struggle with self control like I did, I honestly recommend trying an app blocker like Brick. It helped me way more than I expected.

Final Thoughts

Anyway, I know it has been a while since I posted here, and I am sorry about that. I will try to continue posting every once in a while.

Lately I have been spending more time blogging over at Fishing with Data. I figured combining my hobbies with writing would be a good outlet, while also hopefully helping other people find some peace and balance too.

To everyone still surviving grad school: hang in there. Life really can feel a lot lighter on the other side.