Americans are constantly surrounded by readily available distractions which makes it all too easy to be constantly plugged in. There is always another social media app to scroll (again), another movie to watch, another streaming series to start, another CensorTube channel to check, and another podcast to listen to. We turn on the radio or something else in the car almost without thinking. Some leave the television on far too long each day.

It’s difficult to live a cozy life if we’re constantly bombarded by outside input. Instead of engaging with what is most important to us in our homes, our thoughts are frequently highjacked and redirected.

Most of us are old enough to remember not being constantly plugged in. We know what it was like to go for a walk with only your thoughts to keep you company. If you rode a bus or train, you might have had a physical book to pull out of your purse or bag. Rather than restlessly succumbing to checking social media, you checked the mailbox outside and called a friend on the phone.

If you have managed to find the perfect balance in this area of life, then this post isn’t for you. But if you find yourself tempted to pick up your smartphone way too many times a day or mindlessly surf through a streaming service hoping to find something to watch, then perhaps you would like to make a special effort to turn something off.

I have no idea what that thing is for you. Some people struggle with their phones. I don’t. Some people watch way too much television. I don’t. But here is what I do struggle with: turning on a CensorTube video to watch or listen to while I do other things way more than necessary. In some ways, it is about making the most of my time. But I would benefit from the lack of stimulation while I wash the dishes or do other routine tasks around the house.

So for the past couple of weeks I’ve been making a point to not turn on my Kindle Fire to watch or listen to something every time I could. I’d still like to dial my usage down another level. My goal isn’t to eliminate it completely. But simply cutting back has been a good change already.