Episode 35: Scroll with Intention

Description: Dr. Tina Boogren invites you to try the 2 Minute Happy Scroll—a joyful, intentional way to use social media for good. Set a timer, skip the doom scroll, and dive into curated content that lifts you up:

Resources: Good news sources such as Upworthy and The Happy Broadcast.

Listen Now:

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Transcription:  Hi, and welcome to Self-Care for Educators. I am your host, Dr. Tina Boogren, and this is episode 35. Okay, here we go. This week's invitation is the 2 Minute Happy Scroll kind of sounds like an oxymoron, but it is not, hear me out on this one. The 2 Minute Happy Scroll. Here's the overview. Our invitation for this week is you are going to set a timer for two minutes. and you are going to scroll only content that sparks joy. We are talking puppy videos, travel photos, uplifting quotes, no doom scrolling allowed. This is a quick intentional joy boost via technology. This is the 2 Minute Happy Scroll. 

So let's talk a little bit more about this. Okay, so it's a quick joy boost. The 2 Minute Happy Scroll is all about using technology intentionally to uplift our mood instead of draining our energy. It's supposed to be this quick, feel good, dopamine hit without the endless scrolling trap. We don't need to buy anything. We don't need to go down a rabbit hole. it's a dangerous, slippery slope here, I know. So, here's some tips that can help us with this. 

So first thing that I want you to do is set a timer. I think that's essential. We know all the apps, everything is set up to hook us in. So we stay, you know, engaged way longer than two minutes. So I think that this is absolutely essential. Set a timer for two minutes. Again, you get to choose your dial, right? Maybe it's just one minute. Two minutes is what I'm aiming for here. Maybe you allow yourself five minutes. You do you, but set a timer. 

Then what I want you to do is I want you to choose your source, right? Go to the content that feels good. Now, here's some thoughts. You might need to do a little upfront work and start creating your go-to place, like a folder that you're going to go to that you're going to start dumping things in so you have a go-to place to go to for that two minutes. So there might be a little kind of curating that needs to happen because if we just randomly go to Instagram or Tik Tok, it's not necessarily going to be a happy scroll if you know what I mean, right? Cause that's our goal here. It's gotta be happy. 

So maybe you start like a saved folder where you start putting in funny memes, those dog and cat videos, blooper videos. My all time favorite videos are SNL sketches where they start laughing. Oh my gosh,  any sort of blooper reel, but any when they can't keep a straight face during a skit, those are the best.

So start saving those and putting those in a folder so you can go back to those. Any of those videos that make you laugh, those funny funny memes, animal videos, so start a saved folder of those. Anything, when you are at any point scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, what you're, what you're looking for is the happy things, all of the happy things, right?

So bookmark those so that you've got those and start that folder so you have a go-to place. That is your destination when you've got these two minutes. So maybe you even start doing kind of screenshots of compliments or kind of messages that you've received. Maybe you take text messages and again you take that screenshot and you dump them in those folders so that you have them.

Maybe it's a specific Pinterest board that you've designed that's all around your dream travel spot or affirmations, you know, I'm getting real big on those affirmations and mantras. And so you have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to those or inspiring quotes. 

Maybe you've got kind of a playlist of motivational clips or TED talks. All those inspirational videos that we see on YouTube, maybe you start a playlist of those that you go back and you watch the ones that, you know, every single time you watch them, you love them. I mean, I could watch Brene Brown's videos again and again and again. I could watch Liz. Gilbert on creativity over and over again. Like, I have the go to ones that I know. Sean Aker's talk on happiness. Like, these go to videos that I can go back. They're a little longer than two minutes, but I can spread those out. I can watch two minutes, and then two minutes, two more minutes the next day, and two more minutes the next day.  

Maybe it's videos and photos of you, of your life, of your happy memories, and you've got a folder of those specific things. Maybe you have a go-to good news source. So I really love Upworthy. There's also The Happy Broadcast and it's all good news. Maybe you've got some social media groups or hashtags. There's #GoodNewsTuesday. There's #WholesomeContent that you follow. 

Maybe it's like soothing videos that you're looking for, like ocean waves or the sound of rain. Maybe there's some short meditations that feel really good or breathing exercises. Or it can be really fun to watch those time lapse videos of painting or cooking or have you seen like the tiny home makeovers like whatever floats your boat. 

Everyone's a little bit different here but like i said maybe you curate your little happy scroll folder call it that call it your happy scroll folder where you start saving your posts and your videos and your accounts all in one place for easy access  And that's your go to when you set that timer, you know right where to go. As you're doing this, maybe you actually start curating your feed so that you are unfollowing and you're muting all that negativity and really working to fill your timeline with only what sparks joy?

You are in control of your social media in particular- mute, unfollow, right? So take time, that two minutes, right, that reset. Don't doom scroll during that two minutes, go to your happy place, go to your happy place. And maybe again, you do it as an anchoring piece and you use it as an opportunity to pair  (p a i r) with that positive action. So after you take that two minutes, you take a deep breath and you say joy is available to me. I love my life. I live a happy and fulfilled life. I am grateful for the life that I have. That you do something in that two minutes, it's just amazing. 

Again, I hope you're noticing this theme. These last few weeks I've been really trying to consider what are small teeny tiny little things that we can do during this notoriously busy time of year to reset to catch our breath to find these moments of rest and just incorporate them throughout our day and see if they can help with our overall health and happiness and well being. I think we have more control over how we feel than we think we do sometimes. At least that's been the case for me. And when I purposely engage in these tiny little itty bitty invitations, they really seem to help. 

So that's the invitation for you this week. I really want you to do the 2 Minute Happy Scroll and see if it works. See if it makes you happy. I'm betting that it does. You make me happy. Adrienne makes me happy. Solution Tree makes me happy. Marzano Resources makes me happy. And I'm gonna say it again, YOU make me happy. My badass healthcare squad. I'm so stinking grateful for all of you. Go have a happy, wonderful, amazing week.

Go look at all the dog videos. Go look at all the blooper reels. Take two minutes out of your day and just be happy. Be happy.  I'm cheering so hard for you. Make it a great week, you guys. I love you.