5/16 Wednesday Day 16 SLBC: Stopping Cues
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themedalist
Posts: 3,215 Member
Theme: Stopping Cues
Today's Challenge: How we consume media and information certainly has changed over the last few decades. I grew up in the 70s when you couldn't sit for hours and binge watch your favorite TV show or lose track of time completely going down an internet rabbit hole or getting sucked into social media streams. We'd finish watching a show, reading the newspaper, or wrapping up another book chapter and then we'd get up out of the chair and go do something else. These natural pauses and triggers to do something else are called stopping cues.
We've lost our stopping cues. Our news feeds have no end and social media sites are specifically engineered to hold our attention as long as possible. Netflix will auto-feed us the next episode and Facebook will constantly replenish our newsfeeds so that we don't miss out. Where does the time go?
Since we don't have reliable stopping cues anymore, today's challenge is to put them back in. If you find yourself spending a lot of time on recreational activities that keep you plunked in a chair, how can you add a stopping cue to get up and move around every 30 minutes or so? Adding a simple alarm, especially one that you have to walk over to to shut off, may be all it takes. And if you've got some stopping cues that work really well for you, please share with our group!
Stopping cues are a great strategy to quit the sitting!
Alternative Challenge: Stress is an inevitable part of our lives and it can have terrible health consequences. Sometimes a short walking break is all that's needed to bring our stress levels way down. So today, when you feel stressed, take a 5 minute or so break and go for a quick walk. If you can walk outside, even better! And if you are a stress eater, cultivating the habit of walking (or any activity) when you are stressed instead of eating is a great way to shed more pounds.
And if walking doesn’t work for you, yoga and simple stretches are also great stress busters and will have you up and moving.
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So very true! Let’s keep at the healthy habits that will make our lives better. Make it a great Wednesday!
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You are so right. No stopping cues for anything these days. My new Garmin tracker sends me "move" reminders. I keep FB notifications and Instagram's turned off and the apps as well. I get on MFP 2 times a day and that is it. Will keep looking for ways to add more stopping cues. I only use Netflix when I am on the elliptical, so that has been working perfect.
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My tracker also reminds me to move, but thankfully, I've been able to remind myself. Another thing I've stopped doing is logging into Facebook every morning. Talk about a rabbit hole!5
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I limit my TV time to watching The View and Millionaire in the morning. Then the tv is off until the nightly news. Unfortunately that has become my trigger to sit down, and I watch the PBS News Hour as well. I shut it off at 7:00 but I’m so comfy in my chair by then I sit and read (I only walk and read during the day) and spend hours on my iPad checking emails, whatever. All of my books are downloaded to it so it’s right in hand. I check Facebook about once a week and don’t think I’m missing anything. The good weather has me outside more in the evenings now and I have tons of work to do out there2
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For many of us, reminders to move on our activity trackers are a good stopping cue. But sometimes they can be easy to ignore. If you know you can easily sit for hours (or ignore your morning alarm clock) without taking a stretch break, something like Clocky may be useful. On wheels, Clocky will jump off your table, shelf, or nightstand and roll around beeping until you get up and shut it off.1
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Ahhh, yes, I remember back when you had to actually get up and cross the room to change the channel. I'm THAT old.
If I'm watching with my husband, I have no trouble with stopping cues. That man can't sit still for 15 minutes, so if I use him as a cue, I'm good! But the internet is another thing, I can start scrolling and keep at it forever unless I'm interrupted. I have a few strategies to keep me from falling down that rabbit hole. I only scroll when I've got to get up and go somewhere or do something in a few minutes. It's helpful, but not perfect. I haven't yet found a timer that works for me. But I'll keep looking. I'm pretty sure I'd smash Clocky before a day passed. It sound effective but annoying. 1 -
MmamabearR wrote: »My tracker also reminds me to move, but thankfully, I've been able to remind myself. Another thing I've stopped doing is logging into Facebook every morning. Talk about a rabbit hole!
Yes!! I have stopped too.
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