6 Screen Time Activities For Personal Growth

Affiliate links | We’re told time and time again that we need to get away from our screens, get off of social media and spend more time in the “real” world. Heck, just this month I spoke about why you should have a digital detox! But if the COVID situation has taught us anything, it’s the importance that technology and screens have in our lives. Despite the fact my screen time app on my iPhone shouts at me every week for the amount of time I’ve spent staring at my phone, today I want to talk about screen time activities for personal growth.

Photo by Tanya Trukyr on Unsplash

But let’s be sensible here, I think we all know our limits when it comes to screen usage. I can definitely feel it in my eyes when I’ve been on a screen for too long and not necessarily realised it. When I get carried away with work or binge watching my favourite show then all of a sudden it hits me that I have a banging headache, my eyes are dry AF and I haven’t moves my limbs in 8 hours.

But technology and online resources have given us so much. So, so much. You only need to look at 2020 so far to see the importance technology has on our lives. I’m sure it saved a lot of people from crippling loneliness in the midst of lockdown. So whilst yes, we need to know our limits and not go over-board with the screen usage, it’s also a great tool to use for activities for personal growth.

And I think now is a great time to focus on our personal growth and self development. We’ve all been through a lot this year – a lot that’s probably going to change us going forward, whether we want it to or not. So it’s definitely a good time to work on those things we want to change, expand on those things we already have and commit to learning more about ourselves than ever before.

If you’re ready to work on yourself and want to use technology, apps and the internet to do that, here are 6 screen time activities for personal growth for you to look into!

Photo by Tanya Trukyr on Unsplash

Do an online course

The courses themselves certainly don’t have to be about personal growth but just the very act of expanding your knowledge and being willing and open to learn something new is a great activity for personal growth. And the great thing is, is there’s so many possibilities out there and options for courses, depending on what you’re after.

If you’re looking to expand on your blogging knowledge, a course like Pinterest With Ell might be for you. After something to tend to your spiritual side? I’d highly recommend Abundane Acdaemy! If you’re after something a bit more academic, Coursera has a huge range of free courses.

Guided meditation & Yoga

If you’re absolutely sick to death of me harping on about Yoga and meditation, then feel free to skip this point (I won’t be offended… much) but if you can, hear me out. You can learn a lot about yourself when you strip it back to basics. When it’s just you and your breath. But if you’re not familiar with meditation or just don’t know where to start, a guided meditation is a great option. I personally love this meditation for self love.

And speaking of Yoga, Yoga is a great tool for personal growth. And the reason I put this on the list is because of the range of free Yoga videos you can find on YouTube. Which are incredible for the health of your mind, body and spirit. Here are 10 Yoga With Adriene practices I’d recommend and Yoga With Adriene practices for every mood.

Run your own workshop

This one fills me with dread thinking about it. That’s how I know it would be incredible for my personal growth. Online workshops, online courses, online anything have proved their worth and value, especially this year. So if you’re an expert in something or have the experience in something that could add value to others, you could consider running your own workshop.

This is a great activity for personal growth because it will allow you to step outside of your comfort zone (more on that in a minute), help you expand on your skills and connect with others – perhaps people you don’t even know – on a much deeper level.

Develop a new and exciting project

This is a great way to really go ALL OUT with your personal growth. Throw yourself completely into something new and exciting. That’s completely yours. Something that you’ll have to work hard to build from scratch. Something that might fail… but that’s the point, isn’t it?

You’re never going to grow if you know everything you do will always turn out perfectly. Excuse me for acting like I’m giving a Ted Talk here but it’s true. The most exciting and scary thing for me lately was planning my own retreat. Yes, I know, not online (apart from the planning stage) but the point is, is I’ve never done anything like that before. I had NO IDEA how it was going to go (and ultimately didn’t end up going at all, thanks to COVID).

Step outside of your comfort zone

This was a big one for me last year in terms of my “real” life and I wrote about how I was stepping out of my comfort zone. But this is certainly something you can do online too. Take the last two points as an example. I’m sure for many of us, running an online workshop would feel a bit “fish out of water”. It certainly would for me!

But there are plenty of other ways you can step outside of your comfort zone online or using technology. Going live on Instagram for example, might be a walk in the park for some. For others, an anxiety-inducing nightmare! Or perhaps posting a different style of Instagram photo or writing about something new on your blog.

Listen to personal growth podcasts

Is this one cheating because you don’t TECHNICALLY have to look at a screen in order to listen to a podcast? I suppose you have to navigate a screen to get TO the podcast. So I’ll consider this one a valid point. Podcasts can be a great tool for personal growth. Another positive, is that they don’t have to take up a ton of time! You can listen to them whilst cooking, commuting, gardening or another every day task!

And since we’re cheating on the rules for screen time activities for personal growth, why not consider trying self-hypnosis? You can find some of the best hypnosis downloads here, which can help create positive change in your life.

Hypnosis is a powerful technique that works by changing the way you think. By allowing yourself to be hypnotized, you can reprogram your subconscious mind and create a more positive outlook on life.

This is a great activity to do each morning before starting your day or even to get you into the right mindset before bed. This tool can help reduce stress levels and boost your personal growth to new heights. 

How do you feel about using screen time activities for personal growth? Do you prefer to take your personal growth work off the screen? Or do you embrace all that technology has to offer us? Let me know!