The Habit That's Quietly Stealing Your Life Back

If you feel like completing tasks is harder every time, that the time of your day is never enough, and that days go by so fast that you feel like nothing special is happening in your life...

Then your phone could be the cause.

But not because of the phone itself, but because of doomscrolling.

Let us explain:

What is doomscrolling:

Doomscrolling is the action of getting into your phone, opening any type of social media, and just scrolling endlessly.

Without noticing, an hour or two have gone by.

And suddenly, you used the time you could've used for something meaningful or fulfilling, to just watch reels that you will forget about in a couple of hours.

One of the reasons this happens is that social media platforms have a feature where the scroll is infinite.

The feed has no end.

So it's EASY to scroll for long periods of time and not even notice it.

Plus, every video you see gives you a dopamine boost, which makes your brain feel good and, because of that, makes it want to scroll more.

What does this mean?

This means the brain will constantly push you to scroll more. So everyday tasks like going to the gym or working become harder because they require more effort to give the same amount of dopamine.

 Therefore, your brain wants the easiest path.

What does this cause?

So, doomscrolling is the main reason why it feels like you never have enough time, you're always late, or, as said before...

That nothing special is happening in your life.

Because you're using the time when special things could happen if you did normal human activities, to just watch reels.

And again, social media was built like this purposely. And it is hard for us humans to fight that.

So, what can you do?

Research has shown that checking your phone first thing in the morning makes the rest of your day harder than it needs to be.

That’s because you’re waking up your brain with easy dopamine, the easiest kind, actually.

So everything after that is just harder.

That being said, the first thing to do here is to avoid the phone when you wake up.

But then, you might get into the phone again, right?

A good way to fight this, while making your life more meaningful or productive, is to fill your day with activities that are good for your mind and body, activities that disconnect you from technology and connect you with real life.

You will IMMEDIATELY see how life improves and suddenly becomes more interesting.

You will be more aware, you will feel proud of progress in the activities you choose, and days will feel fulfilling.

But there are some activities where, regardless of you doing them, you can still pick up the phone and not be present.

Like when people go for a walk staring at the phone or putting a movie as a background while staring at the phone.

Here are some activities that are proven to counter doomscrolling easily:

1. Physical activities that require complete focus. This is called active meditation, like hitting the gym or running.
2. Crafting activities that make both your brain and body work at the same time, like painting, knitting, or ceramics.

Of course, we know that some activities require too much of a setup to occur. Painting can cause a mess at home, and ceramics too.

Knitting or crocheting are probably the best options. Let me tell you why.

1. It activates both parts of your brain, PLUS your hands. So this is an immersive activity. Here, we beat the urge to get the phone.
2. The progress is visible and it doesn't take much time, plus you have a new ability. Here, we beat easy dopamine.
3. This new hobby can make clothes. You can wear them, receive compliments for them, or give them to someone else and create a connection. Here, your sense of accomplishment appears, and suddenly, you're getting more out of life.

This is why so many people are turning to knitting and crocheting, and it's becoming trendy.
You get to experience slow living, while feeding your creativity and disconnecting from your phone.

But isn't knitting hard?

It's only hard if you start the wrong way.

It's hard when you don't know where to start, pick something complicated and cheap yarn that fights against you. Every row turns into stress instead of a break from your day.

That's what makes people quit in week one and decide knitting isn't for them.

Here's what you actually need to start:

• A video for the exact thing you're making. Not a generic tutorial. The actual design in your hands, so when you get stuck you press play instead of guessing.
• Yarn thick enough to see progress fast. Thin yarn on a big project is how beginners lose motivation before the first payoff.
• Yarn that doesn't fight against you. Most yarns are not beginner friendly so they cause problems. You spend the session fixing instead of knitting.
• Yarn that doesn't itch. You're doing this to relax. Scratchy wool defeats the point. Plus, you don't want to wear that.
• Something you'd actually wear at the end. Most first projects end up in a drawer. That's the real reason people don't start a second one. If you can picture yourself wearing it before you cast on, you'll finish it.

Get those five right and knitting isn't hard. It's just repetitive, which is the entire point.

And that's exactly what we built our kits around.

1. Our yarns are 60% baby alpaca and 40% Peruvian Pima cotton. No plastic. Unlike ours, most of the beginner yarns are acrylic, and acrylic is what makes a finished piece look cheap and uncomfortable.
2. Our fibers are also what make the process easier, faster, and the result looks like something you bought, not homemade in a bad way.
3. Every kit comes with a video for the exact design you picked. When you get stuck, you press play.

(Our yarns are different because of Cloudtouch®, the technology that makes them soft as a cloud and easy to knit with. This is what makes our customers come back)
Swap the Scroll for a Beginner KitEverything included · ships free

Why knitting is making a comeback

If it feels like knitting is suddenly everywhere, that's not your imagination.

Searches for hobbies you can take outside, like knitting, crocheting, and embroidery, jumped 136% in just six months. And Mintel found that 71% of US adults said they had done a craft project in the past year.

Open TikTok or Pinterest and you'll see it everywhere.

Olympic diver Tom Daley went viral knitting poolside at the Tokyo Olympics, and has called it the one thing that lets him switch off completely.

Ryan Gosling told GQ Australia that a day spent knitting would be his perfect day. Demi Lovato picked it up specifically as a way to disconnect from her phone.

The reason lines up almost exactly with everything above. People are tired of how much of their attention their phones are taking, and they're looking for something that gives it back. Knitting happens to be the version of that with something wearable at the end.

Reclaiming your attention doesn't start with a sweater

At Sierra Yarn, we built our kits around this exact idea: a simple way to rebuild your attention with your hands, no experience needed.

You don't start with a sweater. You start with a beginner knitting kit, like a beanie, a scarf, or a blanket. Something you can finish and wear in a sitting or two, so your brain gets the payoff early.

Every kit comes with the yarn, needles, pattern, and step-by-step video tutorials, so you're never stuck figuring it out alone.

Start today, and by the end of the year you could have your first real garment finished. A sweater. A cardigan. A tank top.

Not bought. Made.