The Creative Independent x Are.

na Worksheet: ​On using the internet mindfully

This worksheet is intended to help you reimagine your relationship with the internet, screen-based
media, and other networked technologies. We hope it helps you claim more agency over how you spend
time online, and imagine a plan for being ever-more mindful of your digital consumption and
participation. We recommend printing it out, and spending ~35 quiet minutes with it.

Part 1: Map your digital life​ (10 minutes)

Flip to the next page, and draw a mind map of all the screen-based activities you spend time on.
Start with larger categories—things like email, work, or Twitter—and then push yourself to break
those larger categories into the more granular activities that happen within each category (for
example, Twitter could be broken down into posting tweets to promote your work, aimlessly scrolling
through your timeline, reading news threads, etc).

Write the things you spend the most time and attention on in ​ BIG​ handwriting, and write
activities that take up less of your time in ​small​ handwriting.

(Flip page for space to draw your mind map)

Mind map of ____________’s internet use:
​(your name)
Part 2: Reflecting on habits, meaning, and value​ (10 minutes)

Once your mind map feels complete, take a moment to meditate on how your internet use affects you:

1. Use a marker to highlight or otherwise annotate activities that tend to make you feel healthy,
productive, fulfilled, inspired, connected to others, or otherwise good.

2. Use a different colored marker or annotation style to note activities that make you feel
overwhelmed, sad, anxious, lonely, jealous, unproductive, or otherwise bad.

After completing the above, take a moment to reflect on the nuanced dynamics of your mind map:

1. Which screen-based activities seem to add the most meaning and value to your life? What
commonalities do they share? When do you tend to do these activities, and how could you do them
more​ often?

2. Which screen-based activities could be harming you, and what commonalities do those activities
share? When do you tend to do these activities, and why? How could you do them ​less​ often, or
(if you feel you ​must​ continue to do them) prevent them from having a negative effect on you?
Part 3: Acknowledging goals and opportunities​ (10 minutes)

Now that you’ve reviewed the positive and negative effects of your digital habits, let’s zoom out and
reflect on what you really want to get out of the time you spend online.

1. List three creative, professional, or personal goals you’d like to work towards as you spend time
online. These can be specific, like researching a certain topic for an upcoming project, or more
nebulous, like connecting with like-minded people, or writing slowly and thoughtfully. Think about
what matters to you, and what you’d be ​excited​ to work towards.

Goal 1:

Goal 2:

Goal 3:

2. Now, consider the steps you’ll take to make progress towards the goals you listed above. What
screen-based activities from your mind map will help you reach your goals, and how will it make sense
to structure your time spent on those activities?
3. Sometimes, you need to make room for a new habit by pushing past an old one. Is there anything
holding you back from reaching the goals you listed earlier? These things might be feelings,
timesucks, or outside stressors.

4. Now, imagine yourself in a new reality where your internet use propels you towards reaching your
goals with boundless creativity, positivity, and possibility. What does this new reality of being
online look and feel like?

5. Lastly, identify one thing—small or large—can you do today, ​right now​, to take the first step
towards manifesting your vision for using the internet more mindfully. What is that one thing? Don’t
move on to the next part of this worksheet until you’ve completed it.
Part 5: Manifesting a new reality​ (5 minutes)

Now, make a pledge to yourself. Write an oath about your desire to use the internet more mindfully in
order to accomplish your goals, then sign and date it.

I pledge to…
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________ ______________
Your signature Today’s date

Thank you for completing our mindful-internet worksheet. It was developed by Willa Köerner and Leo Shaw for a workshop at IAM
​ ow do you use the internet mindfully?​”
Weekend in Barcelona, Spain, and is inspired by the TCI x Are.na publication, “H

​ nfo@thecreativeindependent.com​.
We welcome your follow-up thoughts: get in touch by emailing i