The #1 most important habit to stop if you're in your 20s

Plus, a step-by-step guide to my exact skincare routine.

Hello friends!

Last week on the pod, we talked all about the things you should start doing in your 20s and 30s based on a combination of my own lived experience and the thousands of conversations I’ve had with world-famous doctors and health experts.

This week we’re talking about the things you should stop doing in your 20s and 30s. As I was recording the episode I noticed I was returning to one theme over and over again:

Stop spending so much time on your phone, particularly scrolling social media

“But Liz, social media helps me unwind! I find great stuff on there!” I get that. And I do think there’s such a thing as mindful social media consumption—if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be there at all.

But it’s important to think about what we’re losing in addition to what we’re gaining. Social media is literally designed to hijack our brain’s dopamine system, or the part of our brains responsible for motivation and pleasure. When you flood your brain with too many dopamine spikes, which is what you get from scrolling, likes, and comments, your baseline dopamine levels drop. This makes real-world activities that are actually fulfilling feel less engaging or exciting because they don’t provide the same instant reward.

Yes, hanging out with friends feels harder. Yes, reading a book feels harder. But doing those hard things recalibrates your dopamine to give you more motivation, and to make everyday life feel MORE rewarding. It’s a hard that, if you break through, is hugely worth it.

The average person spends 2 hours and 31 minutes per day on social media. That adds up to over SIX YEARS over the course of a lifetime. I have an entire podcast episode dedicated to how to spend less time on your phone. It has some really actionable, helpful tips that start working insanely quickly. But for now, I think it’s worth considering: do you really want to be on your deathbed realizing you spent years of your life with your face in your phone?

If you’re wondering what I was doing in my 20s…proof you can start anywhere and end up okay :)

From this week’s episode:

“Our phones are messing with our neurochemistry, making it harder for us to feel pleasure and motivation in our daily lives. They are messing with our ability to actually enjoy being around people in our lives. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people out at a restaurant, or I have even been out with friends, and they’re scrolling instead of talking to each other or to me.”

The takeaway:

Whenever you pick up your phone, ask yourself what you’re losing in addition ot what you’re gaining. And remember: the people who invented our phones and social media created them with addiction and dopamine depletion in mind. The sooner you start scrolling less, the better—you will literally get years of your life back.

For more things I wish I’d known to stop doing in my 20s and 30s, including a crucial action step 30-somethings need to take ASAP, check out this week’s episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

And make sure you’re following the podcast wherever you listen so future episodes show up right in your feed!

Xo,
Liz

PS: Below, paid subscribers will always get a piece of high-value content related to the theme of the episode. Paid subscribers can also access a full transcript, comment on posts, participate in the chat, access Q&As with me, and more.

Today, it’s the thing I’m asked about the most often—my exact daily skincare routine, with product links.

My step-by-step daily skincare routine

I’ve lived long enough (and have interviewed enough world-famous psychology experts) to know that I’m still evolving and probably always will be. That applies to my skincare routine, too! But for now, at age 38, here’s exactly how I take care of my skin on a daily basis.

Morning