I work from home and my husband often works long hours as a medical resident. This means I have ample time on my hands to surf the internet, especially late at night. During my shopping ban, I realized that anytime I had a slow Netflix show on, I'd open up Google Chrome and visit my favorite shops.
Oftentimes, my thought process was, I'll just see if anything new is in stock that I like. Innocent enough, right? Not so much. Simply looking through certain shops would inevitably lead to purchases I didn't need to make.
Once I broke my habit of visiting my favorite shops online anytime I was bored, I found I had a decent chunk of time on my hands. Without spending 30 minutes or an hour each night seeing what was for sale online, I was able to focus on activities that were not only fulfilling and productive, but didn't cost me a penny.
Now, instead of reflexively shopping online when I'm bored, I focus my energy on other activities like reading, journaling, cooking or catching up on work.