Going analog in 2026

Confession: I spend way to much time online and more often than not I hate it here.

I’m not moving away to an off the grid cabin in the wilderness or throwing my phone into a lake ( I need to check on Taylor and Travis) but I’ve been feeling the pull towards a more analog way of life. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the 80’s watching Stranger Things, maybe it’s the way my stomach drops when I get a breaking news update on my phone. Social media used to be a place I enjoyed and it’s become a soul sucking experience. Speaking of soul sucking, let’s not even GET STARTED on AI. The internet is a place you visit, not a place you live. I’ve pitched my tent and unpacked my bags for far too long.

TRUTH!

How do we go on without a constant flow of useless information? We get back to the things we used to enjoy!

One way to stop the scroll is getting an analog basket and fill it with some hobbies and wireless activities. Head to the thrift store and find a nice basket (I have peach baskets if you’d like one!) and fill it with things that scratch the itch in your brain that’s begging for a hit of dopamine from a doom scroll. Don’t forget to hit the book section for books, especially cook books!

My analog basket

More often than not I’m sitting on the couch “watching” the ball game with my phone in my hand looking up what college and high school the player who’s up to bat went to. Then I’m looking up who else he went to college with, then what people on X are saying about him right now, then I scroll to see what horrible thing I have absolutely no control over is happening that YOU MUST know about and be upset about right now because “they” told you it was bad, then being mad because I read the comments (seriously, don’t do it) and I’m annoyed at the comments. At that point I’m worked up and I don’t remember or even care what school the player went to. Meanwhile my crocheting is collecting cat hair and my books are collecting dust.

Excuse the squirrel moment.

I filled my basket up with some yarn for a Valentine’s day bunting I’m working on, a cook book, a journal to jot down a brain dump if I need it, a word search book to make my brain work, coloring book to zone out and a book that’s easy to pick up at any time. Other analog activities are gardening, puzzles, painting, sewing, listening to the radio, etc or my new favorite- vinyl! I’m not even tempting myself by using by phone to open my music app. Plus you need to get up every 15-20 minutes to flip the record over. Win-win!

My record player and collection of vinyl. Most of the albums were rescued from the landfill by Dirty Deeds Junk Removal in Marietta, GA.

A great analog hobby is cooking! How many times have you said “I don’t have time to cook” yet your screentime says you spent over 2 hours on social media?

Just me?

This year I encourage you to join me and spend more of your valuable time off line and on something that’s going to make you and your family healthier. Learn how to make your own jam, apple butter (recipe coming soon), pickles, bread, etc

Here’s the challenge: take one item from your weekly baskets and try a new recipe. It may come out delicious, it may be a disaster but one thing it won’t be is a failure. I cannot tell you how many loaves of sourdough bread I’ve fed the birds over the break until I got it right. At no point did I feel bad about it either. I wasn’t worried about the outcome because I was enjoying the experience of learning a new skill.

You never fail if your goal is the experience.

So let’s live like it’s 1999 and focus on the experiencing a more analog life off line!