The other week I wrote about how often we reach for our phones without really deciding to.

Checking one thing quickly… and somehow ending up thirty minutes deep in messages, news or social media. It’s become so normal that many of us don’t even notice it happening.

I’ve been thinking about what I actually want to do to help me spend less time on my devices (or at least be more intentional about how I’m using them and why).

Looking around at what other people are doing (as I said, it’s become a bit of a trend), and one thing I know I don’t want is for it to cost more money.

Lots of others are buying non-smart phones, digital cameras, expensive new hobby equipment and for me that seems to defeat the point of this and I’m not here to encourage you to spend all your money.

What I Mean By “Analogue”

So, before anyone imagines me smashing my smartphone with a hammer, or ordering lots of new stuff, let me reassure you.

I’m not going off-grid and I’m going to use as much of what I already own as possible.

I’ll still be using my computer for work.
I’ll still watch my comfort shows.
I’ll still use the internet when I need it.

What I’m changing is how intentional I am about it.

Instead of automatically filling spare moments with scrolling, I’m swapping some of that time for things I can touch, hold and experience in the real world.

Things like knitting, colouring in, reading a physical book, junk journalling, painting, making seasonal decorations, or going for a walk without anything playing in my ears.

Small, simple, analogue activities.

Nothing fancy or costly.

Why This Change Matters

One of the things I’ve been noticing recently is how easy it is for the internet to shape what we think, like and believe.

It’s odd how the only day of the year we question what we see on the internet is April Fool’s Day. Yet, with the rise of AI and media’s love of ‘click bait’ headlines, what we see is often no longer the actual truth. There’s always an agenda behind what we are seeing and we need to question that more often.

Yet, if our brain is used to the quick bursts of information / entertainment that we’re seeing more regularly, it loses the ability to focus and perform critical thinking. We should be questioning everything and not living in echo chambers decided for us by a very select few people.

Choosing For Ourselves Again

It’s also affecting what we like, so much that we start liking things simply because they’re popular.

A book is everywhere online so we feel we should read it.
A particular format is trending so we feel we should create it.
A song is attached to everything, so we assume we should be using it too.

But the truth is, a lot of that just… isn’t me.

For example, I’ve realised many of the books that are popular online simply aren’t my taste, and that’s fine. I’d rather read something I genuinely enjoy than something I feel I should enjoy. It’s why I changed my reading goal for 2026 so early on.

The same goes for social media trends. A friend and I were talking this morning about how we need social media for our businesses, but that it’s currently exhausting and we just want to enjoy it again. So we’re going to be creating stuff we like and enjoy.

The News Cycle

There’s also the question of how much news we consume. Of course, staying informed matters but the reality is, the news cycle often focuses on the most dramatic and distressing stories, because that’s what grabs attention.

It can easily leave us feeling like the world is entirely bleak.

During the early days of Covid, I realised I needed boundaries around that. I limited myself to about fifteen minutes of news in the morning and the main update in the evening. It helped so much and I’m planning to return to something similar now.

Enough to stay informed, but not so much that it overwhelms everything else.

And alongside that, I want to make space for good news too stories of kindness, creativity and people doing good things in the world (it’s why the first thing I check on every morning in Happy Doggo). It really changes how I start the day.

A Different Kind of April

So this is my experiment. It’s not a digital detox nor a rejection of technology. It’s simply a gentle shift towards being more intentional about what I use and when I use it with lots more analogue moments, more real-world experiences, fewer automatic scrolls and less background noise.

I’ve already started trying a few bits here and there and the difference it’s already making is huge. There are times I even lose my phone somewhere in the house and I’m not bothered.

Join Me

If this idea resonates, you’re very welcome to join me.

Inside Project Sparkle, we’ll be exploring Analogue April together with simple prompts, gentle accountability and space to share what you’re noticing along the way.

Nothing complicated nor expensive, just small, meaningful moments away from the constant hum.

I would absolutely love it if you’d come along and have a go. Remember when you join Project Sparkle, you also get immediate access to all the other content too!

Choosing Analogue Moments in a Very Online World