10 Things To Hold Instead of Your Phone
The average American adult spends somewhere around two and a half hours a day on social media.
Two and a half hours.
That's more than 17 hours a week. About 75 hours a month. More than 900 hours a year. If you do a bit more math, that's 38 entire 24 hour days every year. Every. Year.
Now, I'm not going to tell you to delete Instagram, but it got me wondering...
What else could you hold in your hand for 900 hours?
Turns out, a lot.
Here are 10 things worth holding instead of your phone.
(1) A book. At a pretty normal reading pace, even assuming only 40 pages an hour, you could finish a book every couple days. To be generous, at least a book a week.
(2) A guitar. Two and a half hours of practice every day becomes 912 hours in a year. Forget mastery, you'd be giving Stevie Ray Vaughn a run for his money.
(3) A pencil. One sketch a day becomes 365 drawings a year. Maybe even a few hundred journal entries, too.
(4) A wooden spoon. Even reclaiming one hour of that time gives you enough room to make dinner from scratch. Do that a few nights a week and suddenly people will be saying "yes chef" to ya.
(5) A garden shovel. Imagine what 900 hours could do to a piece of dirt. You could grow flowers, trees, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, maybe enough food to actually feed your family. Turn that swiping thumb into a green thumb.
(6) Someone else's hand. How about daily walks with your kid, or holding your spouse's hand, or simply sitting with someone you love. Quality time anyone?
(7) A hammer. 17 hours a week is enough time to fix an unbelievable amount of stuff. Repair the chair, build the shelf, or finally figure out what the heck is wrong with that cabinet door.
(8) A paintbrush. One painting a week becomes 52 paintings in a year. They might not all be a masterpiece, but that's almost the point. Imagine how much better painting #52 would be than painting #1.
(9) A leash. A 30-minute walk every day is 182.5 hours of walking a year. That's about 7 and a half full days outside, and around 550 miles a year.
(10) Nothing.
Analog Sunday isn't really about squeezing more productivity out of your day, just reclaiming the life we freely give away.
Food For Thought
What you holding instead of your phone this week?
You do not need a digital detox.
You just need a day (a week).
Get a life,
Analog Sunday
The Rhythm
Every Analog Sunday is built around five simple practices:
Eat something made with care.
Play without keeping score.
Make something with your hands.
Read something that expands your mind.
Rest without feeling guilty.