I've had an alarm clock for years, and I recommend it to everyone. I turn off my phone in the evening and only turn it on after 9-10 a.m. when I start working. My bedroom is a technology-free zone, except for my Kindle and alarm clock.
I also do digital detox days, and I would love to do them more! When I know I'm home all day, I keep my phone off all day, and it is the most blissful day. If I want to watch something, I use my laptop.
I'm also trying to block WhatsApp during the day and unblock it for one hour at lunchtime. This is a new experiment, as I realized that already working with a laptop all day and multitasking with my phone overwhelms and exhausts me even more by the end of the day. Instagram is already blocked, and I use it once a week unless I'm on holiday like now.
Anyway, as you can read, I'm trying a lot of things because, for many years, I've had a heightened awareness of what the phone does to my mental and emotional well-being and destroys my creativity. I wrote a post about it a couple of years ago.
I'm actually working on an ebook at the moment on my tools for working more focused and not allowing distractions to take over. Like a little toolkit :)
Relate to this 💯. I picked up a second hand digital camera and camcorder and it’s been so nice to not be on my phone when filming and getting distracted
The greatest gift I ever gave myself was charging my phone outside of the bedroom back in 2021. I use my Hue lights as al alarm in combination with my Fitbit.
I also make myself answer the question "am i ready to engage with the phone?" before I pick it up in the morning. Because, like you said, once I pick it up....I don't separate from it until I go to bed.
Wow, I love the idea of asking the question "am i ready to engage with the phone?". These kinds of questions or mantras can be helpful. I remember reading about one (in the context of switching off from work) where you literally say out loud: "I am done with my work now" before closing your laptop. So powerful. Going to adopt this!
I highly recommend getting the film camera, or at least a little digital camera. I bought the little point and shoot film camera that I had when I was jn high school from ebay, and it’s so fun. Then I bought a Nikon ZFC (digital) because it has all the manual controls like the one my dad had back in the 80s, and developing film can be expensive. ALL THAT to say having any sort of camera again that is NOT your phone is so fun! Do it!
Taking this as my final sign 😌 I will get a film camera!!! I just adore the look of film photos and seems like such a great hobby. Thanks for the push!
An important topic and one I intend to write on soon, after I've finished what I want to say about neurodivergence. I have similar thoughts about my phone - and like you, have it next to my bed at night. Why do we do this to ourselves? Oh yeah, that little thing called convenience (which has actually turned out to be more of a ball and chain than I thought 🤷🏼♀️).
Woah, I resonated with so much of this. This summer i started using an old-fashioned alarm clock and not starting my day with my phone has proven very helpful, but I'll definitely be implementing some of your other suggestions! Exciting!
Everything you wrote spoke to my SOUL. I have been struggling so much with exactly this. Loved the whole piece - also highly recommend film cameras, I love mine! I also recently hosted a birthday bar crawl for myself and bought some disposable camera for everyone to pass around. I didn’t see any phones all night :)
Yesss I am diving into film camera research right now - may I ask which one you have? 📸 That is such a lovely idea for your birthday too - I bet those photos turned out awesome!
I have a Yashica T4 (cute, tiny, trendy) and a Nikon N6006 (bigger camera, crisp photos)! I love both for different reasons but am also new to film photography so still exploring both cameras. :)
Relate to this so strongly. I read recently that phone addiction is dulling our real life experiences too, our brain releasing less seratonin for real life marvels. I felt the impact of this on a trip to New Zealand recently and it was scary - feeling the need to read for my phone while in Milford Sound was WILD. Was the impetus I needed to delete Instagram from my phone but I will probably need to put stronger boundaries in place soon too
Oh wow, that is crazy 😳 I can totally relate to it though. Nothing worse than being on holidays and feeling like things aren’t as “good” as they looked online. It’s taken all the marvel out of travel especially :/
I will move mountains between my 2 kids and the idea of them owning a phone for as long as possible before I got distracted by the substack app feed from my phone.
Gah! Thank you for this. Honestly, it gives me the heebie jeebies too. One of the reasons I quit IG was because of that unconscious reopening of the app only seconds after closing it. That behaviour has gotten better, but I still do it with other apps, just not as much. I’m mostly freaked out by what my 6mo daughter makes of these things. We’re making a conscious effort to not be on it as much as we can, when we’re with her (reading this whilst feeding her though 🫠) or to hold it out if her sightline if we are, but even still, we’re only human and it happens. Does she think they’re an actual body part?! An extension of our hands? She’s fascinated by our phones, whatever the case. I also keep thinking, when my partner and I are in the same room and both on our phones, that we are unconsciously choosing to be in the world we access via them, rather than with each other, and that makes me sad. But I also know it’s the same for so, so many couples/friends/families. Something has got to give, indeed. Right. Off my phone and time to be present! Thanks for the nudge 🙏🏻
I cannot imagine how difficult this is to navigate with young children, really don’t envy that challenge 🫣 It’s so hard to create boundaries. I’m not a zealot and believe technology should have a place in our lives, but it’s still tough. I really resonate with what you said about being on your phone next to your partner who is also on their phone - I get the *exact* same icky feeling when that happens. Thanks for reading Alana! 🩷
This was a great read, and unfortunately so relatable.
Luckily, I don't have to wake up with an alarm clock, so I keep my phone out of the bedroom at night and in the mornings—which was a hard habit to squash, but now it's second nature. It gives me hope that I could create some more habits that lessen the time I waste on my phone.
I love the ideas you share, Caoilainn. Now I'm dreaming of owning a film camera 🥹
I am so envious you don’t rely on an alarm to wake up! Wish I had a body clock like that… but I am buying an alarm clock asap! Thank you for reading and super happy the post resonated with you 🩷
I've had an alarm clock for years, and I recommend it to everyone. I turn off my phone in the evening and only turn it on after 9-10 a.m. when I start working. My bedroom is a technology-free zone, except for my Kindle and alarm clock.
I also do digital detox days, and I would love to do them more! When I know I'm home all day, I keep my phone off all day, and it is the most blissful day. If I want to watch something, I use my laptop.
I'm also trying to block WhatsApp during the day and unblock it for one hour at lunchtime. This is a new experiment, as I realized that already working with a laptop all day and multitasking with my phone overwhelms and exhausts me even more by the end of the day. Instagram is already blocked, and I use it once a week unless I'm on holiday like now.
Anyway, as you can read, I'm trying a lot of things because, for many years, I've had a heightened awareness of what the phone does to my mental and emotional well-being and destroys my creativity. I wrote a post about it a couple of years ago.
https://tugbaavci.substack.com/p/creativity-and-all-things-boredom
I may write a more updated version soon.
I'm actually working on an ebook at the moment on my tools for working more focused and not allowing distractions to take over. Like a little toolkit :)
Relate to this 💯. I picked up a second hand digital camera and camcorder and it’s been so nice to not be on my phone when filming and getting distracted
Oh wow, a camcorder is so nostalgic 🥹 We had boxes and boxes of “home movies”. I have to get myself one!
I never had one so it’s been a massive novelty hahah. I picked it up at a flea market for £4/$7.
Personally, I *do* bring my Tangle Teaser everywhere with me 💁🏼♀️
Great article Caoilainn!
The greatest gift I ever gave myself was charging my phone outside of the bedroom back in 2021. I use my Hue lights as al alarm in combination with my Fitbit.
I also make myself answer the question "am i ready to engage with the phone?" before I pick it up in the morning. Because, like you said, once I pick it up....I don't separate from it until I go to bed.
Wow, I love the idea of asking the question "am i ready to engage with the phone?". These kinds of questions or mantras can be helpful. I remember reading about one (in the context of switching off from work) where you literally say out loud: "I am done with my work now" before closing your laptop. So powerful. Going to adopt this!
I highly recommend getting the film camera, or at least a little digital camera. I bought the little point and shoot film camera that I had when I was jn high school from ebay, and it’s so fun. Then I bought a Nikon ZFC (digital) because it has all the manual controls like the one my dad had back in the 80s, and developing film can be expensive. ALL THAT to say having any sort of camera again that is NOT your phone is so fun! Do it!
Taking this as my final sign 😌 I will get a film camera!!! I just adore the look of film photos and seems like such a great hobby. Thanks for the push!
This is from earlier this year, using my little point and shoot I got on eBay. I take it with me when I got out, and when I remember I take some snaps with it: https://sethw.xyz/blog/2024/03/06/some-black-and-white-photographs/
Awesome photos. There is just something so special about the look of film :) like the static scratch of playing a record, it just has such character
An important topic and one I intend to write on soon, after I've finished what I want to say about neurodivergence. I have similar thoughts about my phone - and like you, have it next to my bed at night. Why do we do this to ourselves? Oh yeah, that little thing called convenience (which has actually turned out to be more of a ball and chain than I thought 🤷🏼♀️).
My experience is that distraction often masquerades as convenience. Have you read Digital Minimalism?
I haven't yet, but I want to! I have a stack of other books to get through first :)
Woah, I resonated with so much of this. This summer i started using an old-fashioned alarm clock and not starting my day with my phone has proven very helpful, but I'll definitely be implementing some of your other suggestions! Exciting!
Thats awesome Jessie 🙌
Everything you wrote spoke to my SOUL. I have been struggling so much with exactly this. Loved the whole piece - also highly recommend film cameras, I love mine! I also recently hosted a birthday bar crawl for myself and bought some disposable camera for everyone to pass around. I didn’t see any phones all night :)
Yesss I am diving into film camera research right now - may I ask which one you have? 📸 That is such a lovely idea for your birthday too - I bet those photos turned out awesome!
I have a Yashica T4 (cute, tiny, trendy) and a Nikon N6006 (bigger camera, crisp photos)! I love both for different reasons but am also new to film photography so still exploring both cameras. :)
Not me blasting the Cocteau Twins on my commute today
Hahaha, relatable 💗
Relate to this so strongly. I read recently that phone addiction is dulling our real life experiences too, our brain releasing less seratonin for real life marvels. I felt the impact of this on a trip to New Zealand recently and it was scary - feeling the need to read for my phone while in Milford Sound was WILD. Was the impetus I needed to delete Instagram from my phone but I will probably need to put stronger boundaries in place soon too
Oh wow, that is crazy 😳 I can totally relate to it though. Nothing worse than being on holidays and feeling like things aren’t as “good” as they looked online. It’s taken all the marvel out of travel especially :/
This is SO resonant.
I will move mountains between my 2 kids and the idea of them owning a phone for as long as possible before I got distracted by the substack app feed from my phone.
I can’t fathom the task of trying to protect children from phones and social media. It’s really not easy for parents these days :(
Thanks for mentioning ‘Getting Better’ 🙂
Gah! Thank you for this. Honestly, it gives me the heebie jeebies too. One of the reasons I quit IG was because of that unconscious reopening of the app only seconds after closing it. That behaviour has gotten better, but I still do it with other apps, just not as much. I’m mostly freaked out by what my 6mo daughter makes of these things. We’re making a conscious effort to not be on it as much as we can, when we’re with her (reading this whilst feeding her though 🫠) or to hold it out if her sightline if we are, but even still, we’re only human and it happens. Does she think they’re an actual body part?! An extension of our hands? She’s fascinated by our phones, whatever the case. I also keep thinking, when my partner and I are in the same room and both on our phones, that we are unconsciously choosing to be in the world we access via them, rather than with each other, and that makes me sad. But I also know it’s the same for so, so many couples/friends/families. Something has got to give, indeed. Right. Off my phone and time to be present! Thanks for the nudge 🙏🏻
I cannot imagine how difficult this is to navigate with young children, really don’t envy that challenge 🫣 It’s so hard to create boundaries. I’m not a zealot and believe technology should have a place in our lives, but it’s still tough. I really resonate with what you said about being on your phone next to your partner who is also on their phone - I get the *exact* same icky feeling when that happens. Thanks for reading Alana! 🩷
This was a great read, and unfortunately so relatable.
Luckily, I don't have to wake up with an alarm clock, so I keep my phone out of the bedroom at night and in the mornings—which was a hard habit to squash, but now it's second nature. It gives me hope that I could create some more habits that lessen the time I waste on my phone.
I love the ideas you share, Caoilainn. Now I'm dreaming of owning a film camera 🥹
I am so envious you don’t rely on an alarm to wake up! Wish I had a body clock like that… but I am buying an alarm clock asap! Thank you for reading and super happy the post resonated with you 🩷
I have been feeling this in my sooooul lately.