INKS & PIXELS | AN ODE TO ANALOHUE CHOICES

I am a bit of an old soul. I love things that are vintage, aged, retro, all of those things. And I especially love things that help you slow down - and there’s just something about the digital age we live in  that does not provide that for me. There's a certain magic in reverting to simpler, dated practices, a gentle escape from the constant buzz of notifications that threaten to pull me into the vortex.

Over the past few weeks I found myself wanting to revert to said simpler, dated practices to help stay off of my phone. I wouldn’t say I’m “addicted” to social media, but the struggle to resist its grasp is real. Opening my phone with a purpose, only to find myself lost in the depths of my Instagram feed minutes later became an all too familiar scenario.

I wanted to break this pattern. I wanted to have my phone for simply one purpose - connectivity, and nothing more. My business is online so I have to be active on my social media, but that does not mean I have to be distracted by it.

Here are the few steps ive been taking to help me use my phone less.

Maybe you could try them out too :) 

The first few changes came with how my phone itself is set up. I deleted all my morning alarms and invested in a physical alarm clock. I had been waiting to purchase this exact design for months, but it was way too expensive. Eventually I kind of forgot I even wanted to get myself one. But as my luck would have it, just as I decided to make these simple lifestyle changes, this alarm clock went on Amazon for LITERALLY 60% off??? It felt like a sign.

Now, this is what wakes me up in the morning, and I have pretty much rid myself of hitting the snooze button, or scrolling on Instagram first thing in the morning. But, being completely honest, even though this does wake me up at 6 am, without drawing me in like my phone does, I still struggle to begin my day early. But that’s a topic for another day. Baby steps.

I also started to wear this vintage wrist watch which I look at for the time instaead of my phone. Frankly, ive been reading time digitally for the last 15 years of my life so its a bit of a re-learning curve, but having this wrist watch that isn’t a smart watch or even digital helps me “look” at the time more mindfully. If I were to check the time on my phone, I would get distracted by the notifications and sounds and the colours and everything else. 

I’m sure you’ve heard of the “quiet mode” on Instagram, that’s another change ive adopted recently.  I scheduled periods of respite from notifications, allowing me to navigate through my day without being incessantly pulled into the digital realm. I have enabled that on all my accounts from 12 am to 9 am till I start work, and from 6 pm when I get off of work till 12 am the next day. 

Taking it a step further, I stripped down my phone's user interface to a minimalist design with the help of (yet another, whoops) app called Minimalist Phone. Icons, wallpapers, and flashy distractions were replaced with a simple, name-based layout. The deliberate lack of visual noise became a powerful barrier against mindless scrolling. Now, if I need to look for an app, I search for its name, not its “visually appealing” icon. This does not affect how the app itself works, but it does create an effective barrier to aid my attention.

My brain is constantly spewing out ideas, thoughts, worries, song lyrics, and tv show dialogues. My process was to use the notes app on my phone as a brain dump for these things that came to my mind, and then transfer the ideas over to my Notion to refine them further. But I realised something - I would almost always get involuntarily distracted by other apps while trying to make note of my ideas. I never really got to think so deeply about the ideas that came to my head, other than in my head. 

I pondered over this for a few days, until I came across a video on YouTube by ParkNotes. That video was about something called a pocket notebook. Its silly, it felt like a Eureka! moment. I immediately stifled through my large stack of notebooks to search for a small a6 sized buddy I could carry around with me everywhere. And boy, what a wave of change it’s been. 

I carry this thing with me literally everywhere. I barely take notes on phone now, or even look at it when I get an idea, except for when I need to take note of a web link. Some of my best ideas have come out of this little pocket book in the past week.

I thought of some reels and content I could make for Instagram, some shot ideas for YouTube, I made notes about how I want to edit pictures for my Instagram, organisation I need to get to at home, things I need to buy, measurements, books, gift ideas for family, chores around the house, important events coming up, my thoughts throughout the day, literally everything.

This notebook became a catalyst for newfound clarity and appreciation of my thoughts. Ideas flowed effortlessly, untouched by the allure of other apps. It almost feels surreal - how can a little teeny tiny notebook bring out this side of me?

Everything you read going forward is an idea that originated from the pages of this book.

Including this very blog.

One of those ideas was  to give this pocket notebook a little companion - which is of course, the pocket sketchbook. This sketchbook is handmade by my friend @colouritlisa, and it is literally my new best friend. Like the pocket book, I carry it around with me everywhere. 

This books’s use is, however, slightly different than the pocket notebook. I apply to this book something called the “15 minute rule”. Ive given myself this ongoing assignment that everyday, for at least 15 minutes I will sit with this sketchbook and draw whatever comes to mind.

A dedicated fraction of my day to unbridled creativity — passing no judgements, no doubts on quality with no pressure on quantity. Just 15 minutes a day. This ritual not only honed my artistic skills but became a therapeutic exercise, offering moments of reflection and inspiration.

I even took it out with me to a date with my mum and sketched her while we waited for our snacks to arrive.  

This book has helped me come up with ideas for future paintings, practice daily drawing, reflect on things that moved and inspired me through the day. One of those sketches actually turned into a painting for the big(ger) sketchbook. I randomly drew a picnic basket, and it really spoke to me. So, I turned that doodle into a sketchbook spread. It might just be my favourite yet???

The pocket notebook also nudged me to look into getting a small digicam I could carry around with me everywhere. If you know me, you know I love taking pictures. I take pictures of everything. Literally everything. i love capturing moments, people, my loved ones, things that look pretty, my everyday life. Im a big sucker for it all. But with that passion comes pulling out my phone while im out and about to take a photo and getting distracted by the screen. I wish I could tell you I had the strength and will power to not look at those, or not have FOMO anymore, or just. not. check. things.  I do try. But it feels like an inevitable trap. 

The desire to capture fleeting moments without succumbing to this digital conundrum felt like a Venn diagram with no overlapping areas. Until I had my second eureka moment - a digicam. On a random Saturday I thought of putting a humble message in my apartment group asking if anyone had one of these to sell or give away. After looking at their prices online I ws about to get sulky, but I thought hey, let’s give it a shot.

2 hours later, I had a digicam in my hands. And I paid nothing for it. It literally felt unreal.

I am so grateful to have this with me now. It makes me really appreciate single-use devices a lot more. This device is only meant for capturing moments. And provides me with a sense of delayed gratification, since I have to wait to transfer the images, upload them, and then do what I wish with them - share them on social media, or with my friends and family, or just admire them on my own. 

some pictures taken on the digicam

But there’s that word here - delayed gratification. Ive been learning a lot about that lately. In today’s world everything has become so instant and convenient that we’ve lost touch of what life is really

about - slowing down. We have access to the entire world at the tip of our fingers and we forget that our shiny rectangles are not a part of us, but merely a tool. What are we without our phones? Anxious bodies worrying about their next post? About that reply? About taking that picture? 

Hopefully, the depths of social media will eventually awaken the collective consciousness to the importance of slowing down and reinforce the art of patience in a world obsessed with instantaneity… 

but until then, I hope this blog does that for you. 

lots of love,

ness