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Ways I'm going more offline in 2026
- Kristin Park
- Jan 30
- 9 min read
Everywhere you look, the internet is blowing up with the idea that 2026 will be “the year we all go analog”. For every post you see supporting this movement (if you can call it that), you’ll find 10 posts blasting it and putting people down for attempting it. Well, to be fair, that might be the ratio of positive-to-negative posts you’ll find for just about any topic. Regardless, why are people talking so much about going offline in 2026? What’s currently happening that’s making us all want to call it quits on the internet? And why do some people feel so strongly that the “analog movement” is doomed to fail? Many others have weighed in on these musings, and many are much more articulate than I am as they ponder them. I’m not going to attempt to explain the movement in this post, since I don’t think I’d do it justice. Instead, I’ll just describe a few ways I’m making changes to my own life in an attempt to decrease my (addiction to) reliance on everything digital. Hopefully this will spark some initiative in you to try some of the same ideas or come up with your own analog habits!
Social Media
Let’s start with the big one. In January 2025, I decided to quit Facebook and Instagram cold turkey. The political climate was insufferable on Facebook (and has only gotten worse since), and I was tired of scrolling through absolute garbage on Instagram. We all know how drained we feel after 30+ minutes of scrolling mindlessly. I had a moment of clarity where I realized I didn’t want to waste my time/life watching strangers on the internet live theirs, nor did I want to be influenced into feeling a certain way or wanting a certain product or worrying about a certain problem that didn’t even exist until I saw it in a Reel.
Before I deleted or blocked accounts, I took a few days to download all of my data - this included photos, videos, notes, drafts, and messages I wanted to save. Everything now lives in folders on my desktop computer. Once that was done, I completely deleted my personal IG account. I kept the account for my business, but I made a post saying I was taking a break from social media to focus more on in-person/community relationships.
I didn’t completely delete my personal Facebook page because every now and then I like to list items on our local buy-nothing group, or I need to check hours/information for a local business that only has a Facebook page. So while my account technically still exists, I manually deleted my entire history from the platform - no more photos, videos, statuses, or bio on my page. I also deleted any social media apps from my phone and blocked the websites from my phone browser. I use an app called StayFree to set these limits on my phone.
At first, I still felt the need to scroll in some capacity, so I very quickly found myself scrolling on Pinterest and even scrolling through old photos in my daughter’s daycare app! Eventually, I also set time limits on these apps so they automatically closed after 3 minutes. Over time, and with constant reminders of my intentions, I was able to kick the scrolling habit almost entirely. I still have nights where I scroll through Substack for longer than I’d like, but I give myself grace with that because (a) I try to stick to the articles instead of Notes so at least I’m consuming more longform content and (b) if I set a hard no-scrolling rule I’m only dooming myself to fail.
So, one year into my breakup with social media, I’m feeling pretty good about it. I did have a relapse with Facebook around the holidays (mid-December 2025), but with my husband’s gentle reminders I was able to reset my focus and get off the platform again. I find that if there’s any news or trends that are worth knowing about, my friends will send me the posts/links anyway. If I want to know what my friends are up to, I find out way more about their day-to-day lives in group chats than I would on social media feeds. And if I want to network with people for my career or personal endeavors, good ol’ fashioned emails work just as well as “friending” people online. I may not have replaced social media with truly analog substitutes, but the options I use are much less addictive and toxic than the platforms I spent years of my life on.
To summarize:
Delete social media
Use apps like StayFree to set limits/restrictions
Replace with other ways to connect - message apps, emails, newsletters
Habits
Analog bag: I’ve seen writers on Substack talking about an “analog bag”, which is just a purse or backpack that contains various replacement tools to use in lieu of our phones for everything. For example, an analog bag might contain: a point-and-shoot camera, a notebook, a pocket calendar, a wristwatch, a calculator, an MP3 player, a crossword puzzle book… you get the idea. You might notice right away (as did I) that not all of these items are truly “analog”. A camera, MP3 player, and even a calculator are digital tools. The important thing, though, is that they’re *offline* tools. You can’t grab your camera to snap a photo, then get distracted by a notification on its screen. You can’t use your calculator to text your friends (unless you’re in the same room and you’re typing 58008 for them to read upside down, lol). The idea of an analog bag is to minimize the number of times we need/want to reach for our phones to help us with various tasks.
I’m currently working on building an analog bag of my own. I’ve got a cute little notebook and a very nice pen - the very nice pen is super important for making handwriting more fun and enjoyable. I try to carry a book with me to read when I have downtime; however I still use Libby a lot for audiobooks so I have trouble changing this habit. I have sticky notes and a small calendar that I got for free in the mail - I write appointments/reminders on the calendar, then enter them into our digital family calendar when I get home (we use TeamUp for that). I’m still searching for a good camera and/or music player, but I haven’t found one yet that seems to fit my needs. Overall I’d say I’m off to a good start with my analog replacements!
Organization: Speaking of our digital family calendar, I’ve actually been able to go *more* offline by investing in a tablet for our kitchen counter. We liked the idea of a “central command station” where we could all go to find information such as: everyone’s weekly schedule, meal plans for the week, chores to do that day, and communications from school/daycare. We didn’t want to buy something like the Skylight calendar that’s very popular because it’s quite expensive *and* has a subscription on top of the initial cost. So we settled for a cheap Galaxy tablet, installed a few organizational apps, and set it on the counter. We also uninstalled all of the unnecessary and distracting apps and set limits on what can be accessed. It helps to know that if I need any of that family-related information, I can go to the tablet to find all I need and I won’t get sucked into any distractions or rabbit-holes. I’ve started to create the habit of leaving my phone somewhere else in the house and heading to the kitchen whenever I need to plan or check something related to our family.
Screentime: Want to know where I leave my phone when I’m at home? I actually made a “phone box” for it! There are products you can buy that do the same thing (but for way more money), such as the Aro box, but again I’m not a fan of needing expensive subscriptions to build good habits. So I built my phone box out of an old tissue box and decorated it with some pretty fabric. The box lives next to a wooden console in the living room. Every day, I plug my phone and my watch into their chargers inside the box, and leave them there for as much time as possible. I turn the volume up on my phone in case I get a call, so essentially I’ve created a landline phone. Giving my phone its own home within my home allows me to be untethered to it and significantly decreases the number of times I mindlessly reach for it in my pocket.
In addition to giving it a home, I’ve also given my phone a bedtime. Now, I’ll be honest and say that sometimes (maybe about once or twice a week) my phone stays up late and doesn’t go to bed when it should. But most nights it goes in its little house around 9 PM and stays there until about 7:30/8:00 AM. I also have the phone set to “sleep” mode at 9 PM, so the screen greys out and 90% of the apps are locked. This is a very visual reminder that it’s time to put the phone away and maybe head to bed myself.
To summarize:
Decrease reliance on the phone as a multitool
Carry an “analog bag”
Use a central command station (tablet or laptop) that stays in one place
Give your phone a home in your home
Hobbies
Now that I'm setting myself up for healthier phone/internet habits, it's important to maintain offline hobbies to fill the time that would've otherwise been spent scrolling. It's not rewarding or enticing to break up with the internet only to stare at a wall or watch endless TV. So I've prioritized time for more analog hobbies; some that I've enjoyed for many years and others that are relatively new to me.
Sewing/Crocheting: I've been sewing since I was about 13 years old, making all sorts of things from drawstring backpacks to doll clothes to quilts. Lately I've restarted a quilt that I began in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. I've also recently learned how to crochet thanks to a little kit from The Woobles. It's fun to do these hobbies while listening to sports games or podcasts in the background.
Blogging: This is a relatively new hobby for me. It might sound counterintuitive that a blogging hobby helps me go more offline, but it really does! I do a lot of my writing using Google Docs offline, or write in the Notion app. Spending time writing my blog makes me less interested in posting on social media or consuming other people’s content.
Baking: I started baking sourdough about 2 years ago and have gotten pretty good at it. I don’t make anything super fancy - just your standard sandwich loaf - but we haven’t had store-bought bread in the house in almost 2 years! I’ve enjoyed sourdough so much that I’ve even hosted a few workshops for friends and family to teach them the hobby as well. One time I had a bunch of strangers come to my house to learn, thanks to the Time Bank I was a member of. That was interesting! I’m hoping to experiment more with this hobby in 2026.
Homemaking: I added this as a “hobby” because I don’t think it quite fits into the habits section. To me, homemaking includes decorating/rearranging rooms, finding treasures at thrift shops, cleaning/tidying, cooking, grocery shopping, and generally running a well-oiled household machine. This might sound like just normal life tasks to some people, but I truly enjoy taking it a step above what’s necessary and making an art out of it, if that makes sense. I get a lot of satisfaction in planning & executing daily tasks in ways that exceed expectations.
Reading: Listening to audiobooks absolutely counts as reading a book, which is great because I listen to a ton of audiobooks. This hobby motivates me to get out and run those errands that I’ve been putting off, since I can get through big chunks of the book in the car. I also love listening to audiobooks at the gym - two healthy hobbies at once! For several years now I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction or self-improvement books, but in 2026 I’d like to pick a few more fiction books. I’m thinking that will satisfy any urges for mindless/light consumption that my phone and scrolling might otherwise provide.
To summarize:
Physical hobbies give your hands something to do (sewing, baking)
Creative hobbies give you an outlet to express yourself (blogging, homemaking)
Passive hobbies give your brain that dopamine fix (reading)
Miscellaneous
There are a few other ways in which I’m reclaiming time from my phone and the internet this year. I don’t really have too much to say on each one, but they’re still worth listing here in case anyone else is inspired to do the same.
Writing recipes into my cookbook if I’ve made them more than once (or printing out the recipe)
Calling the restaurant to place an order instead of using an app
Setting hard time boundaries on when to open/read/respond to emails
Leaving my phone in the car (or at home!) when running an errand
Not using Maps as an ETA-estimator-only (I’m guilty of doing this sometimes on familiar routes, just to see what time I’ll arrive)
Listening to CDs or even talk radio in the car
Scheduling “Phone-Free Fridays” once a month: no phone from 8 AM to 8 PM
Going to the park to write or walk or just sit on a bench for 15 minutes
Playing more board games with the family
Adding any non-food items to a weekly shopping list, then finding them in a store instead of buying online
Letting my phone or laptop battery completely die and leaving the device dead for a little while before recharging
Drinking my coffee on my back porch while my phone’s inside
Calling people instead of texting
Being okay with being bored sometimes
We'll see how many of these habits stick around throughout the year and which ones will be adjusted or abandoned. There's no perfect end goal here; I'm simply making the intentional choice to be more present and less online. Because after all, real life is right in front of you.
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