How to Live a More Analog Life

Episode 35: Today, I talk all about how to live a more analog life, and why so many of us are craving it right now. With everything becoming faster, smarter, and more automated, I’ve been feeling this pull to slow down, be more present, and actually engage with my day-to-day life in a more intentional way. If you’ve been feeling this pull too, check out this episode to learn tangible ways you can make your life a little less digital and get back in touch with physical hobbies and analog moments.

🔗 Links mentioned:

• Monthly Snail Mail Clubs: Ottie’s House and Blooms Club
• Needlepoint Kits from Craft Club
• Analog Bag

✨ New episodes every Wednesday at 7AM EST!

🌸 For more wellness, joyful living, and cozy hobbies, and navigating life in my 30s, find me on Instagram @heykaylabowen

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. Today we are talking all about how to live a more analog life. I've been hearing all over the internet, I feel like how to live more analog life, how to get offline, be more analog, all of these things. And if you have no idea what analog even means, don't worry, we're going to get into it and why it's important and why it seems to be the latest trend. But before we do, I want to remind you that if you've been enjoying this podcast, please share a favorite episode or maybe this episode in your Instagram story so that people can learn about the podcast and tune in. It really helps us grow. And also make sure to click subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Let's dive in. Welcome to where the woo meets the work. I'm your host, Kayla. It's time to get out of your head, into your soul, and do the work that lights you up so you can align with your highest self and actually create the life you've been dreaming about. I'm gonna be real with you guys. A couple of months ago I had never heard the term analog. I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up because I kept seeing it on Instagram on like carousel posts and reels, and I understood from the context what they were getting at, but I didn't really know what it meant. So if you also don't know what analog means, it basically just means non-digital or old school technology. So think of things like a clock, an old school clock that has hands that physically move, or vinyl records, or VHS tapes, basically anything technology related that was from the past compared to how everything is digital today. So there's been a huge movement, it seems like, for people, at least in the corners of the internet that I am looking at, moving in this direction of wanting a more analog life, wanting a simpler, slower, non-hustle culture pace of life, me included. And maybe if you're listening to this episode, you feel the same way. And I think the reason for wanting a slower, more engaged, simple life is for a number of reasons. I mean, like who kind of wouldn't want that? But I feel like it's a normal response to the ever-increasing advance of automation that we are experiencing with AI and smart technology, which, you know, there are benefits to those things, and I definitely benefit from smart technology. I love technology, but at the same time, I just feel like with technology going so quickly and making things faster and easier all of the time, I feel like it has been kind of taking some of the joy out of life, if that makes sense. Back in the day before we had technology and smartphones and the internet and all of these things, or at least fast speed internet, internet on our phones wherever we go, because I wasn't around for that long before using the internet a lot. But I do think I can remember a childhood where I was not using the internet all the time. And when I was a kid, I actually used dial-up. Like I had to go, I remember, so my mom and I did not have internet at our house, but I always went to my grandparents' house after school because they were home and they would watch me until my mom got off of work. And so I would go on the internet and it was dial-up. So I couldn't be on there for that long because my grandparents would be expecting phone calls and things like that. And that kind of made using the internet more of a special thing. I used it with intention instead of just always having it at my fingertips. And because of that, I also did so many other things besides using the internet. So I feel like this drive to live a more analog life where we focus more on the old things and incorporating them into our current life. And that doesn't mean that we just disregard smart technology or AI or anything like that, because I do use Chat GPT and I'm probably not going to stop because it is useful for specific tasks. But at the same time, I think that it's a great thing to notice the treasures of the past and to incorporate them into our life now. I think it is a rebellion against hustle culture and kind of, you know, the capitalist society that we live in. And I don't want to get political. I'm not against capitalism. I think we need capitalism to work in this world. And sorry if that offends you, but that's just where I'm at. But I do think that having hobbies and ways of living that can kind of bring us back to our roots and to the old ways can be a good thing. I think it can help us live a more engaging, simple, slower life. And ultimately, I think these analog hobbies or ways of living can just help us be more mindful of our everyday. I know personally that sometimes I spend a good amount of my time not being very mindful. So that is basically the point of this episode is to help us be more mindful by living a more analog life and being more intentional with our downtime. So I wrote a list of some ways that you can live a more analog life. Some of them I am participating in and some of them I am not, but I hope it's a list where it can get your creative juices flowing and hopefully you take something away from this. Okay, so the first way that you can live a more analog life, which I am really excited about to share because I just think it's so cute and whimsical, is to send snail mail to people you love. Or it could even be to strangers, but for me personally, if I'm gonna put that much effort into something like handwriting something, I am going to be sending it to people I love. So if you don't know what snail mail is, it is just the old school way of handwriting an actual letter or a card and sending it to someone, and then maybe they will send you something back. Maybe they won't, and that's okay too. That kind of stops the snail mail, but you can just keep sending them things, or you can send things to other people. All you have to do is literally just get a piece of paper, a pen, and write a letter to someone. It does not have to be fancy. You could make it fancy, you could get some cute stationery from the store, you could even go to like Dollar Tree, maybe they have some, or get stationery online, whatever, but you don't need to make it more complicated than it needs to be. It's just a piece of paper and writing something nice to someone and sending it to them. Something that made me think of this was I was scrolling Instagram two days ago, and then I got this targeted ad towards me, which was very spot on because I clicked it and I ended up following them, but it was this Instagram account called Odie's House, and it's basically a monthly snail mail that says it's to bring coziness and whimsy to your life. Every month they are going to send you a letter with goodies that follow the story of Odie, I hope I'm saying it right, the bear, and what his life is like after moving from the city to a little house in the woods. I just think that is so cute. I love that I was sponsored this because I'm like, hmm, maybe I will sign up for a little monthly snail mail package to see this fictional bear living his life and making new friends in the woods. That sounds so whimsical. So definitely follow their Instagram. This is also, by the way, nothing I share in this episode is sponsored at all. None of these people or brands that I mention know who I am. But this was sponsored to me and I actually really liked it. And this account, everything is handmade by just a mother-daughter team, which I think is amazing and is something that I could definitely get behind supporting. So maybe that's something you want to check out. I also saw this other one. It's called Bloom's Club, which is a monthly snail mail service where they help you start journaling, which is something I'm interested in because I really want to spend more time journaling, but sometimes I just don't even know what I want to write about besides just venting. And I don't want my journaling to just become a bitch fest. So I will link them in the show notes as well. But yeah, I just want to share that with you guys because I thought, man, what a great idea to create these monthly snail mails because maybe you don't have the courage or the time or even the desire to send snail mail to someone else. But what about receiving it? Receiving snail mail sounds really fun. Another thing you can do to live a more analog life is to have a paper planner instead of or in addition to a digital calendar. So I do both, which I've talked about on this podcast before, but I've really enjoyed having a paper planner, which is kind of just a daily weekly planner for me that I can have in addition to using Google Calendar. And I like it because there's just something about putting pen to paper and seeing in front of me that I can pull out at any time what I have going on for the day. Kind of related to this, another tip I have for a more analog life is to have a paper to-do list instead of just using your notes app and your phone. I understand that just using paper for a to-do list that you're going to throw away is not super environmentally friendly. So maybe use the back of a piece of paper you've already used that you're not going to keep, or something that I have is I actually got this, I don't know what it's made of, like porcelain or ceramic to-do list thing. I got it at a bookstore, so I'm sorry I actually cannot link this product, but basically it's this little to-do list that you can just fill out over and over again with a dry erase marker, and then it just wipes off. So that's what I've been using for a to-do list when I want something physically in front of me instead of using my phone, and it's been going well. Another thing I am going to be doing to live a more analog life is trying to use more of my cookbooks for recipes instead of just Pinterest. Don't get me wrong, I love Pinterest. Pinterest is amazing. It's my favorite social media app because it's like media but without the social part, which is awesome. And no one expects anything of you on Pinterest, and you can just look and look for days. And it also really hits that dopamine hit for me, kind of like when you feel that of shopping, you know, and you just get to look at things. But on Pinterest, I'm not buying anything, hopefully, just saving things to my different boards, and so that really hits that dopamine hit. But, anyways, I want to be using my cookbooks more because I have a lot of cookbooks. I actually have a ton of cookbooks from my different eras, I feel like, because sometimes when you start to do something new, people, well, mostly my mom gets me cookbooks for that thing, which is very sweet. When I went through my vegetarian era, she got me a ton of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. And then when I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto's and wanted to adopt more of a paleo diet, she got me a ton of Hashimoto's and gut-friendly cookbooks. So I really want to look through those because those cookbooks are kind of specifically designed for the food that I need to be eating, anyways. So I don't know. I feel like I just go to Pinterest because it's there, because it's convenient and it's so easy because it's on my phone, which, you know, is always attached to me. So I think what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna pull out one of my cookbooks from my pantry, because that's where I keep all of them. Maybe put it on my kitchen counter so that way I can see it and am reminded that I should look in there the next time that I want to make a recipe. And another thing with that is actually it would be cool to get one of those cookbook stands or cookbook holders, and then I could display my like a cookbook very nicely. That could be a great way to do that too, where I'm reminded about it. And of course, there is nothing wrong with using the internet or looking up recipes online, but I think a big part of living more analog is that when we go to the internet and use technology for everything whenever we feel any desire at all, is that sometimes it'll start with a good intention. Like how many times have you picked up your phone or your iPad to look for a recipe or something else, maybe something totally unrelated. But then after you find that thing, or maybe even before you find that thing, you are getting distracted by all of the different apps on your phone or iPad. So that's kind of the point of this is instead of going on to Pinterest when I need to find a recipe, if I look at my cookbook, I'm going to be very mindful of what I'm doing. I'm going to be very absorbed in that activity. And it's going to be way harder for me to get distracted because all I have in front of me is the cookbook and not a phone that is screaming at me with all of these different apps and notifications going off all of the time. Related to the cookbook tip, another thing you can do to live a more analog life is to make a meal from scratch, or maybe even just a food item from scratch. It's so easy to use our microwave to heat up a frozen dinner, or maybe like frozen food from Trader Joe's, or maybe leftovers, which, you know, microwave is not analog. But instead, what if we made a meal from scratch and actually poured our heart and love and attention and time into making a meal that can feed us and feed our loved ones and, you know, actually nourish us, but also I think kind of nourish our minds at the same time. Cooking is something that I definitely want to be doing more of. And I think it is such a good analog hobby or thing to do in your life. But I do think making an entire meal from scratch might be a lot for a lot of people. So maybe just make one food item from scratch. Maybe it could be cookies or muffins or something that you love or that you've been wanting to try, or something maybe that you want to share with some people, because maybe a lot of us don't want a whole tray of cookies or muffins all for ourselves. It's something you can do for other people too. Next up is reading magazines instead of blogs. Now, I don't even know how many people read blogs anymore. I do actually still read blogs, mostly just one blog in particular. I love reading articles on theeverygirl.com. I've read their stuff forever and I will keep reading it. But besides that, like I don't know, are people still reading blogs? I've heard that they kind of don't. But either way, whether or not you do, pick up a magazine. I remember when I was young and my mom and I would go to Barnes and Noble, and she would sit in the magazine section and read magazines, and I would look all around the store and read books. It was such a nostalgic time. And I also used to get magazines, which I don't anymore. I was, when I was a teenager, I was subscribed to Cosmo Girl and Teen Vogue. So early to mid-2000 vibes, if you know, you know. And it was so fun. I really looked forward to getting my magazine every month, filling out my horoscope and the quizzes, you know, oh, so good. But I haven't had a magazine in a long time. I actually did have a subscription to Magnolia for a couple of years, which my mom got me for my birthday. But then I feel like the magazines started to pile up and I didn't really have time to read them. But I also want to point out that I probably did have time to read them. I was just spending time in other ways, like scrolling my phone or watching endless amounts of TV. So maybe instead of doing those things, we could pick up a magazine the next time that we feel the urge to scroll. Another way to live a more analog life is to watch old movies or read old classic books. My husband is a huge movie buff, and he's actually compiling a list of classic movies that he thinks that I should have seen, which, if you don't know, I am very not cultured when it comes to cinema and also when it comes to classic literature. So those are two things I could definitely get better about. And living a more analog lifestyle would definitely help with this. I actually just watched, he showed me a movie called His Girl Friday the other day, which is an old 1940s screwball comedy. To be honest, I it was not for me. I did not love it. It was fine. Um, and now I'm kind of like, maybe I just don't like screwball comedies. Also, for reference, this movie was all black and white, it was a different aspect ratio. So yeah, we were definitely going analog there. But I'm not going to write off all old movies just because that one was not my cup of tea. I do like some old movies, like one of my favorite old movies is Singing in the Rain. It's a masterpiece, it's a musical. Um, if you don't like musicals, I say that you should watch this anyways because it is freaking amazing. But yeah, just having a movie night where you watch old movies instead of the latest Avenger Marvel movie or some movie that they dump on Netflix or Hallmark movie that is like basically the same iteration of the same movie a hundred million times. I mean, no shade. I do like a Hallmark movie at Christmas time, but all I'm saying is that there are so many good treasures that are just in the past that are still there because they are immortalized by film and in book form. So definitely dig them up. And if you don't know where to start, you could use the internet for this, actually, is a great use of it. You could just Google 100 best films in American cinema or maybe like the best 100 classic novels, something like that. Okay, something else you can do is to limit your social media apps. And I don't mean just limiting the amount of time that you spend on your apps, which is kind of a given, but I mean more only having certain apps on your phone. So for instance, I only use Instagram and Pinterest, basically, for my social media. I do use Facebook, just the Facebook groups specifically sometimes for my photography work, but I don't use the app besides that. I'm not scrolling, I'm not checking people's statuses, I'm not posting statuses, I literally just don't give a shit about Facebook. Also think it's a super negative place, and I really think everyone would be better off without it. But my point is that to just be discerning with what social media apps you are engaging with, which ones you even have on your phone, and just limit the total number that you have. So maybe when it comes to social media, just commit to having two social media apps. Maybe for you that would be Instagram and TikTok or whatever, Snapchat. Do people still use Snapchat? I don't know. I used it for like two seconds when I graduated high school and it never went back. And speaking of using your phone, instead of using your phone as an alarm clock to wake you up, get a physical alarm clock. That is another way that we can go analog. And there are so many reasons for this. First of all, a physical alarm clock can look really nice, it can look really aesthetic in your home, and then you can also just look over at it and see the time without checking your phone. And I feel like that is the biggest reason for having a physical alarm clock, is because there are so many excuses to be on your phone longer than you need to be. If you do use your phone as your alarm clock, then it's going to be harder to put your phone away before going to bed. You're going to be more likely to scroll right before sleep, in bed, and then also when you wake up because it's your alarm clock to scroll right when you wake up, too. And then maybe let's say you're in your room and you're like, oh, what time is it? You check your phone just for the time, but then you open it and you start looking at apps, or maybe you didn't even want to open it, but you see a text message. Then you're like, okay, I have to respond. And then 30 minutes later, you are scrolling on Instagram. So I just think having a physical alarm clock can solve these problems and help you live a more analog life. And that brings me to kind of a similar thing with a watch. Just like a physical clock you would have, a more analog way of going about having a watch is you could have a classic wristwatch instead of having a smartwatch or an Apple watch. I'm gonna be real with you guys. I like my digital watch because it is so easy to tell the time. I feel like sometimes with these little dainty, cute wristwatches where they have the two hands, but like they don't even really have numbers on them sometimes. And I'm like, dude, what time is it? Like I don't actually know what time it is. I vaguely know what time it is. So that is my one comment for that, where if you're not into it, I don't blame you. But I do think it can be nice to just have something that is meant to just do that thing. Like a watch is meant to tell time. That is the point of a watch. And while I have an Apple Watch and I do think it is cool, I did get it originally for my photography job. As a wedding photographer, it was important for me to be able to get text messages from my second shooter and wedding planner when I am on the job at the wedding without having to get my phone out. And also I keep my timeline on there so that way I could see like what was happening next. And I also keep photo inspiration on there, so blah, blah, blah. But you get the point. It was useful for my job, and that was literally the main reason that I got it, and that's usually mostly the time that I wear it. I do still wear it sometimes to other things because one thing that is nice about it is when you get a text message, if you have an iPhone, it just goes right to your watch. So then it's kind of like you're less rude if you're out with someone because you just glance at your watch and you can see if the text message is important or not without having to pull out your phone. But I do think that, you know, it wouldn't be so bad if you just kept your phone in your purse or in your pocket and didn't feel the need to see if you were getting a text message from someone unless you have something really important going on that day. So, okay, I'm talking myself more into getting an actual watch, and I saw a cute dainty gold one on Amazon, but I think I'm gonna do some research, see if I see any cute ones that actually have. The numbers on the side, so I can really tell what time it is. But yeah, that's just another way that you can slow down, go more analog, and not have technology controlling every moment of your day. Okay, so the next couple of ones are phone related. So a hack for living a more analog life when it comes to your phone is to have a phone jail, a brick, if you've heard of that, or a flip phone. So let's get into these. If you don't know what a phone jail is, they actually sell real phone jails that you can put your phone into. It locks you out, and you can't get back in for a certain amount of time. That kind of freaks me out, to be honest, because I'm like, what if there's an emergency? Which I'm sure is everyone's concern. There's also this other device called Brick. I'm pretty sure it's just called Brick. And it goes on your phone, and then it, I believe, prevents you from using certain apps at certain times. But my kind of issue with both of those is I feel like they're still, or at least with the brick, it is still technology, you know? And I feel like there's a much simpler way to deal with this, which is to kind of create a home for your phone to stay in most of the day. If you're at home. If you're not at home, you can't really do this. But if you were maybe spending eight hours a day at work, you could also do this at work. Maybe you have a drawer in your office desk. That could be the home for your phone. Or you could have your purse be the home for it and just never take it out when you were at work. So I want to create a little home for my phone to stay in. And I saw this cute little, basically dollhouse bed, but like a little bit bigger. It's like this little miniature bed with a little miniature bedspread and pillow. And I thought, how cute would that be to put my phone in that little bed? Because then it's really like tucking my phone into bed. I already do have a docking station for my electronics where my phone goes, my Kindle, my iPad, my Apple Watch, all the things go on that at the end of the night to charge. But I just think it would be a little more whimsical, a little more fun to have a little day bed for my phone to chill in all day. So if I do that, I will let you know. I will take a picture and I will post it on Instagram. The last one that I had mentioned on there was the flip phone. So I considered getting a flip phone for half a second, and then I was like, that's just too far for me because I love listening to my podcasts when I am on the go, when I'm walking or when I'm driving specifically. And also I need my GPS. I feel like I would feel so lost and scared if I did not have access to Google Maps 24-7. But I wanted to mention it because maybe that does feel like a right step for you. Maybe you want to go so analog that you get a flip phone. If so, amazing. That's really cool for you. Not gonna happen for me, but wanted to put it out there. And I wanted to mention the idea of creating a home for your phone to stay in most of the day. The reason why I thought of this is because I kind of wanted to replicate the idea of a landline phone. I just thought that that would be a really cool thing because that's analog. That is what we used to all have back in the day was a landline phone. And originally our landline phone had to be attached to the wall. Like originally, you had to stand and talk on the phone. You couldn't even take it anywhere. And then eventually we got the cordless landline phones and then cell phones. But I remember my grandparents had a landline phone. They actually had two. They had one landline phone in their kitchen that was kind of this yellow color. And it had, I don't even know how you describe it, but basically to punch in the numbers, you put your finger in it and like move your hand down, and then you had to punch each number in individually like that. If you know, you know what I'm talking about. And that was attached to the wall. And I remember when I would visit them in the summer when I was a child, and I would call my mom, I would have to stand there and talk on the phone to her at the end of the night. So yeah, very nostalgic. I don't want to have a landline phone. I like having my cell phone, but I think having a little bed for it and making a little home for my phone would have very nice nostalgic vibes for me. The next analog thing you can do that I really wish everyone would do, I wish that I would do it, is to get rid of Alexa in your home. If you have Alexa or anything like that in your home, I think it can just go. I would get rid of her, but unfortunately, my husband is not on the same page and does not want to get rid of her, and we have a bunch of her in our house. So she is staying, but I honestly find her very creepy. I don't like how she listens to our conversations at random times when no one has spoken to her. And I just think it's completely unnecessary. I think that having the ability to just ask this AI at this point to get answers immediately is just kind of ridiculous. I mean, I think we were fine before it, I think we'd be fine after it. I don't think we need it. I don't think she's that helpful. Also, I just don't think that she's that great, not that smart compared to some other AI. But yeah, the next one I have is to browse at a store in person instead of online. Back in the day, we would always go to real stores to browse things, to look at clothes, to look at home things. And I remember that was like the thing to do when I was in middle school and like the first year or two of high school before I could drive a car. I lived right near the mall. So my mom would drop me and my friends off of the mall and we would walk around, chat, gab, and look at things in the store because that's what we had to do. And I feel like there's a lot of good things that can come from looking at things in person versus online. I think one thing that's really great is it builds a sense of community and you actually get to see people instead of just being behind a screen. And it's something you can do with other people who you love in your life. It can be a bonding activity, and it can be nice to just see your random cashier who maybe you see every week because you go to the same grocery store and you catch up with them. I actually had this happen. My husband and I had this happen twice. In two areas that we lived, we got to know Bob. He was our cashier at Safeway when we lived in Portland, and we got to know him, and he was hilarious. We even got him a Christmas present. One year, we just got him a gift card because he was an older gentleman and we felt a little sad that he still had to work at his age, and he was a hoot. I really loved our really late grocery trips seeing Bob. And then the other cashier we met was when we lived in a suburb of Portland, my husband and I, and we would always see the same guy named Jeff, and he was really great too. And we got to know him because we went in person to get things. And I feel like nowadays with Instacart or whatever people use, I really don't know because I've never done that. But they're just not having that person-to-person communication anymore. And I find it kind of sad. Not sad in like, I think I'm better than people weigh because I go to the grocery store, not like that at all. Just that I feel like our culture and our society is becoming so much more reclusive. And I mean, I'm an introvert. I love staying at home. It's probably my favorite place to be, but we need human interaction, we need human connection. And I think when we don't get it, then we just don't really know how to interact with people as well. And then we just interact with them only online, and then words get skewed and messages don't mean what they were supposed to mean, and all of these things. So going to a store in person when you can instead of just shopping online, I think can be great for your mental health and also just helps you slow down, live that more analog lifestyle. Now I want to share my favorite way to live a more analog life, which is to have physical hobbies. I think that having physical hobbies is the most crucial part to living an analog lifestyle, in my opinion, and the most fun part. So I'm just gonna share with you guys a few of the physical hobbies that I want to take up. The first one is needlepoint. If you don't know, if you don't know what that is, it is a type of hand embroidery that's done on a mesh canvas. I'm starting with a couple of kits from this brand called Craft Club because the kits are pre-printed, so you don't need to read a pattern, and they're also gorgeous. Like they have these gorgeous, pre-made pouches, basically. They also have other things like rugs and some other stuff, but I really love their pouches. And the reason why I decided to get these first as one of my physical hobbies is because I want to do something with my hands when I am on the couch. And sometimes this will probably involve watching TV, maybe watching my shows that don't require as much attention, like my reality TV, and I still want to be doing something with my hands because I notice myself wanting to reach for my phone when I am watching shows that are not super engaging, but that I still enjoy. And I love having a one-screen rule where I only have one screen on at a time, but I still want something to do with my hands, and I just want to get craftier. So I thought, okay, needlepoint is the way to go. And I love this brand, Craft Club, their website, because all of the materials are included and it's also really easy looking because they kind of did half of it for you. I also want to get into cross-stitching, which is also a type of embroidery, but it is counted embroidery that uses little crosses or X's to create a tiled pattern or design. So I am going to be buying some little cross-stitching kits off of Amazon, some hopefully kind of easy ones, even though the more difficult ones look so much prettier. So those are the ones I want to get. I've seen some mountain nature landscape ones that look so pretty that I really want to try out, but I haven't cross-stitched before. So I'm like, I should probably get something easy like a bumblebee or a ladybug or something simple. But I'm excited to get that underway. And I've mentioned this before. I want to learn how to crochet again. I'm very excited for that. And I want to learn how to knit again because I used to know how, but I have forgotten all of that knowledge. So time to use some technology, probably, because YouTube is my best friend at that, to learn how to crochet and knit again. I was thinking about buying a crochet or knitting book to try to learn, but personally for me, videos are just so much easier. I love that I can rewind a video and you know, sometimes they show it from different angles and they are speaking to you as they're doing it, and I just find it a much easier way to learn. So when it comes to learning that, I will not be going analog. I've been thinking about some of the things that I want to learn how to crochet and knit, and I'm feeling like I definitely want to knit or crochet a type of shawl. I think that could be cool. Maybe some headbands. Um, I wish I could make something for my cats, but I don't know what that would be because they don't wear anything. I would love to like knit them a little sweater, but I they I've tried to put sweaters on them and it's like they're possessed and they attack me and they hate it. So I will not be doing that. And I'm thinking that I want to make some gifts for people too. So I feel like I should start now so that way I have time to make all of these for people by the holidays. Another physical hobby that I'm going to take up is painting by numbers. I have always wanted to learn how to paint. I'm not sure exactly what kind of painting I want to do: acrylic, watercolor, whatever. But since I haven't done it before, I thought painting by numbers seemed like a more safe but fun option because they have these amazing painting by numbers kits that look pretty elaborate, pretty cool. And I feel like when I'm finished with it, I'll actually want to keep it. But it's not as hard as just free-flowing painting where you have to create the whole design yourself. That just seems really intimidating. So I would love something where it has the whole painting basically drawn for you, and then you just paint the numbers, and then it creates this beautiful painting by the time you're done. Another physical hobby I'm gonna do is card making. I really want to do this for birthday cards and for Christmas cards for my friends and relatives because I would love to make all of my friends and relatives something by hand for the holidays this coming year, but I don't know if I'm gonna have time. Like when it actually comes down to it, I feel like it's a cute idea now. But what if shit hits the fan and I get really busy? I don't know. And who knows, maybe I'll have time to make some friends something, but not everyone. So I figure if I can make cards for everyone, at least that is something that is handmade and thoughtful. Another physical hobby, which I've told you guys plenty about, is pottery, which is a newer hobby that I started last month that I am really, really enjoying. I actually need to share my pieces with you guys on Instagram, a photo, because I got them back, the matcha bowl and the mug that I made. So stay tuned for that. I'm gonna post a picture because I think they came out so nice and I love them. And I actually am going to be signing up for a monthly membership with the pottery studio that I went to to make these things. That's gonna be a really, really fun hobby for me. It's also expensive, this monthly membership, but I feel that if I make use of it, then it'll be worth it. And again, I want to make gifts for people because I should also mention, like, I really love making things with my hands. I love being crafty, but I don't love holding on to things that much. Like I don't love clutter and I feel like it could get cluttery real quick. So I think it would be really fun to make beautiful things, but then pass them on to other people who will hopefully love them too. So when it comes to pottery, some things that I am excited to make, I think some of the first couple things I want to make is I really want to make basically a Stanley cup, but out of ceramics. I think that would be really cool because I use my Stanley cup every day. It's actually not like the brand of Stanley Cup. It is a cup that's a Stanley shape that I got off of Etsy. And I want to make my own because I think that would be so awesome, you know, like something I use every day, but that's made by me. Heck yes. And I also want to make my cats a food bowl, like a nice ceramic bowl for their food to go in, I think would be super cute. And then probably some like a matcha bowl for one of my friends who I know loves matcha, and then some mugs for maybe my other friends. Yeah, those are my ideas so far. And then the last physical hobby that I want to take up is baking. I have never been a baker. I think that I'm a decent cook by this point. I taught myself how to cook, and my husband says that he loves it, so I appreciate that. He loves the recipes that I make, but I've never been much into baking, but that sounds like it could be really fun. It sounds like something I could bless other people with as well. Like I could make a loaf of bread for myself and then just double the recipe and drop off a loaf to somebody else. So yeah, that is another thing that I want to try that I'm excited about. So if you have any delicious baked good recipes, please send them my way. Send me on Instagram. I would love to make them. Now, related to the analog hobbies, the last tip I have for you today about how to live a more analog life is to create an analog basket or bag for yourself. This is actually where I got the idea to even record this podcast episode, was because I saw someone's reel about having an analog bag. And it's basically a bag filled with non-digital things that you can do with your hands instead of scrolling your phone. And I think this is such a great idea. So basically, you can get it can just be like a bag that you already have at home, because I feel like a lot of us have totes or like reusable grocery bags or something like that, or maybe a picnic basket that we already have. You can grab that and then you can fill it with non-digital things that you would like to do instead of picking up your phone. So I actually did buy a bag specifically for this because I wanted one that had compartments and that was open so that way I could kind of see my things popping out and looking at me. So I looked online and I decided on a baby bag of all things on Amazon because it was big, it had the multiple compartments. I can definitely link that as well. But I will tell you guys what I'm filling my analog bag with to give you guys some ideas for what you could fill your bag with too. I am going to put in there a book, like a current book that I want to read. I'm gonna put in coloring books because I got a couple of coloring books for my birthday from my friends. I'm gonna put in some markers that I ordered and some color pencils, obviously for the coloring books. I'm gonna put in my crochet kit that my bestie got me for my birthday. I'm putting in those needlepoint kits that I told you about earlier. And yeah, that's pretty much it. But you could put in whatever you want. Maybe you are knitting, so you put in some knitting needles and some yarn, or you are junk journaling. That has been a big thing that I've seen on social media recently too. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't know. Seems cool, but also seems like a lot of work. It's like scrapbooking, but journaling. So I think if you do it, super cool. Would love to see her spread, but not convinced that it's for me yet. Um, you could put in stuff to make coasters or ornaments, basically whatever you want. But the point of the bag is so that you can have something easy and accessible to you that you can literally reach for instead of reaching for your phone. Wow, I did not expect this episode to be so long. I literally thought it was just gonna be maybe like 20 minutes of me chatting, but I guess I'm super passionate about analog hobbies. So I hope that you guys enjoyed this episode. I know that the podcast has kind of taken a turn a little bit to a different direction. And instead of speaking so much about spirituality and goal setting, I have been talking more about slow living. So if you have been enjoying these episodes, I would love to hear from you. Or if you're not, if you're like, hey, go back to spirituality and the goal setting, that's what I want to hear about. Please let me know because even though I have so much fun sharing these episodes and talking about what I'm interested in, I also want this to be a helpful, useful resource for you guys. And next week, I am actually going to be sharing an episode with a guest where we talk about manifestation to the extreme. It's with this woman who is a huge influence in the manifestation community and wellness community. And I think you guys are really gonna love it. So don't forget to check in next week. And if you guys love this episode, it would mean so much to me if you could please share it on Instagram and tag me at HeyKala Bowen. Thank you, and I will see you next week.