Try the analog version

Re-create your favorite digital leisure in the real world

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to try the analog version of your favorite
digital leisure. Many of us spend more time on our

(00:25):
devices than we'd like, but if you think about what
exactly you are finding appealing, you may be able to
recreate that in an analog form that is less likely
to completely suck you in. So one of the reasons
I enjoy Instagram is that I like looking at pretty

(00:45):
pictures of things. I know. People share lots of videos
and other such content there now, but at least initially,
photos were the draw, and that is still what I
most enjoy. I like floral arrangements, beautiful garden pictures and
landscape pictures, and pictures of beautiful places you could travel to.

(01:06):
I like interior design pictures too. Those are among my favorites.
But it turns out that there are other ways to
see gorgeous photos that don't necessarily require being online. For instance,
I now subscribe to a lot of magazines, including Better
Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, Coastal Living, HGTV Magazine, and

(01:27):
so forth. These have lovely pictures of homes and gardens
and such that I can flip through during low energy
times at night instead of scrolling. I also realize that
coffee table books tend to offer lots of visually appealing
spreads too. Now, purchasing such books is probably something best

(01:48):
done in small quantities. They are expensive, they take up
a lot of space. But guess what, my community's biggest
library has a ton of books with photos of gorgeous
travel destinations or landscapes or gardens or homes or what
have you. I have set up a regular library visiting schedule,

(02:10):
and each time I grab a few coffee table books
to peruse. I have realized through time tracking that I
spend a fair amount of time reading headlines online. Now.
I do like my digital New York Times subscription, but
there are still print newspapers, and they still have headlines
and zippy commentary too. We get the print Wall Street Journal,

(02:34):
and I like to page through that when I pick
up my phone to look at headlines or remind myself
that the printed paper is there too, And if I
want to read the news, I can, and I don't
have to wait into the comment thread afterwards. Since there
is no common thread in the paper version. In some
cases that is a good thing. Electronic hobbies are fun,

(03:00):
but because scrolling is so easy, that tends to consume
a bigger portion of our leisure hours than most of
us would choose if we were intentionally creating a budget
with our time. By figuring out an analog version of
your digital hobby, you might be able to spend less
time online and avoid some of the downsides, like seeing

(03:22):
that commenter's weird conspiracy theory, or being exposed to some
influencers pictures combined with self righteous commentary that it's all
just designed to make you feel terrible. So ask yourself
exactly what the appeal is, then see if there is
a way to recreate some of that fun in an
analog way that is easy and accessible too. Maybe there isn't,

(03:49):
but my borrowed coffee table books and my print newspaper
aren't that hard to come by. My guess is it
might be possible to figure something out in the meantime.
This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before Breakfast.

(04:17):
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

(04:39):
listen to your favorite shows.