“Is this really what I want to do with my time?” 🤳➡️🌊
This takes active effort, but most things will since you’re actively breaking a habit… it plays out like this: When you’re spending time on your phone, train yourself to ask “is this really what I want to do with my time?” Remind yourself, how you spend your time is how you spend your life. If you’re mindlessly scrolling or googling random facts, there’s probably a better alternative. The answer is usually “no, this is not how I want to spend my time or my life” and that should send you immediately to do something else. Literally doesn’t matter what. Just stop looking at your phone. That takes control. I think it’s easier to have a mental list of how to fill out the sentence: “I want to be a person who _________.” Doesn’t have to be groundbreaking: I want to be a person who goes on walks, sends letters to friends, calls my friends/family, exercises regularly, reads books, makes art, cooks at home. Whatever your list is, those are the things you go do when you put your phone down. Other ideas that can also help: leave your phone out of sight: in a different room, or in a drawer keep your phone on black and white mode: makes it waaaay less fun/engaging ideally you’re committed enough to delete the apps that eat your time; if not, using the web version usually means the developers can’t get as many bells and whistles in, which makes them less engaging and sometimes buggy (less fun) put screen time timers on the apps you spend too much time on to make them more irritating to use make calls instead of texting (efficiency) turn your phone off (it’s funny that no one ever suggests/does this, but back when we all had landlines everyone was fine not being able to get ahold of anyone at all hours… you’ll be fine) and check it in the evening. This will make you realize you have to actually make plans and stick to them, which is also a more efficient use of energy: you’re not wasting your life rescheduling shit you already spent the time and effort to plan out. Your friends will see you’re reliable, and if they bail that’s on them! You’ll see quickly which friends flake and you’ll spend more time with friends that are equally as reliable as you!
No labels on visible products
If you’re a girlie who can’t abide bar soaps and shampoos, I hear you, but I still believe you should save yourself the mental load of being marketed to in the safe space of your bathroom. Decant your liquid soaps, shampoos, and conditioners into brand-less bottles. Store your face products and dental hygiene products in cabinets or drawers, out of sight unless actively in use. I do this in the kitchen, too, so linked to what I use for dish soap in the kitchen, but I’m a bar soap and bar shampoo girly so don’t have these in the bathroom.
Thinking of the past lives of the environment you’re in
Most frequently, I imagine what it was like before development. No buildings, no roads. Just the unmarred horizon and the wind whipping across the native flora, the native fauna going about their days. This requires you to have an understanding of the geography of the area you’re in—which kind of makes it even more amazing. The more you learn, the more you realize how connected it is to faraway places, and that even though it’s changed from then, some things still remain. For me in the SF Bay Area, that means understanding that our weather patterns are connected to the Pacific, and the Sierra. Thinking of our summer fog as a gift from the ocean, keeping our native Redwoods alive—allowing them to create their own rain during our otherwise dry summer months. Rains during our rainy season typically means it’s snowing in the Sierra to our East, which builds our glaciers and lakes and rivers, which provides municipal running water to the Bay Area and LA. When I run the faucet, I think of Hetch Hetchy (the dammed north western Sierra valley that holds the reservoir that is the faucets waters source) and I am grateful for the connection and sustenance from this beautiful place. Imagining my neighborhood as the sandy dunes it was before development is also amazing. Thinking of the many native Ohlone tribes going about their lives throughout the Bay, visiting what we know as Alcatraz and Treasure Island from their boats, and knowing they were friends with all the local animals: unafraid of each others presence and shared a mutual respect and understanding of each other and their shared home. The distant past helps me put my small life on a timeline so expansive I can hardly force my mind to hold it all. And the patterns and rhythms of life and existence are the through line to the future beyond. Imagining that makes me so thankful for the life I have and for the lives it took for me to have it. What are the chances? Isn’t it grand? I am so lucky to be here.
splurge-worthy garden clogs 🪴
These might be the most comfortable shoes I own? The insoles are suede-lined cork and they feel nicer than Birkenstocks and are cute and so quick to slip on and putz around the garden. Also make an excellent gift. My husband got me mine for Christmas. 🥹
