During this past summer, I made a specific effort to lean into my boredom, and, instead of allowing myself to feel defeated by it, I discovered some wonderful new ways to spend my time that didn’t include scrolling on my phone. 

I expected to be quite bored this summer since, for the first time in many years, I didn’t have a big writing project to work on like a novel. Instead of being a problem, the boredom allowed my thoughts to slow down so I could think about how I actually wanted to spend my time. I knew what I didn’t want to do, and that was spend my whole summer staring at a screen.  

We all know that constant stimulation has damaged our attention spans. I’ve seen it in myself as much as anyone else. We’ve become habituated to those hits of dopamine, which makes it hard to focus. When I have a big project to work on, like a novel, I can focus on the work. But if I’m not working on a big project, then what do I do with my time? It seems as if we’re afraid of being left alone with our thoughts, to the point where we fill every moment of every day with thought-numbing activities. I mean, do you ever feel better after spending the better part of your day scrolling through social media? We consume a lot of content, but when we look back we realize that we haven’t actually done anything.

I’ve never been as interested in social media as others. In fact, I’m really not on social media at all. This blog is my way of extending my hand to the world. Hello out there! I try to stay as far away from the news as I can while still being informed about what’s going on in the world, and so I’m not addicted to doomscrolling. While I haven’t had the same scrolling issues as others, I do find that my attention span has been shattered because these days its virtually impossible to stay completely away from screens. At the beginning of the summer, with no big writing project in front of me, I was a bit lost about how to spend my time. It took some thinking, but I found some fun things to do that didn’t require a digital device. 

Maybe it’s my age, but recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the days before digital devices became the norm for how we spend our time. I was a kid back in the Stone Age, we used to spend entire days splashing around the pool and playing outside. Granted, I’m old enough that I learned how to type on a typewriter, but I don’t remember being all that bored as a kid, and if I was bored I found something to do. These days, we seem to have lost that skill, which is a shame.

As I was thinking about the summer ahead of me, I realized that I missed interacting with the world. I missed using paper and pen and the feel of an actual book in my hand. I also missed being able to focus on one thing at a time. Like many others, I too jump from tab to tab and from idea to idea without staying focused on any one thought for long. I’ve also missed the ability to do things slowly. These days, if something isn’t done in a flash, it takes too long. 

Some of My Analog Alternatives to the Scroll

Here’s what I chose for my anti-digital summer. Of course, I wasn’t completely away from screens. I’m writing this on my laptop, which very much has a screen. 

1. I read physical books, you know, the kind you hold in your hands. I also annotated them with highlighters, pens, and tabs when I felt as if I had something to say. Here are my ideas about annotating. Yes, I also read on my Kindle, and yes, I know it’s a screen, but the screen of my Kindle doesn’t affect my attention span the way the screen of my phone does. My Kindle is a dedicated ereader so all I’m doing is reading. I’ve deleted nearly all the apps from my phone (seriously, I have maybe eight apps on my phone) but I do have the Kindle app so I can read my ebooks wherever I am. If I’m out and about and have a few minutes to spare, I’ll read, which is much more satisfying than scrolling. 

I also found a wonderful newspaper called Le Petit 3. It’s an actual newspaper, you know, the old-timey kind on newsprint paper that you hold in your hands. The paper has fascinating articles about topics ranging from philosophy to art to history, which are all right up my alley. I love sitting down on Sunday mornings with a pot of tea and some Mozart playing in the background while I dig into the wonderful articles. You can find it here. (This isn’t sponsored. I just actually like the paper.)

2. I began keeping a handwritten journal again. Over the years I began keeping my journals on my computer, which is fine, but I wanted to go back to pen and paper. This summer I began handwriting my journals again and I’m loving the experience. I feel so much more connected to what I’m doing by handwriting my ideas. I don’t buy the fancy-pants expensive journals you see influencers showing off in their videos. I buy the handy-dandy composition books that you can buy in packages of 10 for a few dollars. I did buy an inexpensive fountain pen to spice things up a little. 

3. I created my first commonplace book a few years ago. Though I’ve changed the way I keep my commonplace books as I’ve learned more about the process, I’ve continued the habit because I find it so intellectually satisfying. Here’s a picture of my current commonplace book where I’m writing down what I learned from reading Montaigne’s essays. Keeping a commonplace book is a wonderful hands-on activity that can help you engage more deeply with your learning, or just with life itself. 

There’s no right way to keep a commonplace book. It can be as crafty or as messy as you want. Buy some inexpensive notebooks and write down quotes, things you learned, ideas or thoughts that occurred to you, or anything else you want. The purpose is to allow yourself to think on paper in a way that makes sense to you.

4. I began learning calligraphy. It’s a slow process, and I’m still very much a beginner, but I’ve been interested in calligraphy for years, so this summer, with time on my hands, I decided to give it a try. I bought two books that show step by step how to form the letters. Calligraphy is a very mindful activity because you have to pay attention to each stroke of the pen. It will take some time for me to get any good at it, but I’m enjoying the process of just sitting with pen and paper and learning how to make the pen strokes. 

5. I started swimming again. I’ve always loved to swim, and I’m embarrassed to say how many years I let it go. I went at least once a week during the summer, but I go to an indoor pool, so I can continue to use it year round. It’s great exercise, but for me swimming has always been calming, and I’m so glad I’ve taken it up again. 

6. I began learning Latin. Latin, like calligraphy, is something I’ve been fascinated with for years. I finally decided this summer to take the plunge. I bought the tried-and-true textbook Lingua Latina: Familia Romana. I don’t consider Latin a dead language because people are still very much interested in it, and I’m surprised by how many people are learning it. In a way, Latin is easy because so many of our English words have Latin roots. The grammar is tricky, but I’ve only been at it for a few months. I’m taking my time with the lessons. I’m not in any rush. This is just something I’m doing for myself. There are some great resources on YouTube (which you watch, yes, on a screen, but I don’t group videos that teach me something with videos that are watched mindlessly for no purpose). I’m aiming for reading fluency rather than speaking fluency, and with Lingua Latina, the reading fluency is coming along.  

7. I’ve continued hobbies that were already analog, such as keeping up with my reading journal and coloring in my coloring books.

I love the fact that people are becoming interested in what are now called “grandma hobbies” like knitting and crocheting. I began crocheting a few years ago and created a cool blanket, but I let it go while I was writing The Professor of Eventide. I plan on giving it a go again soon.

I began with what I thought would be the world’s most boring summer, but I ended up with some wonderful ways to spend my time that don’t involve a screen or scrolling. Now, when I feel that annoying itch of restless boredom, I reach for my notebook, my fountain pen, and my Latin textbooks. Or I’ll read some philosopy and add some ideas or quotes to my commonplace book. Instead of spending my time passively consuming someone else’s thoughts or ideas, I’m creating my own thoughts and ideas. I’m engaging with the world and learning.