We’re a month into the project! Woot!

As we move into February, I wanted to pause and check in. In the January Workbook we started getting oriented: looking honestly at our habits, our attention, and what drew us to this project in the first place. We looked at the "why" of The Analog Life Project.

In February, we continue the journey into what's right in front of us and look at the "where" of our analog lives. Often enough, a few minor tweaks to our surroundings can take some of the friction out of creating new analog habits and practices.

For us that means looking at where we spend our time at home and imagining how we might create more spaces specifically for our favorite analog hobbies. This isn't about remodeling your house or buying a bunch of new things, but instead about re-imagining your spaces to put your analog activities in the foreground.

This is the fun part!

And so, the February workbook offers some simple ideas for getting started. Bert and I are spending less time in front of the t.v. these days and are playing more games and doing more puzzles together, and making more time for reading. We started walking our dog, Rocket, in different parts of the neighborhood and have met some nice people along the way. And Bert, bless him, has decided to pick up his bass guitar, again, with the full intention of actually learning to play this time :) He does love to learn new skills, and I love that his "music" is channeled into his headphones. lol. 

So we moved his bass downstairs and carved out a place for it in the living room so he would use it more often. 

And for me, I know that my current practice of binge-watching three episodes of Stranger Things and then reading two pages in bed before crashing is not going to get me to my reading goal. So I am starting to designate other times in the evening when I read instead of watching TV.

The bigger point is, at least for me, analog creativity isn't all about finding a set of "best practices." Because whatever takes us into a deeper connection with our people, ourselves, our environment, or the idea of "something bigger," is probably worth doing, at least for a little while :) If I'm being honest, though, I am keeping a list of what works for me. :)

Which is why we're calling this analog thing a "project." It's an experiment! Our recent foray into a hot game of Chinese Checkers didn't exactly light me up the way it did when I was 12! But I'm glad we tried it out, again. We had fun but are going to move on and explore other games. :)

It's really incredible to see how many of you are enjoying our Snail Mail Society!! 

Our pen pal directory is now over 1000 members strong, and growing! This really blows my mind! And it really speaks to the power of the pen for making making new friends, exploring our curiosities, and growing as human beings! Nice work, people!

Connecting with new people across the globe is a powerful analog practice that deepens our understanding of both humanity and ourselves. It invites us to learn new perspectives, engage our curiosity, and reflect on what matters most—love, purpose, hope, resilience, and joy. It also gives us space to share our own stories, values, and experiences in return. I’m continually amazed by the generosity you bring to connecting with someone you’ve never met. Thank you for showing up with openness and care—and for helping make the world feel a little more human!

As part of this project there are a few different year-long activities. Last week, we explored making a phenology wheel and this month, we'll look at another activity for recording meaningful moments in your analog life - The Year in Review. 

This was inspired by my niece, Haile, who posted a chronicle of highlights that made her 2025 special. It's 'proof of life,' if you will, analog life, and it's worth doing, especially if you're like me, and 1. feel like all you do is work all the time and 2. have a hard time remembering what happened last week, much less over the course of the year lol.

What I love about Haile’s list is that it includes meaningful, life-expanding moments: new things she learned, cool things she saw, risks she took, people she spent time with, trips she said yes to, first time experiences. You don't have to swim with sea turtles or climb mountains! This is about making room in our lives for more meaningful moments whatever that looks like for YOU and having a record to remember them.

Her list inspired me so much! We're having a blast forecasting what fun and meaningful things we're going to explore in the coming year. Thank you Haile!

And finally, this month, we introduce you to Professor Frank Possemato of Boston University, whose Ted Talk: How to Live an Analog Life in a Digital World offers wonderful insights and practical advise for deepening our analog life. 

A big THANK YOU to Professor Frank for reaching out to share with us! Our February workbook highlights some of his practices.

I'll just share one of his insights here that really resonated with me: The "pull of our devices" affects more than our attention, it also affects our values and sense of self. Yep. The more I reach for my phone, the stronger the pull, and the more I feel like that's where the important stuff is. Ugh!! Right? Seriously!! 

And even though I feel more "informed" or "amused" when I'm online, it often leaves me feeling less aware and less engaged in what's happening right in front of me. So, I appreciate Frank's advise on how to interrupt my digital habits and find more joy, beauty, and connection in the analog reality that surrounds me! His suggestions work, and that's why we're sharing them with you.

The Analog Life Project is a year-long project with monthly content and is completely free.

That being said, I would love it if you would consider supporting this project and my work by visiting my shop.

Are you outside the US? My international shipping is limited but Buy Olympia  sells all of our products (washi tape is on the way!) and ships worldwide!

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