So… what did happen to the Analog Life Project?
If you've been around here for a while, you might remember when I started this whole experiment 8 months ago, trying to live a little more slowly, deliberately, and offline.
For a while, the project was on fire!
So What Happened?
The Analog Life Project came from an intense desire to be free of my phone addiction. A desire to not lose whole hours to scrolling passively.
It started with what I thought was a pretty simple idea: what would happen if I deliberately made a little more room in my life for the things that don't involve a screen? Things that use my brain, my creativity, my patience, my focus. Things that I kind of let go of over the years as I settled into a mindless numbing addiction to screens in all forms.
I wanted to do more: Reading, Cooking from scratch, Writing actual letters. Letting myself get bored. Making things. Digging out my record player. Going hiking more often. Paying attention in longer stretches. Spending time with other people without documenting every moment. Being present.
And I thought it would be fun to share my experiment and see if anyone might want to follow along with me.
Almost instantly the project took off.
More and more people found their way to the project. Our Instagram blew up, and we gained 12,000 newsletter subscribers in one week.
Folks signed up for the newsletter to get project updates, followed along, discussed the project on Substack, downloaded the workbooks (now condensed into a single workbook), and joined the pen pal community.
I was thrilled to be tapping into something that felt important to so many people. I had so many ideas for where this project could go and wanted to deliver something awesome. Let's do this people!
And then… I couldn't keep up.
As an artist I've "gone viral" twice now and completely by chance. The first time with our ABCs of Life Art Print and now with the Analog Life Project.
At first, I was just excited that people cared about the project!
But once there were so many people on board, I started feeling the pressure to deliver something meaningful and worthy of of all this attention. I had promised things. Things I was/am truly excited about. But now I had to deliver.
You can see where this is going so I'll get the point. :)
I quickly realized I was trying to do too much with all the other hats I wear as a small biz owner and human being. I had simply created more things than one person could realistically keep producing while also running a business and, you know, having an actual life.
The great irony of the Analog Life Project
Eventually I realized something that was almost embarrassingly obvious:
I had started experiencing the exact pressure inside the Analog Life Project that the project was supposed to help me escape.
I was constantly thinking about keeping the project moving and evolving. Gotta create the next workbook. Gotta post on instagram to keep new followers engaged. Gotta have some new and brilliant insight.
And. it. was. happening. all. online.
More stuff.
More often.
Don't disappear.
Stay relevant.
Keep producing.
Same online content creation treadmill.
The whole point of the project was to make my life feel more lived-in, experienced in real-time, not turn me into another online content creating machine.
And for the record, many have pointed out the irony of hosting an analog experiment online. That's not the part I'm rethinking. The part that gets me is that I succumbed to the pressure of the algorithm, that I didn't allow myself to go at a realistic human pace.
We move at a human pace
When I created The Analog Life Manifesto (above) I truly was excited about reclaiming my attention span, slowing down and trying to spend less time on my digital devices.
But how the project unfolded has actually been a good reminder:
We are not machines built to produce something new every day. We have jobs and families and houses and gardens and errands and laundry and sick pets and unexpected things and really good days and really terrible ones. Sometimes we have an enormous amount of creative energy. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes an idea needs a week. Sometimes it needs six months.
Realistically I need to let my ideas for the project percolate a bit before I have something to say.
Is The Analog Life Project Still Going?
Yes! And here's how you can follow along:
SUBSTACK: I'm still posting essays on Substack and I love the community we are building there! My TBR is a mile long now thanks to all the great book recommendations I've received!
DOWNLOAD THE WORKBOOK: The Analog Life Project Workbook is the foundation of the project. Its printable and it's free.
PEN PAL DIRECTORY: I love how the pen pal directory has evolved. We now have almost 1800 members from around the globe! Here's a guide on how to add yourself to the directory and then choose a pen pal.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER: When I offer new printable freebies for the project it will be through the newsletter.
Analog Life Project activities I want to explore or make in the coming months:
RECIPE JOURNAL: In the photo above you can see the "cookbook" my grandmother made for her grandchildren. All the family recipes that we remembered so fondly growing up. I want to make a recipe journal that I can hold in my hand, that I can leave for my daughter, that I can have fun and be creative with. Kind of like how I keep a garden binder- part journal, part keepsake scrapbook all in one. Oooh this is going to be fun....
PEN PAL DIRECTORY STORIES: The Pen Pal Directory has exploded to almost 1800 people from across the world. And I get the most wonderful heartfelt messages about people's experiences finding meaningful connections. I want to hear your stories and explore the reasons why letter writing is having such a moment. How has developing a letter writing practice benefitted you? Bonus if we discuss The Correspondent by Virginia Evans!
WHY (and how to) START A BOOK CLUB: Book clubs have always been a good excuse to read more but right now they feel more important than ever. In a time of isolation, distraction and division, gathering around a book gives us a reason to slow down, use our brains, listen to different perspectives, have meaningful conversations, and reconnect with other human beings.
SCRAPBOOKING: Oh man, wait until I show you all the scrapbooks I made 25+ years ago lol. I just bought some scrapbooks and paper at a thrift store and am collecting bits for my scrapbooking pages. This project again stems from a desire to hold something tangible in my hand, something I made over time, something that reflects this period in my life. I can't wait to start this project!
And finally, thank you. Truly. Thank you for being here, for trying the projects, writing letters, joining the pen pal directory, sharing your own analog ideas, and for simply hanging around while I figured out what this thing wanted to become.
I know I made some big promises at the beginning, and I’m grateful for the patience you’ve given me as I’ve learned how to make this project fit into an actual human life. I hope you’ll keep hanging out with me. There’s more to come, I just don't think it needs to come all at once. :)
Let's Talk About It!
If you're reading this on my blog you can hop on over to be part of the conversation on Substack.
