We’ve already reached the halfway point of 2026. This year, the only real New Year’s resolution I had was to find ways to decrease my screentime. At the—nearly—halfway mark, I’ve been doing an okay job. When the screentime report on my phone pops up at the end of each week, I make a note of it and see how well I did compared to the weeks prior.
I’m not the kind of person who pulls their phone out in the middle of a conversation or at the dinner table, but my weakness is doom scrolling when I have a minute alone. However, that 5-minute scroll turns into an embarrassing amount of time if I’m not careful.
I realized lying on my bed with my phone was the first thing I’d do after getting home from work. I thought I was “decompressing,” but when I’d finally pulled myself out of the mind-numbing zone I’d think about all the things I could have accomplished in that time. Who would I be if I wasn’t so stuck on my phone? So I started to explore screen-free hobbies. Some I got back into and some were things I’d always wanted to try, but felt I never had time for.
Unbeknownst to me, “analog hobbies” have become a trend. According to an article in Psychology Today, Michaels, the arts and craft store, experienced a 136% increase in the search for “analog hobbies” at the end of 2025. An analog hobby is an activity that doesn’t involve any kind of screen, requires focus and usually some sort of a tool—for example, sewing, crocheting, painting by numbers or gardening.
I’m a writer, and the process takes place mostly on a computer. Preparing questions, notes and drafts all fill a white screen until they start to take the shape of a story.
But, Tuesday mornings when the paper we spent days or weeks creating from spreadsheets and design programs comes in, we can really see our work in a different lens. There’s something special about having a tangible item to show for all of your work.
Hopefully, our readers can feel that too when they pick up a paper from our stands and make us a part of their “analog hobby” moment.
