Hi friend,

Lately, I’ve been trying to step away from my screens whenever possible. I often find this to be the case around the holidays. I yearn to spend less time on my devices, and more specifically, away from my desk. Engaging in analog activities has been a great way for me to connect with myself and my partner on a deeper level. Not only that, but when a screen isn’t hijacking your attention span, you can have a better sense of presence of what is going on around you, and what’s going on inside of your head.

I love the tactile experience of slowly making coffee, dropping the needle on a record, or feeling the pages of a good book. It’s a satisfying experience.

Here are a few great activities for you, or you and a partner to engage in analog activities!

• Listening to vinyl records from start to finish
• Playing board games, or card games
• Manual brew coffee or espresso (or going to a coffee shop w/ friends/family, no screens!)
• Reading a book
• Creating physical art, color, or crafts
• Analog photography
• Exercise
• Baking and cooking

I hope as the holiday season approaches, you’ll spend less time on your screens and more time connecting with yourself and your loved ones.

Things I’ve Been Digging

• Murderers: The Erik & Lyle Menendez Story
  • I can’t lie – Grace and I love true crime. Whether it’s an unhealthy fascination or not, I find it super interesting. Not only is their story interesting, but the filmmaking in this stellar, with the standout being episode 5. TW: subject matter is pretty dark in this one, but it takes place in one single take with the camera slowly pans in towards Erik’s eyes. It’s so subtle you don’t even realize it till you’re half to three quarters through the episode. My props to the team behind this one.
• Holiday decorating
  • We put our tree up a week or two ago and have been relishing in the holiday season! We’re unabashed Christmas-lovers and the holiday season tends to be our favorite. Plus our cats love to fall asleep under the tree.
• Vinyl
  • Like today’s blog post discuss, I’ve been trying to engage in more analog activities lately and this has been one of my favorite ways to do so. It’s so easy for me to just let music become background noise to my life and my work. Music has always been a big part of my life, and though I don’t play instruments as much anymore, this is a great way for me to engage with the sights, sounds, and the physical aspect of music, without picking up an instrument.

Black Friday

Black Friday is upon us, and as a Minimalist, I’ve developed some thoughts about it over the years. In this week’s video, I share my thoughts on Black Friday as a whole and how you can engage in it consciously. You can watch it here.

As always, thanks for reading. I'll catch you in the next one.

Drew