30 Ways to Live a More Analog LifeThrough the Lens of the Nine Facets

In a world that grows more digital by the day, many of us are quietly longing for something slower, simpler, and more tangible. An off-screen, analog life invites us to cherish our time, our relationships, and the ordinary moments that make up a well-lived real life. It’s about putting our hands on real things, being fully present where we are, and choosing experiences that nourish our soul.

Using the structure of the Nine Facets, here are 30 ideas to get you started — no wifi required.

	EXPLORE Slow down and actually arrive somewhere
	Map your curiosity and plan a trip with a paper map. Literally circle five places on a map within driving distance you’ve never been, and commit to visiting all five this year. No GPS, no algorithm-curated itinerary — just a folded map and a sense of direction. Notice what you discover when you’re allowed to get a little lost.
	Keep a travel journal by hand. Write your impressions, sketch what you see, paste in a ticket stub or a pressed flower. These become the real souvenirs.
	Solo Micro-Adventure. Go on a half-day trip alone to somewhere new, even just one town over. The solo part matters — it changes how you experience and remember it. No podcasts, no navigation — just your own curiosity as the guide.

	BUILD Make something with your mind and hands, not just your screen
	Start a project notebook. Keep your ideas, plans, and brainstorms in a dedicated paper notebook. The act of writing slows down thinking in productive ways.
	Furniture/shelf build kit. Start with a simple IKEA-type flat-pack or a beginner woodworking kit (a small stool, a spice rack). Building something useful and lasting.
	Create a Legacy Project. Build something meant to outlast you: a family traditions or recipe book; set up a scholarship fund; create a community garden project. Building as a form of contribution, not just commerce.

	NURTURE Connect with yourself and others in ways that can be held and felt
	Write a letter — a real one — to someone you love. Not an email. Not a text. A letter with a stamp. The effort itself is the message.
	The “My Time” Hour/Afternoon. Spend one hour or afternoon doing something purely for pleasure with zero justification, explanation, or guilt attached. No “I deserve this because…” Just because you wanted to.
	The Plant Whisperer Challenge Start with one houseplant, learn to tend it, and notice how nurturing something small and slow-growing changes your patience, sense of nature’s timing, and presence.

	MOVE Let your body lead without technology tracking it
	Take a walk without tracking it. No steps, no heart rate, no route map. Walk because it feels good, not because it counts.
	Practice yoga or stretching from a book. Pull out an actual yoga book — or write your own sequence on paper — and follow it without a screen in the room.
	Play an outdoor game with friends (with no score-keeping app) Bocce, pickle-ball, badminton — keep score in your head and out loud–just play.

	DISCOVER Absorb knowledge slowly and let it settle
	Read a physical book — all the way through. Not an audio-book while multitasking. A book in your hands, dog-eared pages and all.
	Take a class in person and take notes by hand. Research consistently shows handwriting deepens comprehension. Let your pen slow your mind down.
	Subscribe to one print magazine that challenges or inspires you. The arrival of something curated and physical — that you didn’t scroll to — is its own joy.
	Visit a library and browse without a list. Let serendipity be your search engine.

	SAVOR Be here for the sensory richness of ordinary life
	Cook a meal entirely from a printed or handwritten recipe. No screen propped up in the kitchen. Just you, the recipe, and the smells.
	Create a morning ritual that doesn’t start with a screen. Enjoy tea, journal, a window, birds singing. Give yourself 20 minutes off-screens before the digital day begins.
	Light candles, set a pretty table, and enjoy dinner. No phones at the table. Make the table a sanctuary, even on a Tuesday.
	Keep a “beautiful things” notebook. Jot down what delighted your senses this week — a taste, a smell, a texture, a view. Train your attention toward beauty.

	CREATE Make things that exist in the physical world
	Start a sketchbook — even if you’re not an artist. Draw what you see. Draw badly. The point is the making, not the mastery.
	Write morning pages by hand. Three longhand pages every morning, no editing, no audience. Julia Cameron’s classic practice is more powerful on paper than on a screen.
	Make something with fiber, clay, wood, or paint. Pick one tactile medium and spend time in it. Let the material push back.
	Make and send hand-illustrated cards for occasions big and small. They don’t have to be good. They have to be yours.

	TRANSFORM Live your values in embodied, physical ways
	Grow something. A garden, plant a tree or a pot of herbs on the windowsill — caring for a living thing is one of the oldest analog practices there is.
	Volunteer your time and talent that gets you off a screen and into community. Show up in person. Bring your hands and your heart.
	Buy local and pay attention to the transaction. Farmers markets, independent bookshops, neighborhood bakeries. Look the person in the eye. Know where your money goes.

	CONNECT Preserve, pass on, and honor what came before
	Organize your physical photographs. Print some of your favorites. Put them in an album. Leave something behind that doesn’t require a password.
	Record a family story — in writing or on paper. Interview a parent, a grandparent, an elder. Write it down by hand. This is how memory survives.
	Create a family or personal ritual that doesn’t involve screens. A Sunday tradition, a seasonal practice, a holiday custom — something tactile, repeatable, and worth inheriting.