46 tiny analog practices for the remaining weeks of 2026
small ways to spend less time on your phone and more time in real life
At the very beginning of this year I wrote this post:
and it went a little viral with 150,000 views, 8,000 likes and close to 1000 restacks. Recently, I revisited said activities I had suggested for January and realised (rather sheepishly), that I had completed exactly one of them.
Every week I wrote “do creative activity this week” in the notes app on my phone, as though the act of scheduling offline time (via my phone of all places) would guarantee its arrival. And yet, week after week, life quietly filled the space I had imagined would belong to my unbounded creativity. I had imagined my January filled with buttons, upcycled tablecloths and the smell of fluffy focaccia wafting through my home, but instead faced emails, errands and work stretching into the evenings. The romantic idea of “doing something analog” kept getting pushed to tomorrow.
And thinking about that made me reconsider the true purpose of the list in the first place. Have I really failed in not going analog? It made me think about what are we aiming to achieve when we “go analog”. I had wanted to learn how to be present with the “real” world, to bring unbridled joy back into my life, and to spend less time on my gross little phone.
So sure, I could go analog by breaking up china plates and making a birdhouse but I could also do that by walking to the dog park and watching the birds in the trees. The difference is that one is more “shareable” online, and one is not.
When I reflected on the moments this year where I did feel slower and more grounded, I noticed a pattern. Those moments happened when the activity required almost no preparation, when it folded gently into the rhythm of my day, and when it felt small enough to begin without resistance. They were simple, low-effort, and almost always required using something I already had.
What if instead of aiming to add more into our already jam-packed lives, we made simple swaps instead?
The truth is, most of us don’t spend five hours a day on our phones in one long block. It’s usually broken into small pockets of time: 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there. We don’t feel like we have time for creative hobbies because our free time is scattered. This list is designed for those scattered moments. Instead of searching TikTok for creative activities join a snail mail club, still doomscrolling on the toilet? read that Substack article you saved, on the train to work try learning to crochet, on your walks skip the podcast and listen to the birdsong around you, instead of MAFS catch a movie with your bestie.
In the spirit of being realistic, I’ve created a companion list for the remaining 46 weeks of 2026. A few ideas are simplified versions of the original list, while others are completely new. Every activity is intentionally small enough to start today. Many can slip easily into your existing routine, and most are simply alternatives to reaching for your phone.
46 Tiny Analog Rituals for the Rest of 2026
Week 1: Buy an ice cream, it doesn’t need to be fancy, even if it comes from a petrol station freezer, and sit somewhere outside while you enjoy it slowly (if you like sweet treats my list is for you!).
Week 2: Want to read more but keep finding excuses why you don’t have the time? Joining a book club helps as it makes you accountable. You can usually find book clubs to join at your local library or information if listed on your cities website (for Melbourne it’s here.)
Week 3: Take three slow, deliberate breaths wherever you are sitting right now, noticing how quickly the nervous system softens when you give it permission. And just like that - you’ve already completed one of the activities for the year, look at you, you analog, whimsical fairy you!
Week 4: Join a snail mail club and experience the old school “ooo!” of receiving something physical in your letterbox. This was the only thing I managed to do in January because it was so easy!
Week 5: Mention a hobby you have been curious about to someone who loves you and allow them the joy of gifting it to you. Lucky them! I did this for rock tumbling and received the set from my sister’s for my birthday - I was stoked.
Week 6: Pause to smell the flowers when walking your dog even if it feels slightly theatrical. I always feel like my mum when I do it, which I like! We all love flowers in our family (whose mum doesn’t) and I’ll often share pics in the group chat of the flowers on my walks. And fun-fact, the name of my snail mail club is inspired by the song in The Sound of Music but I got the idea going for a walk and seeing raindrops on roses.
Week 7: Change up your night-time routine and put a strict “no phones rule” in place. Instead, grab a rosary (it’s not religious, read my favourite book to unpack it) and recite a few Hail Mary’s before drifting off to the best sleep you’ve ever had.
Week 8: The next time you encounter a neighbourhood kitty, stop to greet them and give them a hello. Bonus points if they feel inclined to let you pat them.
Week 9: Invite a friend to become your “creative accountability partner”. Ask if there’s anything on this list they’d like to complete with you and you can do it together.
Week 10: Buy the weekend paper and pastries and have a slow breakfast at home.
Week 11: Replace your Instagram and TikTok scroll with Substack articles.
Week 12: Take yourself on a solo date to somewhere low-key that you always enjoy, such as the thrift shop or the bookstore. Allow yourself as much as you want without being rushed, just to browse and meander the aisles.
Week 13: Light a candle and say a prayer for somebody you love.
Week 14: Stand barefoot on grass and feel the soil between your toes. I do this on my daily walks to the dog park with Matilda, and always feel glee at how beautiful the ground feels beneath my feet.
Week 15: Bring a poetry book to bed and read a few poems every night before you sleep. One of my favourites is The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy.
Week 16: Ask if anyone would like to try Parkrun with you on Saturday mornings. I’ve been going for around 3 years now and love it. We go for breakfast after with a group of friends we met in the dog park and it’s the best! We always find ourselves saying “that was so wholesome”. And if you’re not in the mood to run, you just walk.
Week 17: Sell old clothes on Depop / Vinted and use the money to fund a creative project or fun business idea. I did this and saved up $900 to buy a printer and start my snail mail club.
Week 18: Buy flowers for your home just because you can.
Week 19: Blast a silly song that reminds you of your childhood next time you’re vacuuming and singalong with abandon.
Week 20: On the next full moon, write something you are ready to release and burn the paper (safely).
Week 21: On the next new moon, write something you hope to manifest into your life and tuck the paper somewhere safe. If you want to join me for a new moon ceremony where we do this ritual together, join here for our next one on Feb 16th.
Week 22: Create nature TV: Fill a bowl with water and place it outside for birds, then settle in to watch. Spread some birdseeds around too if you want to spice it up.
Week 23: Finally book the restaurant you keep talking about visiting.
Week 24: On your daily communte, pause to listen to birdsong and try to identify different calls.
Week 25: Dance around your living room to your favourite song.
Week 26: When the breeze stirs the trees, pause and notice it fully. Observe the movement of the leaves, the scent in the air, the sounds around you, the taste of the moment, and the feeling on your skin. Let it draw you back into the present and gently calm your mind.
Week 27: Bring home a small natural treasure from a trip; it could be a shell, stone or leaf; and give it a place of honour.
Week 28: Bake chocolate chip cookies and enjoy them warm and the smell of cookies wafting through your home.
Week 29: Instead of meeting a friend for coffee, grab a coffee and walk. Walking conversations always get deeper then seated and research backs it up as it’s less stressful to talk to someone when you’re walking side by side, with minimal eye contact, than conversing face to face.
Week 30: Ask your grandparents / parents for a sentimental object that carries a story that you can inherit early. I don’t mean their diamond ring haha (I mean, unless…), just a little keepsake that you can cherish.
Week 31: Delete apps from your phone that take you away from being present. TikTok has been glitching for me in the last 2 weeks and it has just forced me to spend time away from it, and it’s been the BEST ever. Use Brick if you’re struggling.
Week 32: Sit in a park and watch grass move in the breeze. Contemplate the wisdom of a blade of grass and feel very Buddha-like. See the below quote from our Lady of Woodstock to meditate on. 1
Week 33: Make a big batch of rocky road, keep some for yourself and wrap some up to give away to friends and neighbours. I love this recipe from Nagi. My sister made it for my husband for Xmas and I was told off every time I was caught nibbling away at it!
Week 34: Next time you need advice or comfort, speak to your ancestors, the dead are always listening and here for us.
Week 35: Go topless sunbathing in your backyard / wear a crop top to the park / bikini to the pool, with some SPF of course. (Please remember, I live in Australia and we are sunning ourselves right now). Don’t do it as a “biohack”.
Week 36: Organise your make-up and skincare drawer. I recently put all my make-up in a small travel bag, and use that as my everyday make-up so I’m not sorting through drawers looking for anything. It’s also made me realise how little I need.
Week 37: Make tea and drink it outside. It doesn’t need to be a fancy concoction, just a humble teabag and hot water.
Week 38: Make a simple body scrub (I make mine with 1 cup coconut oil, 2 cups brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla essence) and enjoy saving money and sloughing off your skin.
Week 39: Read a paperback fiction under a tree.
Week 40: Go to the movies with a friend and order choc-tops. If you don’t have access to choc-tops in your country I am very sorry. Adding maltesers to popcorn is a close second.
Week 41: Swap coffee for ceremonial cacao. I just bought this one from Cacao Collective and I’m looking forward to starting my mornings with more heart opening.
Week 42: Do downward dog to upward dog while you wait for the kettle to boil.
Week 43: Come to my next sister circle held on the new moon of every month, email me if you want me to add you to the group - maddy@madalingiorgetta.com.
Week 44: Buy a plant and greet it with love every morning.
Week 45: Start a commonplace notebook. There’s not the same pressure to make it aesthetic like a Junk Journal. This is a notebook to organize and log quotes, words, song lyrics, poems, recipes, topics, book titles, and anything else you want to remember or find inspiring.
Week 46: Make banana split sundaes and eat them during a cosy movie night in - I warned you there was a lot of ice-cream in this list!
I hope this post helped take some of the pressure off “doing something analog” this year, and gave you some simple, easy ideas to incorporate into your everyday life to make life more joyful and bring presence, laughter, peace and joy back into your life.
Warm hugs,
Madalin
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“The world around you is filled with things that seem gentle or weak but are really strong. Consider the grass blade that can be trampled by a foot, but can still break through cement or crack the asphalt of a road.
However much human beings accomplish, however much they insist on replacing the wisdom of simple, humble things with their own wisdom, however much they seek to invert the values of the natural world or subvert its laws, they will never surpass the grass.
There is more truth in a grass blade than in the books of many libraries. There is more faithfulness in one of its seeds than in all of your philosophies and religions. The grass has remained true to its task from the beginning, and it will be there to welcome you in the future as you travel down through time.
As filled as your world is with forms and colors, it provides no rest for the eye, no place of solace or stillness for the soul. But the grass does this. It always has and always will. My lesser children are my greater children—too great for you ever to fully understand them or comprehend their designs.” - Our Lady of Woodstock
I had to look up choc-tops and it looks so good... I neeeeed...
But now I feel a need for not just choc-tops (our "drumstick" might come close), but also pastries, a cup of tea, that amazing sounding rocky road, those cookies... LOL I also like how you've turned doing-nothing moments into activities to fool our overly programmed brains into thinking we're still doing something other than being present. Well done!