notes app; 25 things i'd rather do than be on my phone
please send maccas rewards codes tho
Ni hao.
Sav here.
I haven’t been able to do much writing this past week.
Lethargic weekdays. Caked up weekends. A distinct lack of inspiration when I try to squeeze out some value during the one-and-a-half minute periods between waiting for coffee, sets at the bench press or glances between the Netflix show I’m half paying attention to.
(Note: Those forced bursts are never productive. Never do them again.)
I just haven’t had the time - and when I do, I just haven’t had the energy.
This is actually more than okay because I intentionally write my articles (the ones scheduled for Saturday) about two weeks in advance, a backlog I was lucky to build during the Christmas break. That gap is slowly closing to one week in advance, and once it enters same-week territory, I will crash and burn like a box of fireworks.
This does not work very well for my notes app posts (the ones scheduled for usually Tuesday) because they’re meant to be live updates on what’s going around me. I can’t write February’s one in January. It doesn’t work like that. I basically have a one week timer to get them out - and this time, I couldn’t quite do so.
Alas, I forgive myself, and in turn I’m shoving as many words as I can into this thirty minute block in the middle of the day.
(And of course that’s when my manager decides to call me, right as I attempt to dodge work.)
Grass-touching and statistical analytics software aside, you know what’s been a major distraction?
At a little under 2k Australian dollars, my phone is probably the most expensive piece of technology I own.
(Unless you count a car as technology, then it’s probably my car.)
This 14.9cm by 7.1cm aluminium brick is the bane of my existence. The most unparalleled, overpowered source of distraction filled with bewildering, dopamine-jacking algorithms that have already predicted what I’d like to purchase in summer 2028.
I won’t regale you with lukewarm takes about how phones are bad for us and how social media is sucking us dry because it’s increasingly common knowledge and I choose to be positive and I hate the mental masturbation of complaining about social media while being on social media.
So instead, I’m going to share 25 things I’d rather do than be on my phone:
Read a book, duh.
Rearrange my wardrobe.
Clean the house, even if it’s for fifteen minutes.
Go on a leisurely stroll;
And on that note, head to my favourite coffee shop;
Where I can do some pen-and-paper journaling;
Or write my next Substack post on a dingy Thinkpad.
Whip up a tasty meal;
Grab some grub at a restaurant;
Or an irresponsible amount of McNuggets.
Cuddle with my partner;
Yap with a friend or;
Fire up a video game to play for either five minutes or five hours.
Perhaps all three at the same time?
Lay in the sun, most preferably at a beach;
Though a grassy parkland would work too.
Play a rhythm game at the arcade and fail miserably.
Assemble my schedule for the following week;
Especially what I plan on meal prepping!
Head to gym, even for a little while;
And take the longest shower imaginable.
Sit atop the balcony with a cup of tea;
Or if feeling feisty, a cocktail of sorts.
Figure out which of my clothes should go into recycling/donation.
And finally, most importantly - one that I ought to embrace more: take a fucking nap.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll probably have something more curated next week, but don’t hold me to that, for I might turn into a puddle by the end of the month.
Till then, stay drugs and don’t do cool.
xx
Salvatore