If you’re old enough to remember life before Wi-Fi—and that’s the majority of us born before 2000—you might recall the way days then seemed so unhurried, hours stretching infinitely before us, our brains blissfully free of memes and status updates.
Consider that modern appendage called the smartphone, which entered our lives in 2007 and is now such a part of us that we suffer full-blown panic attacks when we don’t feel its rectangular sleekness in our hands. But it wasn’t always so. Once upon a time, we engaged in analog activities (back then, we just called them “activities”), and we did them without letting the world know we were doing them.
But this is no Luddite screed. Technology has improved our lives in innumerable ways. Digital connectivity has made our networks closer and larger at the same time, and few of us would opt out of this brave new world. The reality we’re living in right now was beyond the scope of our imagination just a month ago, and while we have access to the best (and the worst) the internet has to offer, now’s also a good time to rediscover the pleasures of an analog life. These activities require no bandwidth, just your presence. Give them a try, and try to resist doing an Instagram story about it.
Board Games
Mention multiplayer games and your kids might think Call of Duty or Fortnite, but bust out board game classics like Scattergories, Scrabble and Pictionary and they’ll be hooked for hours. For the younger set, Apples to Apples and Telestrations will be a hit, while the immersive worlds of Dungeons & Dragons or The Settlers of Catan will have your teens staying up late into the night, without a blue light in sight.
Letter Writing
You know why stamps say “Forever”? Because letter writing never goes out of style. There’s something so personal and heartfelt about receiving an actual handwritten letter in the mail, and getting one today feels like a holiday miracle. Just a century and a half ago, letter writing was so in vogue, J. Willis Westlake wrote a book on epistolary etiquette titled How to Write Letters. Go write a letter to someone you love. They’ll feel less alone in this time of social distancing.
Penmanship Exercises
Speaking of letter writing, now’s a good time to brush up on your penmanship. Sure, we can tap out novellas on our iPhones, but who these days still knows how to use cursive? Most school-age children certainly don’t, even though studies have shown that putting pen or pencil to paper is beneficial for early literacy and spelling proficiency. Once you’ve mastered cursive, take it up a notch and learn calligraphy. Then when the lockdown ends, join the Fabulous Las Vegas Scribes, a group dedicated to preserving and fostering the beautiful art of penmanship.
Journaling
We’re living through a once-in-a-lifetime event. Find a notebook and jot down your feelings. These are anxious times, and putting your thoughts on paper will alleviate a lot of that anxiety. If nothing else, chronicling this time in your life will serve as an interesting record you can look back on once we come out the other side. Someday, you and your loved ones will hardly believe there was a time when folks hoarded toilet paper.
Crafting
There are many passionate groups out there dedicated to fiber arts, from embroidery and quilting to knitting and crocheting, traditions that go back hundreds of years. If you’re lucky, you might have a handmade heirloom that’s been passed down from your forebears in the form of a quilted blanket or a beloved knitted sweater. Create your own heirlooms now that you have the time. What you make today will have a story to tell generations from now.
Read an actual book
Put away the tablet and read that book that’s been sitting on your shelf forever. There’s an unparalleled pleasure in holding paper in your hands, turning the pages impatiently as you race from one chapter to the next. Reading is a transformative experience, and reading a physical book grounds you in the here and now. It requires nothing of you except your undivided attention, and it rewards you with a glimpse into worlds untold.
