This Card Will Help You Use Your Phone Less

Join the Analog Card Club and receive a new card every month

Can a card help you use your phone less?

That’s the question that came to me a few weeks ago.

I’m on a quest to use my phone less and pay more attention to the world around me, and I think I found the solution.

The idea came in my living room when I was staring at my pocket notebook. Lately, I have been trying to think of tactics that would help me use my phone less, and so I was checking out my notebook.

At that moment, I didn’t have my pen with me, and so I didn’t have anything to do with my notebook, and so I caved and pulled out my phone.

Then it hit me, what if I had a card that I carried at all times, that I could pull out instead of my phone? The card would need to have something interesting on it, and it would need to be something I could look at again and again.

That’s when the idea of The Analog Card was born.

What is The Analog Card?

The Analog Card is a sturdy card that is built to fit in your pocket and go with you everywhere. It replaces your phone in idle moments.

The card is designed to be used again and again. Each element of the card gives you something you can return to day after day.

This is what’s on each card:

Poem to Memorize: Memorizing a poem will give the card continuous utility. Your memory will improve. You will walk around with your eyes up, going over the lines in your head. It’s a beautiful thing. In the last couple of weeks, I memorized The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry using my prototype analog card, and it was very rewarding.

Quote to Ponder: This will be a quote for you to think about, consider, and apply to your life. Give yourself some time to just sit and think.

Question to Ask Yourself: A question to think about internally. Examine your life.

Conversation Starter: A question to ask others to launch deep conversations. Good questions are the foundation of good relationships.

Something to Notice: A prompt to get your eyes up and notice the world around you. One of the most significant things our phones take from us is the ability to simply look around.

Riddle: A riddle to engage your mind (and then to ask others). Get that brain working.

The idea is you can grab this card instead of your phone in those in-between moments of life. Waiting in line at the grocery store, walking, or waiting for the coffee to brew all become opportunities for connection to yourself and the world, rather than the 50th time you scrolled that day.

Join the Analog Card Club

I am launching the Analog Card Club. For $6/month, I will mail you a new Analog Card every month, with new poems, questions, and prompts to help you live a more intentional life.

You don’t need another app or reminder. You need something in your pocket to remind you that there is so much for you to see if you’ll just look up and pay attention.

This card is for you if you want to live a deliberate life and fully engage with today. If you are tired of spending too much time on your phone, this card is for you.

Join the Analog Card Club here. A new card will be delivered to your door each month. Cancel anytime. The deadline to sign up for the first Analog Card ever is May 12th.

This is my first launch ever, and I’m very excited to share it with you. These cards will help you live a more peaceful, focused, and joyful life.

-Mark

P.S. If you restack this post, I’ll include a handwritten bookmark with your May card.