Use More Paper - the global analog revival

I recently sat down with Jose Briones - digital minimalism advocate, book author, and YouTuber - for a conversation about intentional technology use, dumb phones, and the analog life. I first discovered Jose through his YouTube channel , and this conversation did not disappoint. We covered a lot of ground, from the history of technology in our homes to the surprising link between financial freedom...

I recently sat down with Carl Pullein , a productivity consultant and YouTuber who has spent over a decade helping people get organized. Carl has been using Todoist for twelve years, Evernote for sixteen, and last year he ran a full-year experiment with a Franklin Planner. We talked about why people keep switching tools, why paper still matters, and why convenience might not be as good for us as w...

By popular demand, here is my Minimal Phone review. And it’s not just a quick first-impression kind of thing. I’ve been using this phone as my daily driver for four months now. It replaced my Punkt MP02, and I have quite a few thoughts to share. I don’t usually do phone reviews because there are better channels for that. But I do think I have something worthwhile to say about this particular kind...

If you want to change something in your life, don’t wait for January 1st. Just change it right away. You can do it today. Start running every day, for example. It will make your life better. I’m actually running right now as I’m telling you this. A quick public service announcement: some of you were subscribed to my Digital Pragmatism Substack. I have sent one email to all of you with some secret...

Do you remember the video I made about the fact that I still buy CDs, vinyls, and music files like MP3s from the Apple iTunes store? What Amazon did recently is proof that I’m doing a good thing for my music library. And you should also consider doing the same - owning your stuff and not renting it from somebody, let’s say Amazon. Amazon changed its policies related to Kindle books, and from Febru...

Many parents struggle with this decision, and today, we want to discuss an organization called “Wait Until 8th” that has a powerful suggestion for parents: wait until your child is at least 14 years old before giving them a smartphone. Why 14? According to the organization and psychologist Jonathan Haidt , waiting until the end of puberty is crucial for a child’s mental health. During puberty, chi...

One important aspect of our media consumption is understanding that the platform is the message. Different platforms offer different experiences, and it's crucial to be aware of how these platforms shape the content we consume. For example, Twitter is designed for short, snappy messages, while TikTok focuses on brief videos. By recognizing the nature of each platform, we can better tailor our medi...

The Challenge of Digital Parenting In today’s world, parenting has become a digital battlefield. We face the dilemma of whether to raise our children as digital minimalists or risk them becoming technologically backward. The truth is, it’s not about being afraid of technology; it’s about managing its influence on our kids’ lives. We often see parents giving smartphones to their children, not out o...

We fear that they may struggle to communicate openly and genuinely with others, leading to a society where meaningful connections are increasingly rare. This is why we have made the decision not to give our daughters smartphones, comparing this choice to decisions made about alcohol, drugs, or other addictive and highly regulated forms of entertainment. Recent studies have linked depression and po...

Like an old Nokia Our experiment began when we decided to switch from smartphones to dumb phones, inspired by the Punkt MP01 design, reminiscent of the old Nokia phones we used as students. At first, the transition was uncomfortable and painful, as we had grown accustomed to the convenience and features of our smartphones. However, we soon learned that living without a smartphone was, in fact, muc...

I am listening recently to Moriah Woods — highly recommended. It's a singer-songwriter that I didn't know that existed. Recently, with my daughter, we went to an Anneke Van Giersbergen concert and Moriah opened for Anneke. She's very good. She plays moody songs accompanied by acoustic guitar, very good songwriting. Let’s talk about music today. After trying Tidal, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Musi...

Why Ditch the Smartphone? One of the worst parts about owning a smartphone is the email function. If you have your work email synced to your phone, it’s like you are never actually leaving work. You feel the pressure you feel at work 24/7. Sometimes, you might find yourself answering work emails in the middle of the night because you couldn’t sleep. This sets an unhealthy precedent that our employ...

I’m off extractive, algorithm-driven social media since nine years. Therefore, I’m not accustomed to being attacked verbally, because I’m not participating in this kind of “sport” anymore. Still, there’s times when frustrated people make comments on my YouTube videos. Of course, a large majority of those people are on my Polish channel, since Polish people are very frustrated and at the same time...

Despite the convenience and allure of digital tools, there's a growing movement towards embracing the simplicity and effectiveness of paper planning. I still use a paper notebook and don't plan to stop. Rediscovering Paper For years, we’ve been told that digital is the way to go. Apps like Notion, Obsidian, and various project management tools promise to streamline our lives. But after decades of...