Thinking Time
Being bored is the newest life hack.
My wife was upset with me and rightfully so.
I was distracted. I was neglecting important things at home. I was getting accused of not knowing what was happening all around me because I was too busy watching a video or scrolling through social media on my phone.
I wasn’t present, and I certainly wasn’t thinking about what needed to get done, what was important, and what was the next right thing.
The accusation finally hit when she said I wasn’t thinking. She believed I was outsourcing my thinking on things that I had no control over and not doing it at all regarding things that needed my attention.
Ultimately, it wasn’t an accusation so much as confirmation.
I was in a much more in-depth relationship with my phone than with the people in my household.
That needed to change.
My iPhone has a whole section for screen time. I had not looked at it in a long time and I was a little afraid. My average screen time was 6 hours 14 minutes, and I picked up my phone 60 times per day. I was not surprised.
I tell myself my phone is a tool. That I’m using it, not the other way around. But tools don’t buzz in your pocket while you’re trying to write. They don’t light up during dinner. They don’t whisper “just check me once” when you’re lying in bed at 11 PM, finally ready to sleep.
My phone isn’t a tool. It’s a toxic relationship.
I’ve spent the last few years telling myself I’m good at managing distractions. That I can write an email and scroll RSS feeds. That checking Instagram Reels between work jobs helps me “take breaks.” That scanning headlines while my coffee brews is just being efficient.
I was lying to myself. I wasn’t being efficient. I was fractured.
Every empty moment in my life had become a chance to fill my brain with something. Home from work and just want to relax? News headlines. Standing in line at the grocery store? Email. Driving my car? A podcast. I’ve eliminated every second of boredom from my days. And you know what else I eliminated? The space where I used to figure things out.
When was the last time I’d just... thought? Not consumed information. Not reacted to messages. Just sat somewhere and let my mind work through something that mattered?
I couldn’t remember.
I traded thinking for consuming. And I didn’t even notice I’d made the trade. I realized I check my phone more often than I talk to my wife. That, my friends, is not a healthy relationship.
So, I’ve made a few special modifications.
I turned off every notification on my phone except texts and calls. All of them. No email badges. No social media alerts. No news pings. No app updates. Nothing. If something truly matters, I’ll find out. Usually from my wife, in an actual conversation.
I deleted Google and Apple News apps. I stopped pretending I needed to know everything that was happening everywhere, all the time.
I deleted Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and the Threads apps. I had already deleted Twitter last year. Now, I only interact with these services when sitting at my computer. They aren’t constantly in my hand begging me to “check them.”
A few things made the cut. I did keep my podcast app, Overcast, but I’m re-evaluating what I’m listening to and refocusing the content. I also kept Inoreader to read the many RSS feeds I’ve collected over the years. I’m up to nearly 275, so it’s way past time for a wave of personal curation on what is truly worthwhile to read and keep.
While I have a great many digital books, I wasn’t using my phone to read them. I’ve changed that and have started reading for pleasure via my phone instead of mindlessly scrolling.
Another interesting addition to my toolbox has been an actual physical notebook. Each day, I write down lists of things I need to remember, to-dos, and really anything else that comes to mind. I set up each day in quadrants: Me, Copy, Home, and Work. I’ve only had it out for a few days, but I think it’s working as intended.
My phone is still being used constantly, but now I use it when I decide to, not when it tells me to. The goal is to be more present, get more writing done, have better conversations, sleep better, and feel less anxious. Not because I’m more disciplined or more enlightened, but because I created space for my brain to do what brains are supposed to do. Think.
I’m not here to tell you that I’m now a better person because I deleted some social media apps and went slightly analog, and you could be just like me. You do you, boo. All I know is it’s helping me focus and, more importantly, think better.
Of course, I’m still checking my phone more than I should. However, I’m better at sitting with the discomfort of boredom instead of scrolling it away. Now, I’m thinking about something that matters instead of consuming something that doesn’t.
Start wherever you are. Delete your least-used social media app. Walk the dog without anything in your ears. See what shows up when you make room for it.
It’s amazing what a little thinking time can do.
Be seeing you.
Illinois, Daktronics Install Largest Video Display in College Football
“The new south end zone display will measure approximately 69 feet high by 250 feet wide and will feature a 10-millimeter pixel spacing for high-resolution imagery and improved contrast. The size of the display will allow for larger-than-life content, including live video, instant replays, graphics, animations, game statistics and sponsorship messages.” I can’t wait to see this thing in action.
How To Work Out What You Want In Life
Karen Barnes might not have it all worked out, but this is some good advice. I should take it.
The secret to being happy in 2026? It’s far, far simpler than you think …
“I have a proposal to make: 2026 should be the year that you spend more time doing what you want. The new year should be the moment we commit to dedicating more of our finite hours on the planet to things we genuinely, deeply enjoy doing – to the activities that seize our interest, and that make us feel vibrantly alive. This should be the year you stop trying so hard to turn yourself into a better person, and focus instead on actually leading a more absorbing life.” This is amazing. So many good ideas here.
Scott Adams’ Life and Death Is a Cautionary Tale for the MAGA Age
Here’s some advice: Live your life in such a way that when you die, your obituaries don’t open with how you were such a massive racist asshole.
MTV Rewind
MTV Rewind collects over 33,000 music videos, shows, and exclusive concert footage spanning the station's four decades. Want Pop Up Video? No problem. An MTV Unplugged concert you haven't seen in ages? Sorted. Need to show a millennial how truly terrible early '80s music videos were? This is your resource. The site is searchable, well-organized, and captures the fun, rebellious aesthetic that MTV packaged and sold us when we were growing up. I could spend hours upon hours with this… By the way, MTV still exists, even though some people think otherwise.
‘The Toys That Made Us’ Triggered My Nostalgia Reflex
Eric Pierce and I could be friends. We both have very similar tastes and approaches. This most recent bit of writing reminded me of myself quite a bit. To make him insanely jealous, I should point out that all my Star Wars toys are in my parents’ basement.
The Madness of Living in 2026
Will Leitch has had a hard week. Haven’t we all? “I have regularly told myself, truly believed even, that this ghastly period will eventually end, that we will get through it, that we will someday tell stories of how we lived through it. I didn’t know how it would end. I just believed it would. May we be so lucky. May we make it long enough to find out.”
JD Vance is a piece of s—t
Drew Magary is on fire. “What does he actually stand for, besides anything that Trump or his sugar daddies in the tech sector tell him to say? And how exactly did Americans benefit from the unprovoked killing of a woman literally named Good? Do you feel any safer thanks to Ross’ open cowardice? Do you feel grateful that he left Good’s children devastated, forever? Are your groceries suddenly cheaper now thanks to Ross’ heroic act of randomly shooting a woman? Did you study all of the camera angles like an NFL ref and decide that actually, Good completed the process of attempted murder? No, no, no, no, no, and no. Vance can lie, slander and spin this killing all he likes, but, thanks to the raw footage, none of it will mask the giant, neon sign blinking over his head that says THIS MAN IS AN AMORAL SACK OF S—T. A fascist. A liar. A champion of genocide.”
Fascists Are Pathetic
As a companion piece to Magary’s writing, David Roth is also en fuego. It is a beautifully written essay that stands alone as a biting observation of societal failure. This is a good example of Roth’s inimitable style: “In Trump's second term, the federal government has intentionally rid itself of the capacity to do anything but make things worse; it has quite literally traded Ph.D scientists and dedicated civil servants for the chance to hastily stand up this expansion team from the waiver-wire flotsam of the violence worker community." I long for the days when government policy wasn't literally 4chan shitpost logic.
‘F*** you’: Trump FLIPS OFF heckler at Ford plant after ‘pedophile’ comment
During his visit to a Ford F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan, convicted felon Donald Trump made an obscene gesture and yelled an expletive in response to a factory worker who shouted that he was a "pedophile protector." The incident, captured on cell phone footage and shared widely online, was confirmed by the White House. Trump's undignified response would never be tolerated if it were any other president. Ultimately, Trump was getting a taste of what most Americans think of him, both as a leader and as a person. Keep in mind, the finger is not a denial.
