100 Things I'd Rather Hold {Instead of My Phone}

Monday, January 16, 2017


I'll be honest with y'all. The blogger block has been super real lately. I have a ton of posts that I really want to write, and am excited about, but they're posts that are really important to me, and I don't feel that they're good enough yet. So, I've been struggling figuring out what to post in the meantime. Naturally, I scurried over to Twitter with a desperate plea for ideas. The super sweet Madeline from The Little Decorator replied to me with a post idea that she herself was working on, and invited me to join her. You can find the original post idea that she sent me here. 

Let's be real here for a second. We all probably spend too much time on our phones. I know that I do. And spending time on your phone isn't a bad thing. It's how we can keep in touch with people that we don't see very often. As bloggers, there are all kinds of things that we have to do on our phones, from answering emails on the go to promoting new posts on social media. 

But then you get to the point when you're stalking your sister's friend's cousin's classmate, and you know that you're just in too deep.

One of my goals for the year is to spend less time on my phone. I'm not dropping it cold-turkey, because I don't think that that is necessary, but I want to spend less time mindlessly scrolling. So when Madeline sent me this post idea, I thought that it was perfect. (Here's her post)

So in honor of the new year and of spending less time "plugged in", here is my list!

100 Things I'd Rather Hold {Instead of My Phone}

1. My journal
2. A warm fuzzy blanket on a cold day
3. My favorite blue pen
4. A chocolate chip cookie
5. My dance bag
6. A bottle of my favorite nail polish
7. My favorite fox mug full of coffee
8. A letter from a friend
9. The giant stack of photographs sitting on my dresser
10. A Harry Potter book
11. My laptop as I settle in for an afternoon of writing
12. A kitten
13. The script for a show
14. A stack of sweaters
15. A big book full of sheet music to play on the piano
16. An eyeshadow palette as I get ready for the day
17. Sassy t-shirts
18. The strap of my big leather purse
19. A polaroid camera 
20. My 365 day journal
21. A balloon
22. A CD to blast in the car
23. A slice of cheesecake
24. A fabulous new pair of heels
25. Hair ties
26. The ribbons of my pointe shoes as I tie them around my ankles
27. My seatbelt as we get ready to drive to the beach
28. A stack of stationary to write letters
29. Thread to make bracelets
30. Warm towels
31. A new pair of leggings
32. The ballet barre
33. Packs of pens
34. A stack of books from the library
35. A spoon to stir a bowl of cookie dough
36. A tube of lipstick as I add the finishing touches to my stage makeup
37. An ice cream cone
38. Packages delivered to the front porch of things that I ordered
39. Colored pencils as I color a page in an adult coloring book
40. A seashell
41. Books that I've read countless times
42. The Princess Diaries DVD
43. Boxes of doughnuts
44. Soap that smells good
45. My yoga mat
46. The familiar pages of my planner
47. My Bible and a pen
48. Playing cards
49. My favorite necklace
50. Sand trickling through my fingers
51. Piles of bobby pins
52. Wrapping paper and scissors
53. Ornaments to decorate a Christmas tree
54. Paper and a pen to hand-letter
55. My favorite army green jacket
56. A package of hot chocolate
57. Plans for choreography
58. A frappuccino at Starbuck as I hang out with my friends
59. A fuzzy pair of socks
60. Succulents
61. A tin of tacks to hang things on my bulletin board
62. The hand of a friend as we squeeze out the pre-show nerves
63. Scrapbooking supplies
64. The vacuum handle as I finally finish cleaning
65. Piles of notebooks
66. A snowball
67. WAFFLES
68. A tube of eyeliner after finally doing a wing
69. The cute white kettle that sits on the stove
70. Knitting needles
71. Pillows
72. Strings of fairy lights
73. Bowls of popcorn
74. A hand of playing cards
75. A camera
76. Puzzle pieces
77. Bagels
78. Memories
79. Sunglasses as I step onto the beach
80. A prom dress
81. My binder as I stuff it in my backpack, work finished
82. A folder full of plans
83. My favorite body spray from Target
84. Warm trays of muffins
85. Shoelaces as I tie them on the way out the door
86. Ribbons
87. A stack of old VHS tapes
88. My favorite ring
89. A box of doughnuts
90. A jar with quotes written on slips of paper inside
91. A library card
92. Someone's hair as I braid it
93. Flowers
94. A well worn t-shirt
95. A picnic basket
96. Sweatshirts
97. My leg as I attempt to stretch it over my head
98. Tickets to a show
99. A toy as I play with my cat
100. Last, but not least? Let's go with chocolate.

- - - - -

So, tell me- what would you rather hold instead of your phone?

49 comments:

  1. THIS POST IS SO CUTE I WANT TO HUG THIS POST. <333

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  2. First of all I love this. Second of all I LOVE THIS!!!

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  3. I kinda really really love this.
    I confuse 'phone time' with 'down time', and this is such a good reminder to do things that are actually meaningful.
    love you!

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    Replies
    1. I do the same thing! I'm like, "Oh, I'll go relax," and then I end up just scrolling through Instagram for an hour. Trying to fix that, haha!

      Love you, Elissa!! <3

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  4. Replies
    1. Isn't it? I was so excited when Madeline sent it to me!

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  5. I'll do a simplified version haha
    1. A plate of sushi
    2. A cute baby
    3. My laptop while season 2 of Stranger Things is uploaded onto Netflix
    4. The notebook where I write my book Jada
    5. A new book that isn't a copycat of Divergent or The Hunger Games and actually focuses on character development.
    Cool post!

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    Replies
    1. Honestly started laughing super hard at #5. Same same same same SAMEEEEEEEEEE. Gosh.

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  6. This is so smart!! It's so hard to put down your phone these days, but this post has given me ideas of what to hold instead! I'd definitely rather hold a plate of waffles x) Or, like, a stack of awesome vintage records cuz HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE
    <333

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  7. I love this idea! It's so creative and original. It's hard to believe how addictive phones can be, even though they are really helpful!

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  8. I love this post SO much! Your list is awesome! It reminds me to treasure the things I have, and I'm also challenged to try to use them more than my phone this next year. Thanks for posting this! I'm absolutely loving your blog! I'm glad I discovered it! :) ♥

    ~Katie
    https://thekitkatstudio.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. I loved your version of it! And I'm so glad to have gotten to know you through blogging! :)

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  9. This is my happy place turned into a post and it's only appropriate that you'd be the one to write this. Eeeep this was so warm and fuzzy and I love it <3

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    Replies
    1. Your comments never fail to make my heart absolutely burst and I love you for it. <3

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  10. This is such an incredibly thoughtful post and definitely one of my favorites so far this month. <3

    Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality

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    Replies
    1. Oh my goodness, thank you so much, Ellie! I really appreciate that so much, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! <3

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  11. Love this post! And this is also one of the reasons why I prefer paperbacks and hardcovers to ebooks. At the end of the day, I feel like my eyes are bugging out from so much screen time between work and checking my phone! And then you get hand cramps...yeah. So many first-world problems. lol

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    Replies
    1. Ahaha ah, first-world problems. But really, paperbacks are just so much better!!

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  12. Aw, I love this! I just got like three new social media accounts over the past six months, so figuring out strategies to make sure I don't spend *too* much time on them has been a bit of a struggle. This post is adorable though. <3

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    Replies
    1. I feel you! It's hard to work everything out. Aw, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it:)

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  13. I love love love this post!! I'm trying to get off my social media too and this has been incredibly motivational. It's amazing the things you will have time to do if you just get off the friggin phone.

    -M
    The Life of Little Me @thelyfoflittleme.blogspot.com

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  14. PIZZA. (sorry, I had to.)

    gahh but I love this so much, and I feel it so hard. I've really been realizing how much I use my phone, and am trying to set it down more often and pick up something better (like all of these things) instead. It's difficult since my passion for writing involves technology... all the time. So I'm trying to find a good balance. :P

    Love this so much, Grace. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PIZZA! HOW DID I FORGET PIZZA???

      It's crazyyy how hard it is to use less technology when you're a writer!! The struggle is so real, haha. WE SHALL FIND THIS BALANCE!!!

      <3<3 So much love for you, Katie!!

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  15. I LOVE THIS! 100% AWESOME

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  16. Oh this is post is so cute. <3 and it's such a good idea too!

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  17. ah.
    this was so good!
    this was perfection! lovely. and so motivating to get off my phone too.
    it was my first time visiting your blog and i loved it!
    you are a very gifted writer <3
    be blessed!

    ashley

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Ashley! Wow, that means so much to me! I am so glad that you enjoyed it. :) <3

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  18. The phone struggle is SO REAL. And this post is life... I need a list of 100 things I'd rather hold, too! For starters...

    -my little cousin's hand
    -my dog's leash
    -a new book
    -my journal
    -my sister's hair (I always braid it when we sing together)
    -a microphone
    -my blanket scarf

    This is the most fabulous idea, amen.

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    Replies
    1. Ohhhh, this list makes me so happy, Olivia! <3

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  19. Oh my goodness! I love your list so much! And thanks ever so much for the shoutout. See you over on BY!!!

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    Replies
    1. Of course! Thank YOU so much for the inspiration! So glad we're doing BY together!

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  20. I love this post. It really gets you thinking on the many things you can do instead of being on your phone. :D

    Ellie
    www.uniquelyyou1.blogspot.com

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  21. Such a beautiful list! Thank you for sharing <3
    xo,
    Anna

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  22. THIS IS THE BEST LIST EVER. GAH. When I saw the title I was like yup, there are better things than your phone always- like those donuts. YES PLEASE

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    Replies
    1. YOU ARE THE BEST EVER. There are so many better things than your phone!!!

      Delete

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