r/BackOffline | reddlx

Using the Brick this weekend to drastically reduce my screentime

I got one of those brick things that allows you to screentime your iPhone, and you can only unlock certain apps once you scan this brick thing. This makes it so I can disable Slack and other work things along with other apps that are distracting. I'm hoping to be present for this weekend. Planned to do some family things and then a camping/outdoors sort of thing on Monday. Wish me luck!

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u/a_bit_offline — 1 day ago

▲ 9 r/BackOffline

Building a Library

I've begun building an offline digital library and I want to share my story with you. I grew up in the 80s/90s before the internet was widely available everywhere as it is now. So I still remember the value of having an encyclopedia at home, using a card catalog, remembering phone numbers, and even keeping valuable information stored on 3.5" floppy discs. Back then we valued data because storage was expensive and access to information had more friction.

Today I use the internet for every little thing and I'm tired of it. I hate that information or even history can change because a company or an individual can make an edit and call it truth. So, I've endeavored to build my own digital library of knowledge.

I'm not hording information just for the sake of having it. Instead if am systematically gathering information that I believe to be valuable in the event that I lost access to the internet long-term or permanently. As I do this I am trying to develop the discipline to use my local, offline library first before I reach out to the internet. When I find myself reaching for the internet I am trying to take note of what I'm looking for and then add it to my library.

This is just one of many ways I am trying to slow down and spend more time offline than on.

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u/winston198451 — 2 days ago

▲ 10 r/BackOffline

I built an app to force myself offline for an hour a day. It's barely working.

I spent February building this thing out of desperation. My screen time was 5-6 hours daily and I hated it.

◼️ The app is simple: tap begin, your screen goes black for 60 minutes. If you leave the app, the session ends. That's it.

Launched it in March. Used it myself to test it.

🐛 March: 6 successful sessions out of 31 days.

🦋 April: 12 out of 30.

So I'm still failing most days. But there is improvement. 12 out of 30 means I couldn't stay off my phone for an hour on 18 days. That's humbling when you literally built the tool.

🏔 But when I completed the hour, it felt relieving. Like I accomplished something important. Like climbing a mountain (or maybe a hill :))

The app has a journal at the end of each session. I write how I felt during that hour. At the end of the month, when I read all the notes, it's like a recap of what I actually did and felt.

I'm not promoting this like it's a solution. It's clearly not working well enough for me. But if anyone wants to try failing alongside me, it's called The Square (thesquare.is).

Free. No account. Your journal stays private and encrypted on your device. iOS and Android beta.

May is halfway done. I've done 7 sessions so far. Still losing to my phone most days.

u/sunny_beach10 — 4 days ago

▲ 33 r/BackOffline+1 crossposts

what's the old normal that has quietly become a luxury for you?

Saw a Spanish meme series going around. Same caption on every panel: "we've normalized this so much that this is a luxury." Eight contrasts. Office vs. meadow. Coffee tower vs. eight hours of sleep. ChatGPT vs. thinking with your own brain. Supplements vs. actual food. Tinder match vs. coffee with a friend.

What's the small, dumb thing in your life that you didn't notice becoming the luxury version? The thing that used to be normal and now feels like effort.

I'll start: Time in nature. I value it a lot now when I can spend some time surrounded by nature, I love it.

https://preview.redd.it/19i3fsjqwh0h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=2cfc8ecb549722ecaa1cfae1986a163d8796b2ac

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u/killoke — 12 days ago