Embroidery - A Creative Alternative to Picking Up Your Phone 205 times a day

Yes, people on average pick up their phone about 205 times a day. According to my phone’s screen time report as of Nov. 1, I’ve picked up my phone an average of 94 times a day. Pretty good, but that doesn’t point to how much time I’ve wasted.

I recently started on a journey to reduce my screen time. This comes from my realization of how my average of 3.5 hours on social media per day could have instead been time dedicated to a hobby I love or to learning a new one.

Whenever I decided to put away my phone for a few hours or gave it to my partner to hide from me, I could feel the desire to pick up my phone bubble up not even 10 minutes later. I was itching to watch funny videos on social media, to purchase a new outfit, to check notifications from my friends, to find some inspirational creativity video, but not actually do something creative afterward…

That’s when I knew that I needed to find a way to keep myself off my phone and use the time I had to nurture my skills and experience life outside of the internet. That led me to one solution:

Embroidery.

According to Merriam-Webster.com embroidery is “the art or process of forming decorative designs with hand or machine needlework.”

I purchased this cute mushroom embroidery kit from Craft Club Co. and started working on it back in late September. This was my first time embroidering, and the motion of picking it up and and then putting it down to rethread the needle or set it aside to take a break reminded me of all those times when I picked up my phone to scroll and put it back down when I finally realized I needed a break. The most important difference between the two was that I was making something with my hands fulfilling my desire to create rather than wasting my emotional and mental energy on a glowing brick.

Pulling the thread through the front and then through the back is repetitive and as a result it felt meditative at times. Seeing the colorful threads form and fill in the outlines is satisfying and as you get more comfortable with the motions, you pick up the pace too.

It’s now November, and I am nearly done with the embroidery kit. To be honest, it has not been my only alternative to my phone. I’ve also been trying to focus my attention on things I loved to do before I started using a smart phone like reading, playing board games, and other things I’ll talk about in future posts.

I chose to write about this in particular because I have come to enjoy it and it’s relatively easy to transport. You can keep it in your backpack or tote while you’re on the go and secure the supplies in a small container or pencil case. If you’re at home you can leave it out in most places at the ready if you don’t have little ones or pets to worry about.

So, if you’re also in a similar boat of wanting to spend less time on your phone, I’d encourage you to take on this craft or seek another one that also takes time and effort, but brings you joy.

The kit I mentioned includes a hoop, a piece of linen fabric, threads of different colors, and an embroidery needle (with extras). There’s a design printed on the fabric and the ink will dissolve when washed with water. When reading the instructions, you’ll find that there are multiple stitches used to achieve specific designs. If you prefer a tutorial the instructions have a QR code that will take you to their channel with video tutorials.

If you are interested in purchasing an embroidery kit or another craft on their website, I am partnered with Craft Club Co. and you can use my code: JOJOBUNCO to get 10% off your entire order at no extra cost to you.