Lately, I've been noticing how much of my time disappears into my phone.
I'm probably not alone in this. Mindless scrolling is a hard habit to shake, and it's been bothering me more and more. I've tried a few things: bought a minimalist phone, blocked some websites, and started putting my phone out of sight so that scrolling takes a little more effort. And still, sometimes it catches me. I look up thirty minutes later and realise I've just spent half an hour scrolling through things I wasn't even particularly interested in. Where did that time go?
Then, one day, something rather useful happened in the middle of all that scrolling. I stumbled upon a video about something called a personal curriculum. Perhaps the universe was trying to make a point about how I was spending my time!
The idea is simple and, I think, wonderful: you design your own little course of study. You choose the skills you'd like to learn, the things you'd like to make and the subjects you'd like to explore. Then you use technology on purpose, as a teacher and a helper, rather than as a place to get lost.
It touched something in me, partly because of where I come from. My childhood was computer-free, not because my parents had made some grand decision about screen time, but simply because I belong to that generation. We read a lot of books, played outside and made things. We didn't have many things, so gathering from nature, sewing and knitting were simply part of life.
I miss that world sometimes. Handmade woodwork, pottery where you can almost feel the person behind it, dresses so unique that nobody else has quite the same one. Things made slowly, with hands, imagination and a little patience. I feel lucky that I still carry those memories, and I'd love to bring a little more of that world back into my everyday life.
So I decided to make my own personal curriculum. Nothing too ambitious to begin with. I started with two small projects: making handmade journals for next year and baking almond chocolate cookies. The journals are ready, and the cookies? Well, let's just say there weren't many left to photograph!
And now I'm curious about everything else I could learn. Drawing, sewing, making cards, exploring herbs, learning new cooking skills, understanding nature, repairing things around the house... There are so many possibilities. I'd love to become a little more capable, a little more knowledgeable and perhaps a little wiser, instead of letting technology make me a little duller.
I made a free PDF, The Personal Curriculum, for anyone who'd like to play with this idea too. It explains the concept and offers plenty of inspiration: different little "schools" to wander through, from nature and earth wisdom to practical life skills, food, creativity and making things with your hands. Each comes with ideas for small projects to try. There's also a little journal concept for keeping track of what you discover, because it's rather satisfying to see all those little explorations add up.
You don't have to follow it like a school timetable. Pick what catches your curiosity, leave the rest, and make your own rules. The point isn't to fill every spare minute with another activity or turn learning into yet another self-improvement project. It's simply to make more room for things that interest you.
If you could open your own little school this winter, what would your first class be?
