Cutting Out (Part IV)

This article is part of my Cutting Out Phone Addiction series. You may read Parts 1, 2 and 3 before continuing.

This feels monumental, because it's the last few times that the Reclaim Your Brain newsletter was sent. I know I don't need to do them in the specific order, and I can always go back to whichever week I'd like to. But it just feels... right. I am not the rule-breaker everyone thinks I am (lol).

These past weeks, aside from using my phone less, I've been appreciating my time at home a lot more. As cliché as it sounds, I've become more mindful and aware of how my time has been spent. I've been documenting my days, noting down the things I've done. I know the purpose of documenting my life is for these articles, but I've enjoyed reading and looking back at what I've accomplished on some days. So documenting my days might be a habit I keep up with.

This week, we were asked to keep up with what we have been practicing and add a "delight" practice - where we keep a log of things that delighted us in a day. I didn't incorporate this because I am still a cynic. It's somewhat like a gratitude journal, right? Thinking of all the good things that happened in a day.

But I dunno... I prefer noting down things as they are without judgements as to whether they are good or not. They are just part of life, you know?

Week 4

Average screen time per day last week: 1h 18 mins. Roughly 20 days a year. That's... great! It's 5 days more than the ideal 15 days per year or roughly 1 hour per day. But still way better than what I had previously!

Sunday, 6 July 2025

Screen time: 1h 03 mins

I had a Sunday off, again, which I doubted and I checked my phone for my schedule in the morning just to ensure that I really didn't have work that day. My work at the café unfortunately uses an app on my phone for administrative tasks like schedules and clocking in/out.

I ate breakfast and watched an Indonesian horror movie which I watched in parts during my nail appointment on the day before. It wasn't scary. And also the first time I watched an Indonesian horror movie based on the Indonesian Chinese community. I like how Indonesian movies are a lot more diverse now. I watched an Indonesian Christian horror movie at some point this past year (and hearing Christian terms in Indonesian was quite a surprise for a Muslim person).

The day passed by in a blur: I took a nap at some point, read stuff on my tablet, talked to my mum, read some more, had dinner, said hi to my husband for a short while.

In the evening, after dinner, I finally moved my ass and walked to the library to donate 3 books. I discovered that I could donate my Malay language books. Duh, it's a national library, and it represents the 4 official languages of Singapore. Made a mental note to organise my Malay books for donation.

As usual, I couldn't leave the library without borrowing even more books. I went to the library's computer and logged into my account in hopes of utilising the algorithm to spit some recommendations but I was having none of it. I didn't have my phone with me (yay!) and so I did the old school browsing and perused the signs in the library to look for the magazine rack and the adult fiction shelves.

Thankfully, I brought my wallet with my ID so I could check the books out. God, the borrowing machines of today are SO technologically advanced that I could check out EIGHT books at a time if I wanted to! I really didn't need my phone for that. (Note: The NLB app is great if you don't want to use the machines in the library, as it has a function for you to borrow your books by scanning the QR Code of a book using the app as you take them from the shelves)

I got a bubble tea as a treat on the way home and ran into my first phone-free outing problem: the shop didn't accept card payments. They only accepted digital payments like PayLah! and PayNow, and cash. Thankfully, I had cash.

So it wasn't a problem, after all.

Monday, 7 July 2025

Screen time: 0h 50 mins

I woke up at a respectable time to hear my cat having a fight with another, and to send my mum to work.

Went to get a newspaper because my dad hasn't been brought over to the digital newspaper side and that is a good thing. I then accompanied him to the playground for his daily morning exercise and read one of the books I borrowed from the library, Weekends with You by Alexandra Paige.

When we came back home, I noted his appointments for the month in my teeny-tiny agenda book. The rest of the time before I was due for work, I spent on not-my-phone: making cold brew with 120g of coffee beans from different bags, read and replied some emails on my laptop while waiting for the cold brew to be done, and then took a shower to prepare for work.

Things I did on my phone: discussing a book I read in the previous week over whatsapp with a friend who just read the book as well. I need a physical book club, where I can chat with people about the books we read. I need an outlet for bitching about books the same way people talk about drama series!

I went to have lunch and ate without any distractions, not even reading. It was delicious and a great practice of doing one thing at a time.

My slippers broke. I had to keep it together with a stapler. I almost cried. But I managed to get home without any further accidents. I was surprised by how stable I dealt with the crisis. Am I becoming a... mentally stable person?

I continued reading a book in the MRT on the way to work, in between the classes I was assisting, and on the way back home. I calculated (roughly, in my head, without my phone) that I read 60% of the book in less than 24 hours. A feat, honestly. Then again, with less screen time, I had more "nothing" time, which was turned into "reading" time.

Not complaining, I really love that I'm back to being the bookworm that I always am.

Ended the night with a knee work out, and found a video of a knee stretch that was short and sweet.

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Screen time: 1h 18 mins

Same morning routine as yesterday except I walked on my sister's thread mill after bringing my dad for his exercise, while reading my book. I took a break on the sofa, where my cat Jeogi was sleeping and I continued reading while giving him scratches. Sometimes I wonder why my cats aren't extremely affectionate and are such anxious cats, but I've come to accept them as they are and I should respect their space. I love them so much.

I finished reading Weekends with You by Alexandra Paige. Took me less than 48 hours. It's either I have too much free time now, or the book was very short. I think it's the latter.

I spent the rest of my time writing, and took out another book I loaned on my journey to work. This book - Annie in Paris by Carmen Reid - isn't from a genre I enjoy. But I'm pushing through because the writing looked fun.

I know, in How To Read More, I mentioned that I stopped reading books I didn't like. However, I don't dislike the book. Some of the storylines are just... icky.

But because of the book, I had more stuff to rant to my husband about being childfree. Teehee.

My sister and I went on a grocery run in the evening after work because my parents were running low on some staples in the pantry. It was fine and I brought my phone, just in case. In case of what? No idea. My sister brought her phone, she used her phone to access some government vouchers, and I really didn't need a phone as a passenger. Oh well. It was in my pocket the whole time, though.

I also flipped over a carton of 30 eggs when unloading the car's boot. Great. I managed to salvage 24 eggs though. An achievement! I wasn't sure how it happened, but it happened. I mean, I was pretty upset by it. When my dad asked questions about it as I entered the house, my sister retorted "Stop asking questions she's stressed enough as it is." Thanks, sis.

Anyway, I cleaned the eggs and went about my evening without thinking much about it. I almost forgot it happened because I wasn't...anxious about it?

I re-downloaded Instagram to repost on my stories about a new song released by two of my favourite artistes that had a collaboration. I was shocked, and also happy. I had no good social reason to repost this because none of the people I know listen to the same artists (frankly, quite unfortunate) but I wanted to boost their music.

For those interested:

I do miss the times when Arabic music had 4-minute introductions and long 15-minute tracks.

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Screen time: 1h 33 mins

My morning was busy, as always. I had intended to write in my journal as part of my morning pages but I literally ignored by well-placed journal and pen on my table and got up to get my dad to the playground for his exercise.

We felt some light raindrops and had to cut the session short. Sad, because I was delighted to see my dad's progress post-surgery and was really getting into the book. I knew I shouldn't have judged it so quickly and I was glad I didn't add it to my Did-not-finish list.

I came home, sent my mum to work, came home, had breakfast, took a nap (lol) and then woke up to clean the floors by doing the floor-cleaning trifecta: sweeping, vacuuming and mopping.

I finally went to the bank to get one of my accounts terminated. The phone convenience part came right here, where I managed to get a queue number even before I left my house. Could I have done it on my laptop? Sure. But I already had the banking app on my phone and this was a task that helped improve my life, not hindered it. And it took seconds.

By the time I reached the bank, there were less than 10 people waiting in front of me - an improvement from the 18 people waiting when I took the queue before I left home. I also forgot my wallet, which had my physical ID in it. Fortunately, I had my phone so I could access my digital ID, which was accepted by the staff!

I took the time I had after the bank errand to browse articles in shops (physically!), noted some new stores opening in the mall nearby and eventually settled on purchasing some (inner) clothes that I needed. Unfortunately, I didn't remember my size. So I had to come home and measure myself. But this exercise helped me to be more conscious about my spending, instead of just purchasing something as I see them on Shopee or whatever other online platforms.

Thursday, 10 July 2025

Screen time: 0h 52 mins

I wrote in my journal! Finally! I had some BIG feelings when waking up so I had to write. I wished I would write, even if I didn't experience BIG feelings.

I had work in the café, so I went out earlier to have breakfast. It was the first time in my day I had a chance to look at my phone as I sat down waiting for my food, so I had time to reply a text i received at 11-ish pm the night before.

It was a quiet day at the café, and I finished the whole book by Carmen Reid. I found out the genre of the book: Chick Lit. I was wondering why we have a term for stories that centre around women who are into fashion and lifestyle. Is there a male version? I know there's Lad Lit, but I don't think it's the same thing.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book despite my initial reservations and decided I would like to read the rest of the series - which is available on NLB's digital library! Wee!

I did some "work" with a friend who visited the café. By that I mean she did her work, and I did mine, closing up the café. And for some reason, after 5 pm, I had a bunch of orders. Maybe I should have my friend around more. She's a customer magnet.

After work, I had dinner in my room and tried to find something to watch while having it. I gave up after 5 minutes: my food was going cold and I still had nothing interesting enough to watch. I ate my dinner in silence, as it should be. It was liberating, to be honest. We've had TV dinners even before we had TVs in our hands, and it's nice to just focus on the food instead of being distracted by something to watch.

I went to my sister's room after washing up, thinking I'd have an early night. But I ended up watching a movie with my sister when I entered her room.

I did have an early night, though. I slept at 10.30pm. 😄

Friday, 11 July 2025

Screen time: 0h 52 mins

I didn't sleep well the night before. My neck and back ached. I woke up with a headache.

I managed to meditate using the waking up app and journaled! I had a quick breakfast of mini cookies and a glass of milk before heading out to send my dad for his appointment. I had so much extra time because he finished even before the appointment time. A rarity in government clinics here.

With the extra time I did a load of laundry, got myself a proper breakfast, and got 3 books at the library - all before I had to start work. It was a challenge to carry all the books to work in my small tote, but I managed.

I really enjoyed this: just browsing and looking for books without an algorithm or reviews recommending me what to read. It has really widened my taste in books.

I started reading Jennifer Probst's To Sicily With Love and let me just say, I rolled my eyes so much at the first few pages but I kept going, because if I could finish Carmen Reid's Annie in Paris, I could finish this.

I managed to read half the book during my shift because again, a quiet shift. I really like weekday shifts for this reason (Ya'll need to visit me more often so I can have sales!!!!).

I cried on the bus home because of the book. What? I know! I rolled my eyes so hard at the beginning and by the end of the day I was in tears in a public space! It's kinda cathartic, and because this is Singapore, I know no one really cares when someone cries in public.

Saturday, 12 July 2025

Screen time: 2h 07 mins

I woke up late-ish so I didn't manage to meditate or journal. I woke up and got myself ready for work and continued reading on the MRT. I was surprised that I wasn't anxious about being late, and was actually not late! I had time to get my class ready before welcoming the kids.

I was pretty tired today but I managed to continue reading on the MRT on the way home and pick up a watch strap that, FINALLY, was the correct one. I took my time reading the descriptions and looking at photos before I purchased it. I find that making purchases on a bigger screen (like my laptop) makes it way less impulsive and more meaningful.

I came home, ate my lunch, took a nap, and finished the book! A book I finished reading in less than 48 hours and made me cry 5 times. I'm not sure if it was really that touching, or I was in an unexplainable emotional state. Maybe both.

The rest of the time, I spoke to my husband on videocall via whatsapp (explains the long screen time!) until I went to sleep.

What a great week.

If you've enjoyed this post, you may read the rest of the series here.