HastySlow living: calm apps, analog hobbies and less screen time
8 October 2026 · Hasty
The short answer: slow living means doing fewer things, more deliberately, and leaving room to enjoy them. You don’t need to leave the city or throw away your phone: it starts with choosing a few slow habits and making your technology calmer.
Slow, simple and intentional living
Slow living, simple living, intentional living and mindful living overlap: decide what matters, let go of what doesn’t, and pay attention to the things you keep. The art of waiting is part of it. Anticipation is a pleasure, not a delay.
Analog hobbies to try
- Letter writing and pen pals
- Journaling, expressive or reflective writing, gratitude letters
- Film photography, sketching, watercolour
- Baking bread, gardening, knitting
- Stamp or postcard collecting
Most are cheap hobbies to start, and relaxing ones to keep.
How to reduce screen time
- Turn off notifications that aren’t from people. The average person gets about 146 a day (musicMagpie, 2024).
- Remove the apps you open without deciding to.
- Give your phone a bedtime outside your bedroom.
- Keep one or two calm apps you enjoy, and let the rest go.
What makes an app calm?
A calm app has an end: no infinite feed, no streaks to protect, no counts to check, no pressure to reply right away. It respects your time instead of competing for it.
A calm app for letters
Hasty is a slow, calm pen pal app: no feed, no likes, no ads and no read receipts. Letters travel the real distance between you, so there’s nothing to keep up with, and always something on its way.
Letters that take the long way
Hasty is a slow, calm pen pal app for adults, coming soon to Android. Be the first to write.
More guides
- What to do instead of doomscrolling
- Left on read: why it hurts, and messaging without read receipts
- Should you delete Instagram? How to keep friends without social media
- How to make friends as an adult (without dating apps)
- The dead internet and AI slop: why we built Hasty around letters
- How to spot a pen pal scam (and stay safe writing to strangers)
- Questions to ask a pen pal (and what to write in a letter)
- What is snail mail? Happy mail, mail art and why letters are back
- Stamp collecting for beginners: philately, postmarks and postcard collecting
- Feeling lonely? Gentle ways to feel less alone
Questions people ask
What is slow life or slow living?
Slow life and slow living mean doing fewer things, more deliberately. An analog lifestyle or the urge to go analog are parts of it.
What are calm or mindful apps?
Calm, mindful and relaxing apps are designed not to hook you. A cozy app (cozy apps) and calm technology respect your attention instead of competing for it.
Does a digital detox help?
A digital detox, a dopamine detox, or a digital detox app can help with phone addiction. Digital wellbeing and digital wellness tools and digital wellbeing apps work best alongside new habits (r/digitalminimalism, or digital minimalism Reddit, has plenty of ideas).
What are good writing hobbies?
Writing hobbies include letters, journaling and expressive writing. They’re creative hobbies, relaxing hobbies, and new hobbies to try that cost almost nothing.