The Analog Day: what if your phone had opening hours?

A ritual that helped me reclaim sketchbook time (and slow down my dopamine-addicted brain)

Hello, my name is Mila! Artist in Progress is for self-taught illustrators who want to grow their skills, build or expand their portfolios, and develop a consistent creative practice. All without the pressure of hustle culture. I share reflections, moments of self-doubt, practical tips, and creative challenges to help you (and me) keep going, stay inspired, and grow at our own pace.

Some time back, I talked to you about my sketchbook routine and how I’ve managed to keep it pretty consistent.

The secret to a consistent sketchbook practice? Sketch first, ask later.

As I’ve been building that habit and finding more and more joy in this analog play (and sharing my sketchbook pages) a few people asked:

How do you know what to draw? and How do you find time for it?

Let’s talk about it.

Why is keeping a sketchbook so hard?

If you've ever tried to build a consistent sketchbook habit, you’ve probably run into at least one of these roadblocks:

• “I don’t know what to draw.”

• “I’m a perfectionist and hate wasting pages/materials.”

• “I don’t have enough time.”

You're not alone. These are common struggles, and today I want to share how I’ve been working through each one of them.

1. It’s not about what, it’s about how

Let’s start with the first hurdle: not knowing what to draw.

You’ve probably come across prompt lists. Maybe you even downloaded a few. Sometimes they’re fun and inspiring, but other times they feel like homework. Especially when I’m not excited about the list.

The shift happened when I stopped asking what to draw and started asking how.
How do I want to explore today?

With shape?

With color?

With line?

Do I want to play with value, test out color palettes, or maybe it’s been a while since I practiced composition?

As I’ve been working through my sketchbook, I realized I’ve built little blocks, or “modes,” that I like to use. I took some time to think about and categorize them.

Here are some playful sketchbook "modes" I like to use:

Warmups + experiments

Line & shape

Structure & design

Color & composition

Observation + speed

I think I need my sketchbook to feel like a playground. I want to pick up the building blocks I’ve gathered from studying art and just… see where they take me.

2. The Two Sketchbook System (aka perfectionism relief)

If perfectionism is your main roadblock, I’m there with you. And that blank page can feel too clean.

Here’s a trick that helped me: keep two sketchbooks.

• The “Ugly” One – This is your rough, messy, no-pressure space. It’s chaotic on purpose. I often use cheap paper or even loose sheets.

• The “Pretty” One – This is more like a visual journal. It’s where I slow down. I often share these pages, though they’re not “finished pieces.” There’s still play and randomness, but I do put more care into them.

Another epiphany I had: you don’t have to show every page.
You don’t need to do a full flip-through. Sketchbook tours are fun, but they also create pressure. You can snap a photo of just one page. Or decide not to share at all.

3. “I don’t have time.” (Or… do you?)

Let’s talk about time.

There was a meme going around recently that said something like:

What if social media had opening hours, like a coffee shop? What if it just… closed at night?

It stuck with me. What if I gave my phone a bedtime?

Have you ever picked up your phone just to check something quickly… and suddenly it’s 20 minutes later, you never checked the thing you meant to, and here you are scrolling Instagram or Substack without realizing how much time passed?

Yeah. Me too…

Scrolling is easy. My AuDHD brain craves dopamine, and flipping through content gives it to me instantly. Ever done the screen time check-in and realized it’s 2 hours a day scrolling? Because I have.

And hey, I’m not here to tell you to ditch your phone. Or to delete social media. Or to sell you a guide (or a supplement) while I talk about the healing power of quitting your screen.

BUT…

What if you tried trading some of that scroll time for sketchbook time?
What if you gave yourself just one day (or even a morning or evening) a week to mute your notifications and let yourself play?

That’s the idea behind The Analog Day: It’s not about quitting social media. It’s about reclaiming just a slice of an analog time. Even one screen-free evening a week can make a difference. Oh, and no surprise here, but it’s likely you’ll sleep better too.

Try your own Analog Day

If you want to try, start small. Maybe Sunday mornings become your Analog Hour. Or one mid-week evening (depending on your lifestyle).

See how much “extra” time you can gain—and use it for your sketchbook.
It really does become almost therapeutic.

Here’s a way to start:

• Choose a window of time to go screen-free

• If you can, put your phone away (or at least out of arm’s reach)

• Try some of the playful drawing modes. Some examples from me:

warm-ups + experiments = pattern page: fill a spread with every pattern you can think of

line + shape play = dots play (big and small, color and outline—maybe build a shape from dots?)

structure + design = draw a filled rectangular shape and turn it into a building’s façade

color + composition = monochrome page (choose one color, use all its values)

observation + speed = draw the same object 3 times: quick sketch, careful study, stylized version

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Big Update

I’m also starting something new: a paid subscriber tier.

Here’s why: If you’ve been here a while, you know how much heart I put into these posts. I want to keep creating resources for you, but I also want to support myself as an artist while doing it.
Hope that feels fair.

If you’ve found value in what I share, this is a way to help me keep going, and you’ll get some extras too!

What comes with a paid membership?

• Full access to the archive

• 10% off my Procreate brush set

✦ Once per week:

• A sketch prompt for your Analog Day (more about Analog Day here)

✦ Once per month:

• Cinematic Composition Challenge breakdown (where I analyze a movie scene and turn it into a picture book spread concept)

• A full walk-through of one of my sketchbook pages (based on that month’s sketch ideas, with notes on my process, tools, and lessons I learned)

• Live drawing sessions (I’d love to do them monthly, but travel sometimes gets in the way)

It’s $5/month or $50/year. If it’s not the right time, no worries, the free newsletter isn’t going anywhere. You’re still very welcome here. But if you’d like to support this work (and get more out of your sketchbook practice), I’d love to have you.

Until next time,

Mila