I subscribed to a printed copy of the newspaper
On Saturday mornings, I'll usually pick up some bagels and coffee from our local shop. While I'm waiting on our order, there's a few copies of the paper laying out on the bar near the window. At first I would just skim the headlines. Then I started reading the articles in depth. Eventually, I found myself looking forward to reading the paper more than actually picking up bagels!
Seeing all the news for the day, getting to hold something physical, and not having to scroll on a screen made it a nice experience. Eventually, I convinced myself to sign up for a print subscription and I've been enjoying it ever since for several reasons.
1. Complete disconnection
I've signed up for subscriptions to digital versions of the paper before but I usually lose motivation to read it after a couple weeks. Since everything is on my phone, there's always a new distraction. Trying to build a healthy habit (very easy to build bad habits with a phone) involving my phone has never worked out well. With the paper, I have to drop everything in order to read it. There is nothing else I can hold in my hands other than the paper itself. This makes it very easy to become immersed.
2. Nice morning ritual
The paper gets delivered every morning and it's something that I physically have to work for in order to get what I want. Rather than just sitting in bed on my phone, I go outside to grab the news. This immediately makes my day better as I'm out of bed quicker and gives me something to look forward to.
3. Not fighting an algorithm
I love twitter because it makes me angry which isn't healthy but it's just the truth! You get the craziest news that's happened in the last few minutes through the perspective of someone who probably already agrees with you and with a comment section that is out for blood. Definitely a great way to spike your blood pressure but probably not the best way to live your life. With the paper, there's nothing instant. Everything has to simmer for 24 hours. None of the information you are given is catered to you. Articles are able to stay objective.
4. Physical medium
Who doesn't like holding things in their hands.
I've convinced a few other people to try out the newspaper and they've enjoyed it a lot so far! I'm not crazy! Definitely worth a shot if you're interested.