So you put down your phone. Now what?

When I traded my smartphone for a dumb phone a few years ago, I felt something I hadn't felt in a decade: boredom. And as I've talked with others who have gone the digital minimalist route, whether that's looked like quitting social media or just deliberately spending more time offline, the same question keeps coming up:

What am I supposed to do with my free time?

It sounds like a silly complaint, but it's actually a little sad. We've forgotten how to enjoy leisure without screens, and I suspect that's also the biggest obstacle for anyone trying to cut back.

The good news is that once you have a clear vision for something better to do with your free time, you'll naturally reach for your phone less.

I. See Free Time as Gift Time

For years I thought of my free time as "me time." I'd earned it, so I could do what I wanted with it.

But a free evening isn't something I've earned. It's a gift from God, to be received with thanks and stewarded well (Ephesians 5:15–16). That doesn't mean every free hour must be spent working. Often the most "productive" thing you can do with Gift Time is kick up your feet and say, "Thank you, Lord."

Still, I've found that some leisure restores and some just numbs. And when I'm honest, I know which one time in front of a screen usually is.

II. Plan Your Leisure

Without a plan, we drift toward the lowest-effort leisure available, which today almost always means a screen.

After ditching my smartphone, I had to find something else to do with my evenings. So I filled them with walks, books, friends, and family. Those things were more demanding than scrolling, yet somehow more restful. But they weren't automatic.

My best tip is to keep a running list of projects, hobbies, skills, and books. This spring it was expanding our garden; right now it's learning classical guitar and refreshing my biblical Greek.

Each week I sketch a rough outline of my plan for each day, not just for my working hours but my free time as well. A hike with the kids, a game night with friends, or a small Saturday adventure sprinkled into the week give me something to look forward to and keep me from defaulting to screen-based entertainment every evening.

III. Involve Other People

Browse r/digitalminimalism and you'll find people who've cut their screen time wondering what to do next. The suggestions commenters offer are all fine: knitting, art, reading, music, etc. But one thing is almost always missing: people.

I'm an introvert, so this doesn't come naturally to me. But I'm also a Christian, a member of the body of Christ, and that means I'm to share life with the saints. Our increasing isolation from one another is not good. And it's a problem that stems, at least in part, from the way we think about our free time.

I've written before about how for most of history, leisure was people time. Now, with the Surgeon General warning of a loneliness epidemic, Christians have an opportunity to push back against this trend, for our own sake and for our neighbors'.

One small way we've tried to do this in our own home is by having someone over for dinner at least once a month. Some nights, at the end of a long week, we'd rather have the evening to ourselves. But we're always glad we did it. I can't fully explain it, but even tired from hosting, we feel more rested than if we'd vegged out in front of the TV.

So when you plan your week, build people into a few more of those plans. It probably won't kill you. You might even enjoy it.

A Better Vision

That boredom I felt when I first gave up my smartphone didn't last. In its place came long walks, good books, a garden, a guitar, and a lot more friends around our table. I'm putting more effort into my free time than before, but I'm not sure I've ever rested better. I hope you find the same.