It really is that simple: When you’re working in your sketchbook, you’re not on your phone

Why not make something with your hands every day? It’s such a lovely way to set the phone aside and switch off your mind. Flow’s Creative managing editor Caroline Buijs can confirm.

I have a sketchbook at home and every weekend, I draw all the things from the previous week that I want to remember: going to a museum with my mom, a lemon meringue pie that tasted absolutely divine, a documentary that made an impression on me, the flowers I spotted on an early-morning walk. I also paste in little pictures and postcards, copy a poem now and then, or try out my pastels. And when I go on vacation, this book—which now only closes if I wrap a rubber band around it—comes with me too.

The time I spend drawing and pasting feels like a little oasis of calm. And I’ve come to realize why: when I’m working in my sketchbook, I’m not on my phone. It really is that simple. The (sometimes endless) scrolling through social media comes to a stop, and it feels so soothing for my mind. And it’s not just me; research from Harvard Medical School in the US shows similar findings: young adults who significantly reduce their social-media use for just one week show noticeable positive health effects.

So at Flow we thought: Why not make something with your hands every day? It’s such a lovely way to set the phone aside and switch off your mind. And that’s how Flow’s Stop the Scroll Journal came to be: 365 prompts that will fill your year with drawing, photography and other creative-related, screen-free inspiration. Plus, of course, plenty of tear-out paper goodies. The beautiful illustrations by Deborah van der Schaaf will help you on your way and, within a year, your book will be nice and fat—and, hopefully, your mind will be a little lighter.

Flow Stop the Scroll Journal

The new Flow Stop the Scroll Journal will give you something to create every day for a whole year: 365 drawing, photography and fill-the-blank assignments that you can start any day you like. It just feels great to make something every day, no matter how small and simple it may be—like an oasis of calm in your day. If all goes well, after a year your book will be nice and fat. And your head will be a little lighter.