FAQ February Phone Breakup Challenge
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Hi all!
The fully revised edition of How to Break Up With Your Phone was just released and in celebration, I’m running a phone breakup challenge based on the book’s 30-day breakup plan.
The February Phone Breakup Challenge officially runs from February 3rd-March 3rd. (But yes, it’s okay to jump in any time — don’t worry if you’re late. See below.)
Since I know many of you will be new to Substack’s chat features (myself included!) I’ve put together an FAQ to help you participate fully in the challenge.
Where can I get help?
If you are having technical difficulties with your subscription or have trouble accessing the Substack app, please contact support@substack.com and they will get back to you stat. Substack also has a Help Center.
If you have a question specific to the February Phone Breakup Challenge that is not answered below, reach out to my team at hello@catherineprice.com and we’ll do our best to sort it out.
Who is leading this?
Me! I’m Catherine Price, author, TED speaker, and advocate for what I call screen/life balance. I write the “How to Feel Alive” substack newsletter, and my books include The Power of Fun and, most relevantly, How to Break Up With Your Phone.
I’ll be dropping in once a day to check on how things are going and provide some motivation and support. You also may see responses from Maryana, one of the core members of my team, who’s helping me run the challenge.
Does “breaking up” with my phone mean getting rid of it?
No. (Unless you want to.)
The goal of “breaking up” with your phone isn’t to dump your smartphone completely (unless you want to). It’s to create a healthier relationship that feels good.
What is the February Phone Breakup Challenge?
The February Phone Breakup Challenge is your opportunity to do the 30-day plan in How to Break Up With Your Phone with other people (and me!).
The challenge will officially begin on Monday, February 3rd and will culminate in an invitation to join the “How to Feel Alive” community in participating in the Global Day of Unplugging, which is March 7-8. The goal is to end the challenge with a new relationship with your phone that feels good.
All subscribers (paid and free) will receive a weekly substack newsletter from me featuring advice and suggestions based on that week of the book’s 30-day plan. (In addition to being delivered to your inbox, these weekly emails will also be accessible on Substack’s website or in the Substack app.)
Paid subscribers will also have access to a private “phone breakup support group chat” on Substack where they can interact with each other (and me!), ask questions, and share experiences, resources and advice. (Instructions on how to participate are below.)
How do I participate?
First, subscribe. (Free subscribers will get the weekly emails; paid subs will get the emails and access to the support group chat.)
Next, get a copy of the revised edition of How to Break Up With Your Phone — it contains the 30-day plan that we will be following.
Lastly, recruit some friends to join you! Phone breakups are more effective—and fun—if done together. (But don’t worry if you can’t convince anyone to join you in person—that’s what the group chat is for.)
How do I know what to do?
Simply follow along with the book’s 30-day plan. We’ll officially be starting February 3rd. I’ll also be providing high-level overviews of the week’s theme in the free weekly newsletters, and we’ll be discussing each week’s assignments in the paid subscriber group chat.
It’s the middle of the month - can I still do the challenge?
Yes—you just may be out-of-sync with the group. But by all means, feel free to start your breakup at any point. And if you become a paid subscriber, you’ll be able to view previous weeks' discussion threads in the Substack chat.
I am not getting weekly emails; what should I do?
Substack support has information to address this issue here. If you signed up but are still not receiving emails, email support@substack.com. If you use Gmail, check the Promotions tab.
And remember: you don’t need the email to access the posts. They’re also available in your Substack account’s Inbox in the app or web page.
How do I access the Phone Breakup Support Group chat?
The “How to Feel Alive” community will be supporting each other during the Phone Breakup Challenge via our group chat. The support group chat is only available to paid subscribers, so the first step is to upgrade your subscription if you haven’t already. (Many thanks in advance—your financial support makes my work possible!)
NOTE: Substack’s Chat is separate from the comments section below each post. It is a different space where we can post about our experiences, share resources, ask each other questions, and give each other support. It is exclusively for paying “How to Feel Alive” members.
Once you’ve upgraded your subscription, you’ll be able to join our chat via the chat feature on the Substack website or within the Substack app. Here’s how.
Participate in the chat using Substack’s MOBILE app:
Note: Given that the point of the challenge is to spend LESS time on our phones, I recommend participating primarily via your desktop (see instructions below). But just in case you’re on your phone, here’s how to participate in the chat.
If you haven’t already, download the Substack app
Look for the double speech bubble icon - that’s the Chat feature.
Click on the “How to Feel Alive” collection of threads. You should see the “How to Feel Alive” logo.
There is a chat thread for each week of the challenge. The latest is always at the bottom; you can scroll up to find the chat threads for all the previous prompts which you can add to. Click on the note from me or the reply box to jump into the thread.
At the bottom of your screen, you will see “Add a reply…”. Type your comment, and click the arrow. Your contribution is now in the thread!
Participate in the support group chat using a DESKTOP computer:
Point your browser directly to this link or click on “Chat” in the top menu bar.
Next, click the “How to Feel Alive” logo on the left (in the list of chats). This is where the “Phone Breakup Support Group” chat threads live.
There will be a chat thread for each week of the challenge. The latest is always at the bottom, or scroll up to find the one you want to contribute to. Click on the chat thread you want to open.
At the bottom of your browser window, you will see “Add a reply…”. Add any text you like. Click the arrow, and your contribution is now in the thread!
How to Reply to a Reply in the Chat Thread
Since this is a community, please give positive feedback and kudos to your fellow members!
Substack has two kinds of replies: “Reply” and “Reply in a new subthread.”
A Reply will quote the previous comment and post chronologically within the main thread. Substack’s chat function defaults to this method.
By clicking “Reply in a new subthread” your comment will branch the conversation and keep all related comments together. You can access this option with a long-press (on mobile) or clicking the “…” menu to the right of the comment.
Still a little lost? Keep playing around and I bet you’ll get it. More information on using Substack’s Chat is here.
Technical Assistance
If you’re having technical issues with Substack, please contact support@substack.com. They are responsive, helpful, and ready to assist.
Subscription Issues
You must sign in to Substack via a browser, not the app to see your subscription status. Then…
Click on your profile avatar
Click on Settings.
Scroll down to Subscriptions, then click on How to Feel Alive with Catherine Price.
You should be at the Manage Your Subscriptions page, where there is information about your subscription.
If you believe you have a paid subscription, but it does not show up as paid here in the status or you cannot access comments and chats, please contact support@substack.com.
Scholarships
Access to the full February Phone Breakup experience is for paid subscribers only, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. We have scholarships available for people who truly cannot afford to participate. Contact hello@catherineprice.com to request a one-month complimentary subscription (please put “Scholarship Request” in the subject line and briefly describe your situation).
Other questions?
Anything we haven’t addressed here? For anything related to Substack technical issues, please email support@substack.com or visit their Help Center.. For anything else, email us at hello@catherineprice.com and we will do our best to get back to you—though please be patient: we try to practice what we preach and are not constantly in the inbox. :)
To scrolling less and living more,
Catherine Price
Yay!! Will the older version of the book work too?