All guides
The complete list of guides on SoftlyStill — 400 pieces, newest first, 30 to a page.
How to get through the first hour without your phone — what nobody tells you, if you are doing this in the middle of the day
The first hour sets the tone for attention all day. You do not need willpower — you need the phone to be somewhere else.
Read →How to study when you cannot concentrate — the basics, done properly, when you need to stop thinking about work
Concentration is usually a problem of task size, not willpower. Shrink the task until starting feels almost silly.
Read →A wind-down that starts before you are tired — a short read, if you are doing this instead of scrolling
Waiting until you feel sleepy usually means waiting until midnight. The wind-down is what creates the sleepiness.
Read →Waking up anxious for no obvious reason, without the usual nonsense, when you need something unremarkable
Morning anxiety is common and usually chemical rather than psychological. Cortisol rises steeply in the first hour after waking.
Read →When to be careful with breathing exercises — the version for a bad week, after a difficult conversation
Breathing exercises are generally very safe, but there are situations where the standard advice needs adjusting.
Read →Releasing tension you did not notice you were holding — explained without jargon, when you are somewhere noisy
By mid-afternoon most people are holding their shoulders, jaw and hands without knowing. Here is a two-minute check.
Read →Using the commute as a boundary between work and home — what actually works, after a long day
The commute is the only transition most people get. Used deliberately, it stops the workday following you into the kitchen.
Read →Ten minutes outside is not a wellness cliché — a short, honest guide, when you are waiting for something
It is the least fashionable intervention available and one of the most reliable. Here is what it actually does.
Read →When grief arrives out of nowhere — a straightforward guide, when you are too tired to try hard
Grief does not follow a schedule. The waves come less often over time, but they do not stop, and that is not a failure.
Read →How to stop scrolling in bed, when you are short on time
The phone is not the problem. The fact that it is within reach and there is nothing else to do is the problem. Here is what actually helps.
Read →Newest first. Everything here is free — no account, no streaks, nothing to install.