FAQ February Phone Breakup
Hi all!
Welcome to the 2026 February Phone Breakup! I’m so glad you’re here.
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the February Phone Breakup. If you have a question that is not addressed here, please leave a comment on this post — or write a note to febphonebreakup@screenlifebalance.com — and my team and I will respond as soon as we can.
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 support from other people—and me!
The breakup will officially begin on Sunday, February 1st and run for 4 weeks/30 days, with a bonus invitation to participate in the Global Day of Unplugging on March 6-7. The goal is to end the month with a new relationship with your phone that feels good.
How will it work?
The February Phone Breakup is designed to be as easy as possible to participate in. Here’s how it works:
Every day, you will receive an email from me (via febphonebreakup@screenlifebalance.com) telling you exactly what to do. If you’d like to participate solely on your own, then all you need to do is read the day’s email and follow the instructions. (Note: I will send you your weekend assignments ahead of time so that you don’t have to be in your inbox over the weekend!) If you’re the journaling type – or prefer an analog guide – you can also download/print the companion workbook. (See below for how to do so.)
In each daily email, there will also be a link to a blog post with the day’s assignment. This is where you can interact with me and other participants by asking questions, sharing experiences and advice, etc, in the comments. I will personally be dropping in once a day to read through the comments and personally respond.
Every week of the breakup (probably Friday!), I will also create and share a video in which I address questions sent to me by participants and comment on themes I’m noticing. If you would like to submit a question, simply reply to the daily email. One of my team members will consolidate questions for me to answer.
How can I download my free copy of the printable companion workbook?
Visit this page on my site, add the workbook to your cart, and enter FEBPHONEBREAKUPWORKBOOK at checkout. (Please keep the code private.) After you submit your order, you should get a separate email with a download link.
How can I ask Catherine questions?
You can ask me questions two different ways:
Use the comment feature to leave a question on the day’s blog post. I will be dropping in once a day.
If you’d like to submit a question for me to answer in my weekly video, simply reply directly to any of my emails, and my team will add it to my list.
How do I leave a comment / engage in the conversation?
If you want to start a new thread/conversation, simply type your comment into the big white comment box.
If you’re trying to respond to a previous commenter, or add a comment to a thread, simply tap the small “reply” circle on the top right of the post (if you’re on a computer, you may need to hover your mouse over the comment to get the “reply” option to show up) and reply in the thread. This will help keep our conversations organized!
You do not need to log in or create an account in order to comment. Simply enter your first name, ignore the other fields, and then submit the comment as a guest.
Catherine will be popping in once a day to read through and respond to your comments. You may also hear from other members of the team, Maryana and Laura, who are helping with logistics!
I am not getting the daily emails; what should I do?
Check your spam or promotions tabs/folders, and/or do a search for febphonebreakup@screenlifebalance and make sure that the address isn’t blocked or being diverted to spam!
I missed a couple days. What’s the best way to catch up?
You can either look back at the daily emails, or find a consolidated list of all of the daily assignments thus far here. If you are not receiving the daily emails, please email febphonebreakup@screenlifebalance.com.
I signed up late; what should I do?
If you signed up after February 1st, we will send you all of the assignments that you missed at once, so that you can catch up and then be in sync with the rest of the group. (So don’t worry if you get three emails from me on the same day – that’s by design!)
It’s the weekend and I haven’t gotten an email from you – what’s going on?
That’s by design. I don’t want you to have to be in your inbox over the weekend, so I will send you your weekend assignments on Friday.
Do I need a copy of How to Break Up With Your Phone in order to participate in the February Phone Breakup?
Technically no – I’ve designed the February Phone Breakup as a standalone experience. With that said, the first half of How to Break Up With Your Phone provides useful context about what our screen time is doing to us (in terms of our attention spans, relationships, creativity, memories, sleep, and more), and why certain apps are so hard to resist, so if you’re interested in going a bit deeper, I encourage you to consider getting a copy. (Here is a link to the prologue, in case you want to get a sense of it.)
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 and The Amazing Generation, my new book for kids and teens, co-authored with Jonathan Haidt.
I’ll be dropping into the daily posts once a day to check on how things are going and provide motivation, answers, and support. You also may see responses from Maryana and Laura, two of the core members of my team who are helping me run the challenge.
Other questions?
Do you have a question we didn’t address here? Please leave a comment directly on this post (if you think it would apply to other participants) or, if it’s specific to you, email us at febphonebreakup@screenlifebalance.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