The other day, my boyfriend got logged out of the lightbulb. I’d just about had it with technology already, so it’s an understatement to say this was the final straw.

“The other day, my boyfriend got logged out of the lightbulb.”

“Smart home” optimizations were already the bane of my existence. No, I’m not downloading another godforsaken app. Everyone laughs when I say this, but I really mean it.

So when my coworker and I were talking about friction the other week, I finally had a word for something I’d been trying to put words to for a long time. She had listened to a podcast recently about friction, or its lack thereof, in modern American society — get whatever you want delivered whenever you want it, use AI for all tasks more difficult than writing a grocery list (and maybe even for that one, too), use this app, this app, this app.

Then, early this year, I started hearing more and more about “friction-maxxing.” Coined by Kathryn Jezer-Morton in a January 2026 article in The Cut, the term means to sit with and even purposely introduce inconveniences into our highly convenient modern lives. 

What is friction-maxxing?

“Friction-maxxing is not simply a matter of reducing your screen time, or whatever,” she writes in her article. “It’s the process of building up tolerance for ‘inconvenience’… and then reaching even toward enjoyment.”

Here are some examples of friction-maxxing: Not using ChatGPT, not sharing locations in Find My, inviting friends over without making sure your house is pristine, reading instead of scrolling, cobbling together a silly pantry meal instead of ordering Uber Eats, or giving up social media or smartphones altogether.

“Here are some examples of friction-maxxing: Not using ChatGPT, not sharing locations in Find My, inviting friends over without making sure your house is pristine.”

To me, friction-maxxing is a rejection of the “technology makes everything easier always” ethos that Big Tech has managed to get society largely on board with, and with infuriatingly little effort. Standing outside a concert venue the other day as I heard the headliner go on, furiously tapping at my phone to reset my Ticketmaster password to access my ticket so I could get inside (printing them out is so much easier and it’s not even allowed anymore) reminded me of how much I hate this.

“Tech companies are succeeding in making us think of life itself as inconvenient and something to be continuously escaping from, into digital padded rooms of predictive algorithms and single-tap commands,” writes Jezer-Morton. Or how about this doozy: “We’re foie gras ducks being force-fed escapism.”

She’s not the first to wax about the evils of convenience culture. Tim Wu wrote about the “tyranny of convenience” in a 2018 New York Times piece, and certainly people’s grandmas have been making similar complaints since time immemorial. But Jezer-Morton’s words on “friction” resonated loudly, spawning articles on the topic in Forbes, the BBC, and beyond.

“When we’re outsourcing the labor of cooking and cleaning and thinking and turning on the lights, are we helping ourselves?”

We’re all busy, but when we’re outsourcing the labor of cooking and cleaning and thinking and turning on the lights, are we helping ourselves? When we relax after work by doomscrolling for an hour or watching Netflix slop, are we helping ourselves?

At the risk of sounding too “get off my lawn,” an easier life does not mean a better one.

How to start friction-maxxing

Below are my best tips for friction-maxxing — easy ways to introduce just a little friction into your life to reclaim your mental control and feel a tiny bit less like an iPad baby.

“Introduce just a little friction into your life to reclaim your mental control.”

Disclaimer: I am not saying that I personally do all of these things. These are my best suggestions, most of which I do, and some of which I might eventually do when I start taking my own advice. Maybe someday I’ll be a sandpapery friction goddess, but today is not that day.

  • Don’t use an app to turn on the lightbulbs. Start using real light switches again, even when it means you have to stand up to turn the lights on or off. This one’s kind of a softball, but still — it’s one of the best first steps in taking your daily dose of friction. Before you know it, you’ll be unplugging Alexa and just stepping outside when you want to know the temperature. Next on my list is buying a real kitchen timer so I don’t have to tell Google to set one.
  • Play vinyl records or CDs, or listen to the radio instead of Spotify. I have a turntable and a collection of CDs, and I encourage anyone who doesn’t to consider cultivating one. I love the intentionality that comes from selecting a physical record and listening to the whole thing end-to-end. It’s even better when I have to get up off my butt to flip the vinyl. And in the car, I typically play the radio—it makes me feel connected to the world around me (an increasingly difficult task in the digital age) to listen to the same news broadcast or song that lots of other people are simultaneously listening to. Leveling up here would be sitting in silence sometimes, rather than constantly having music or a podcast playing.
  • Keep a pen and paper on hand at all times. This can be a small notebook in your purse or car, or a pencil and paper on the counter at home. Ideally, it’s both. Write physical shopping lists and to-do lists on sheets of paper — it’s wildly more satisfying to strike out a completed task with a pen than to pitifully backspace it out on your phone’s keyboard. Use the nearest piece of paper to do the math instead of opening up the calculator app for problems you can’t do in your head (and honestly, even the ones you can). It’s good to keep those long division skills sharp. And I love to write physical status updates on a sticky note on the table rather than texting. Banal communications like “Cats are fed” or “Running to the store” or “If you need anything washed, make sure it’s in my hamper by 6 p.m. this evening or it’s not getting done” are much more whimsical this way.
  • Pick up your takeout in person (or, better yet, don’t order takeout). I rarely order takeout, but when I do, I pick it up in person. Not only am I saving the delivery fees, but I’m also proving to myself that I actually want this takeout — I’m not just making a decision based on convenience. And on the rare nights that I don’t cook at home, I’m more often going into the restaurant and eating there instead of grabbing takeout and returning, goblin-like, to the house. Getting off my butt, connection to the real world, etc. etc.
  • Keep books/magazines around the house. Go to the library regularly to keep your rotation of books fresh so you’ll actually want to read them (and so they’re free!). And subscribe to at least one print newspaper or magazine and keep it on your coffee table or wherever is in arm’s reach when you’re relaxing at home — this helps keep me from scrolling. Local newspapers and even most magazines are only a few bucks per issue.
  • Use public transit whenever possible. Not just when it’s easiest or most convenient, but whenever it’s possible — as in, won’t triple your travel time. You’ll save money on gas and parking, you can spend the time reading or doing another hobby like knitting, and you might even have a positive interaction with a stranger (it’s public transit, but we can be optimistic).
  • Shop in person. Instead of ordering online, try to look for what you need in person. This often means shopping at your local hardware stores. And while shopping small is best, get out to stores in person even when you need something from Sephora or whatever. The money you save from eliminating impulse buys online will probably cover the extra cost of shopping at small, local businesses.
  • Don’t use AI for anything ever. I won’t be elaborating.

There are countless other ways to introduce friction into your life — hail a cab instead of ordering an Uber, call the restaurant to make a reservation instead of doing it online (this is also a great way to get your preferred table), navigate by street signs rather than GPS when you’re driving, and — now this one is totally hardcore — replace your smartphone with a flip phone. Oh, you think I’m gonna download an app to complete a previously app-less activity? You’ve got another thing coming.

“I need to make decisions that align with those goals. Not occasional decisions when it’s convenient — but constant, daily decisions.”

It comes down to creating the world we want to live in. If I want a world with neighborly interactions between strangers and dignified, well-paid work for everyone, clean land and air, mentally healthy friends and loved ones, I need to make decisions that align with those goals. Not occasional decisions when it’s convenient — but constant, daily decisions.

It isn’t news that a culture and economy based on convenience, on speed, and on instant gratification breeds a lack of motivation, clarity, and purpose. The news is that a lot of us are actually willing to be the change we want to see in the world. Maybe it all starts with standing up to turn off the lightbulb. 

Natalie Gale is a Boston-based freelance journalist. Since 2022, she has been reviewing the top sustainable home, wellness, fashion, and beauty products, sharing her honest opinion on the best finds. When she’s not writing about art, food, or sustainability, you can find her biking to the farmers’ market, baking, sewing, or planning her next Halloween costume. Say hi on Instagram!