I'm a Lancashire businessman who has ditched technology and it's 'liberating'
This Lancashire plant nursery owner has entirely ditched technology including his phone and says he was lonely at first but liberating’.
A 38-year-old business owner has returned to “analogue mode” - ditching his mobile phone, bank card, computer and internet to work solely with pen and paper.
John Foley, who runs Holden Clough Nurseries at Bolton by Bowland near Clitheroe with wife Kate, dumped his iPhone 14 three years ago after becoming "constantly distracted" by emails, messages and notifications. Next he got rid of his computer and abandoned his bank card in favour of cash.
The dad-of-two, who runs an award-winning plant nursery and is former BBC Young Gardener of the year and a former RHS Master Grower, swapped them for old fashioned diaries and pencil and paper. In 2024, he also scrapped using the internet all together and now writes documents and reports by hand or adds notes to his chalkboard.
He said: "It has been very therapeutic and liberating - I feel like I have taken back control of my life, mind, and sense of achievement. My daily screen time was around five hours and 40 minutes a day - which isn't an insane amount, but it was time which I thought I was being productive with. But in reality I wasn't and I have now gotten that back.
"As well as not being readily available through a phone at any moment has slowed me right down, and actually, and has improved my quality of life. My days feel four times as long and I now find myself living in the moment. My brain is able to think rather than being forced to work in overdrive. I'm never itching for my phone to fill awkward spaces of dead time or awkward moments."
Back in the day, all these important businessmen and huge companies worked on pen and paper, so why can't they now?
The last time John used his mobile phone was on Tuesday June 13, 2023. His controversial decision came after he spent two "life changing" breaks without it, leaving it switched off at home. The first was a visit to London May 18 to visit the then Floral Development Manager of the Chelsea Flower Show, Helen Boem, to discuss his app "The Wonder Garden" he and his team were in the process of creating. The app allowed customers to design their own gardens and flowerbeds through his nursery using AI.
He said: "We missed our train due to being late, because one of us forgot our phone charger. Then that night, when we got to the house I rented, I stayed up late texting.
"So the next morning, I made the decision to just go without it. It wasn't easy, but I found that I actually had time to speak to people, and any worries about emails or WhatsApps to reply too, well they just had to wait. The next day we went to Lambeth Palace Museum and I left without it again - I was able to focus and learn like I hadn't in a long time."
The inspiration further came as on the way home from London he saw a woman writing in a diary.
He said: "Back in the day, all these important businessmen and huge companies worked on pen and paper, so why can't they now?"
Then two weeks later, on June 4, he went on a weekend camping trip to Pen-y-ghent, in the Yorkshire Dales, with six friends again, device-free. Though he said he left it behind as he was late to being ready as he was "replying to texts, emails, and scrolling".
Following the trip, he gave himself a two-week deadline to become phone-free for good and developed an "overwhelming feeling" he didn't want to use it anymore. But he ended up ditching it a week early, switching it off and hiding it in his house - challenging himself to stay off it for five years.
The next day, he walked seven miles into Clitheroe to get his first diary after forgetting his Amazon password and being unable to do two-step authentication on the website Etsy.
In September 2024 he scrapped his email and the internet, preferring to deal with clients in person and providing handwritten plans and documents, something which he says customers "appreciate".
Then in the autumn of 2024 he stopped carrying a debit card, though he still has an account to pay for his bills, but everything is sorted through direct debit.
His customers can still contact the company through a landline, post or email, and he has delegated jobs which involve the use of technology to other staff members, but he plans to phase out those methods.
John says the first winter he spent without a phone was difficult, explaining how he felt "very lonely". He also had to learn to organise himself and his time properly.
He is now working out ways for his company to be technology-free, hopefully reverting back to pen and paper before the end of 2026.
John's The Wonder Garden app was also shelved but was developed into an in-person business idea he marketed mainly through word of mouth and the community gardens he runs at the nursery.
He said: "Time poverty is what the world suffers with in 2026, but when you come out, everything slows down and you reclaim it."
He is now planning to form a charity to build green spaces for communities alongside local councils so kids can take time away from technology and learn how to garden.