By Abba Connally, Library Resident
It is the season for many of us to begin making and implementing our 2026 New Year’s Resolutions. Considering the average person today spends 47 hours a week on their phone, I’m sure many others are also considering a resolution to spend less time on their mobile devices. As I look into going more “analog,” I’ve been searching the past to find enjoyable ways to pass the time. One of the examples that I have seen for this is self-paced learning. Some people online call this a “personal curriculum,” and they are meant to be a way to enjoy education for fulfillment rather than work.
As I work on my current project at the MHS, a subject guide on 19th-century intellectual culture in Beacon Hill, I was amazed to run into a self-guided program of study made for women that feels incredibly ahead of its time, not only in its audience, but in the method of instruction. The Society to Encourage Studies at Home, founded in 1873 by Anna Eliot Ticknor, was the first correspondence school in America and functioned as a network of women teaching other women by mail. The purpose was surprisingly conservative; the goal of providing secondary education was not to further women’s careers but to offer them more fulfillment from the home.
The MHS collection houses a variety of materials from the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, including its offered courses, lending library catalog, and a pamphlet entitled “Health,” which gives advice for a healthy and fulfilled life. Looking at these items has given me ideas as to some ways that I can spend my time learning and engaging in hobbies when I’m not at work.
In “Health,” there is a section on how to achieve what may today be called a work-life balance. It discusses how women can balance sedentary work, manual work, exercise, and learning, and argues that all are necessary for balanced wellness. Something that was particularly notable to me was how the author emphasized the importance of life-long education, stating that many women fall out of the habit and “sink into depression. . . . and may even become insane. They are mentally starved to death.” They also warn against learning too much and advise hobbies for those who are struggling to find balance.
As someone who is both a full-time student and works a lot of library desk shifts, I find that I spend a lot of my time sitting. If, like me, this is what your workday looks like, this pamphlet advises that “for those whose work is sedentary, a study of botany or geology is excellent, as it calls them from their houses, and gives a pleasant interest to their walks” Although the weather is cold right now, I may try to get a head start and do some natural science reading for my spring walks.
Looking at the Society to Encourage Studies at Home has helped me build out more of my “personal curriculum” instead of scrolling on social media. I am always reminded of how amazing it is to have such a wealth of information and educational materials constantly within reach, but finding quiet structured time to build mindfulness and find balance is something I am excited to work on in the new year. In addition to the advice found here, I’m linking items in our collection that relate to tech-free hobbies, and of course, botany and geology.