I'm trying something new this year, and let's see how long it sticks. I want to make my phone as useless and uninteresting as I possibly can.
Why?
I find that the times I reach for my phone, when I am not at a desk with my computer open, are the times when I should be actually engaging with my life– namely, when I am with my family.
It's a compulsive behavior, to take one's phone and cycle through every app, just in case there's a number in a red circle waiting for you. And suddenly you're on a Twitter doomscroll bender, and before you know it your three year old daughter's voice brings you back to reality, "Daddy? Daddy? Look at my horsey." How long was I out?
How?
In short, I am attempting going back to a time when I had to do everything on my computer. When the computer is shut, I too am shut out of the internet.
My phone now has:
- No email.
- No Slack.
- No social.
- No news apps.
- No finance or crypto apps.
- No games. (I never had any.)
- Home screen is mostly empty.
- All notifications disabled entirely, except for Messages and Phone.
- Focus mode set to only let texts or calls from my wife through.
- Screen set to black and white. (easy to toggle to color for camera/photos)
Reaching for it, I find that there is nothing to do. Nothing to check. Nothing to see. My phone now sucks.
Perfect.