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:

  1. No email.
  2. No Slack.
  3. No social.
  4. No news apps.
  5. No finance or crypto apps.
  6. No games. (I never had any.)
  7. Home screen is mostly empty.
  8. All notifications disabled entirely, except for Messages and Phone.
  9. Focus mode set to only let texts or calls from my wife through.
  10. 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.