Boring phone
Inspired by gobino's Tools I use(d) for a digital detox 📱, I'll share what I've been trying lately to make my iPhone less addictive.
I've been intending to write this for a while now, but it just struck me this morning: some of this stuff is actually working! I was waiting alone at the train stop on the way to work around 7 AM. I saw that my train wouldn't arrive for five minutes. I felt that initial urge to grab my phone, but then I paused and thought, why? I remembered that my phone was pretty boring these days. So I left my phone in my pocket and watched the nearby excavators digging out a construction project, letting my mind wander.
Wow! I've been the stereotypical phone-addicted American before, so I was surprised and pleased to feel this restraint come so easily. It gave me a push to finally get this post out of my todo list and into my blog.
Several of these ideas follow the advice around "infinity pools" from the book Make Time, which I recommend. Quoting the book:
Infinity Pools are apps and other sources of endlessly replenishing content. If you can pull to refresh, it’s an Infinity Pool. If it streams, it’s an Infinity Pool. This always-available, always-new entertainment is your reward for the exhaustion of constant busyness.
Get rid of infinity pools.
No social media
As I mentioned before, I quit social media. I can't recommend it enough. That is all.
No news
Even though I subscribe to the New York Times, I don't keep it on my phone.
No RSS
I love RSS! But my reader is another infinity pool.
I keep my RSS reader on my personal laptop and iPad. I use those devices only when I'm deliberately allowing myself some screen time. I keep it off my phone so that it doesn't call to me during moments of boredom all throughout the day.
App time limits
I recently discovered that iOS's Screen Time settings let you set time limits for apps. I give myself four minutes per day in Safari. I had no idea if this would be a reasonable limit or an effective strategy, but it's been great! I can easily bypass the limit when I really need a browser. But the rest of the time, it's an aggressive reminder that, absent some urgent need, I should get out of there.
No work
Even though my company issues me a corporate phone, I used to be logged into my work's chat and email apps on my personal phone. I didn't want to be bothered to carry two devices.
After waffling on the decision for some time, I decided to log out of the work stuff, confining it to my corp device. That's been good. There's always something going on at work, creating a pull outside of business hours to check in.
Now, I leave my work phone in my bag when I get home. Work is there if I need it, but it's not in my pocket, calling to me. I put my personal number in my corporate profile so people can reach me in an emergency.
Deleting mail apps
Not only do I not have my work email on my phone, I don't have any mail app at all. Mail is a classic infinity pool.
I was dubious about this one. I thought it'd be inconvenient or impractical. And there have been times when I've needed email on the go. But in those few cases, webmail portals have sufficed. The rest of the time, I've vanquished the addictive lure of email in my pocket.
Leaving my phone in another room
Keeping your phone in the same room with you drains your brain, even if you're not consciously thinking about it. Some research says so, at least.
I try to leave my phone in another room during meals with my family and other similarly intimate affairs. I do think I feel the improvement; some sense of weight, anxiety, or distraction is lifted. Perhaps I'm manufacturing that feeling, but either way, I'll take it.
Minimal notifications
This one's probably obvious, but it's worth including. Get rid of any notifications that have low value. If you want the news but it's not urgent, send it to email instead. Ruthlessly disable notifications as soon as you find one of them annoying.
Disable always-on display
I have a newer iPhone that can have the always-on display. I initially wanted to use it because, hey, cool new feature! But it didn't last long. It makes the phone more distracting, more enticing. It's been off so long that I forgot it was even a thing, and I have no desire to go back.
Blank page
My phone’s main page is a boring wallpaper. There are no apps on it. If I swipe over one page, there are only a few apps. I limit these to either important or educational ones. I got this idea from Make Time (see above).
I'd say this has been partially effective. The problem here is that you subconsciously train yourself to just swipe over to what you're looking for, skipping past the blank page without even realizing it. But it's certainly better than cluttered pages full of apps I don't need.