A Distraction-Free Phone
Lately, I’ve wanted to be more intentional instead of more productive.
Why check off another item on the to-do list when you can focus on completing the right task? Getting there means improving habits, and creating the space for the right things. The biggest opportunity for making that space sits in my pocket or next to me almost 24 hours a day. My phone.
Inspired by the book, Make Time, which I finished recently, I decided to radically alter my phone, a Pixel 2 XL. I disabled all the apps that prove most distracting. The ones that lure you in with a feed that goes on endlessly. These apps remove you from your place in life. They put you half in, half out, like some sort of spirit caught between two worlds.
No more. Here’s how I did it.
I downloaded the Digital Wellbeing app from the Google Play Store. This will be released later this fall as part of Android. The app allows you to set timers for all your apps. Once you run out of time, it locks the affected app. I set a zero-minute timer for all the apps that distract me the most. They are:
- Chrome
- Gmail
- Slack
- YouTube
- ESPN
That way, if I want to use these tools, I have to be intentional about it. I can’t just mindlessly click into them and lose time.
So far:
- Having an extra barrier does help. I’ve spent a bit more time on my laptop, but I’m being more intentional there as well. Getting a task done and moving on.
- I’m spending less time fiddling with email or opening up an app without a strict purpose.
- I have more mental space for thinking and writing.
This isn’t my first foray into a more distracted-free lifestyle. I started reducing the number of apps I use on my phone two years ago, and have mostly stuck to that.
Image by Robin Worrall.