A lot of advice about phones suggests giving them up, at least for a while: switch to a basic phone, go offline for a weekend. That can help briefly, but most people go back, because the phone is useful. It’s a map, a camera, a bank and the way we reach family and friends.
What causes most of the trouble is how the phone is set up. Out of the box, many apps are allowed to send notifications, and the home screen fills up with apps designed to keep you scrolling. Few people ever change these settings.
The steps below take about half an hour.
1. Notifications
Open your notification settings and go through each app. For each one, ask whether it’s a person who needs you or an app that wants your attention.
- Keep calls, text messages, the messaging app your family uses, and probably your calendar.
- Turn off news alerts, shopping apps, social media likes, game reminders and photo “memories”.
For most people this removes the majority of daily notifications. The first couple of days can feel strangely quiet.
2. The home screen
You see your home screen every time you unlock the phone, which for many people is dozens of times a day.
Keep it for tools such as maps, camera, notes, calendar and music. Move apps with endless feeds into a folder on the last page, or take them off the home screen and open them by searching. Having to type the name gives you a moment to decide whether you actually want to open it.
3. A bedtime for the phone
Most phones have a scheduled sleep or focus mode. Set one to start about an hour before you usually go to bed and to end after breakfast, and let only your closest contacts through.
If you can, charge the phone outside the bedroom and use a cheap alarm clock instead. Starting the day without checking a feed makes a noticeable difference for many people.
4. A focus mode for work
Create a work focus mode that silences everything except a short list of people. Turn it on at the start of a focused work session. Many phones can switch it on automatically at set times or when you arrive at a particular place.
The advantage is that you make the decision once, when you’re calm, instead of relying on willpower each time the phone buzzes.
5. Check at set times
Picking up the phone out of reflex is different from deciding to see what’s new. Try choosing a few times in the day, for example after lunch and on the way home, to look at messages and feeds properly. Outside those times, keep the phone in a bag or pocket.
What to expect
For the first few days you’ll probably reach for your phone without a reason. That’s the old habit, and it usually fades within a week or two. After that, most people still use their phone a lot, but more of that use is something they chose.
A one-week test
Do steps 1 and 2 today, and set up the bedtime and work focus modes tomorrow. Leave the settings in place for a week before deciding whether to keep them.