The "mere presence effect" alone should make everyone slide their phone off the desk permanently - a powered-off phone still costing you cognitive capacity is genuinely alarming. As someone who works in the attention economy for a living, the stat that checking frequency matters more than total screen time hit differently - I'd been quietly congratulating myself on screen time numbers while checking every 20 minutes. The 91% improvement figure in two weeks is the kind of result that belongs on a billboard. What's been the single hardest behaviour to shift in your own usage since researching this?
Three daily 3-hour blocks in which most apps are disabled - anything I might think to check, including email, analytics, digital platforms etc. The only things I can do with my phone during that time is receive calls, record ideas, and do accounting.
I’ve tried a lot of software for app/phone blocking but after it worked for a while I always find a way to circumvent and eventually stop using it. James Clear talked about setting up your physical environment to develop healthy (smart phone) habits in his book Atomic Habits. That’s why I’ve recently ordered this: https://www.tapoutclub.com/ (no affiliate whatsoever)
Nice! I've been using minimal phone for years, mainly to reduce the shimmer coming from the shiny home screen with a simple b/w interface, and set daily time limits for certain apps.
Because of the research here, I decided to go one step further and try to reduce my device unlock rates to max 10x per day (currently averaging ~60 unlocks). Day one, but I already feel more present and bored. There was a sense of escapism and compulsion to my device usage - mild addiction - that I'm looking to fight off.
The "mere presence effect" alone should make everyone slide their phone off the desk permanently - a powered-off phone still costing you cognitive capacity is genuinely alarming. As someone who works in the attention economy for a living, the stat that checking frequency matters more than total screen time hit differently - I'd been quietly congratulating myself on screen time numbers while checking every 20 minutes. The 91% improvement figure in two weeks is the kind of result that belongs on a billboard. What's been the single hardest behaviour to shift in your own usage since researching this?
Three daily 3-hour blocks in which most apps are disabled - anything I might think to check, including email, analytics, digital platforms etc. The only things I can do with my phone during that time is receive calls, record ideas, and do accounting.
I’ve tried a lot of software for app/phone blocking but after it worked for a while I always find a way to circumvent and eventually stop using it. James Clear talked about setting up your physical environment to develop healthy (smart phone) habits in his book Atomic Habits. That’s why I’ve recently ordered this: https://www.tapoutclub.com/ (no affiliate whatsoever)
Nice! I've been using minimal phone for years, mainly to reduce the shimmer coming from the shiny home screen with a simple b/w interface, and set daily time limits for certain apps.
Because of the research here, I decided to go one step further and try to reduce my device unlock rates to max 10x per day (currently averaging ~60 unlocks). Day one, but I already feel more present and bored. There was a sense of escapism and compulsion to my device usage - mild addiction - that I'm looking to fight off.
Constant device use costs more than money, it quietly erodes focus, memory, and cognitive power.
In a world where AI amplifies thinking, protecting your attention might be the highest leverage decision you can make.
Most people feel this but never stop to question it.
You can see this has gone past notifications.
People check their phones and open apps even when nothing has come in. That is when it starts looking less like use and more like compulsion.
I feel it on my side too. No chance I am remembering phone numbers now, and with maps I barely take anything in. I just go where the phone tells me. 🙈