I made my smartphone into a dumbphone - how and why

The Nugget

Transforming a smartphone into a "dumbphone" by customizing its interface and using blocking apps helps in reducing distractions while retaining essential functionalities like QR code scanning and maps.

Make it stick

📱 Less icons, more focus: Only display the apps you truly need.
🚫 Block distractions: Use blocking apps to restrict access to social media and distracting apps during peak productivity times.
⏰ Scheduled access: Allow limited access to certain apps at specific times to prevent overuse while still utilizing necessary features.
📒 Minimalist widgets: Use customizable widgets to display crucial information like goals, reminders, and health stats without clutter.

The setup includes only essential apps like books, audiobooks, messaging, workout tracker, maps, and notes.
Using widgets to provide quick glances at vital information without needing to open apps.

Apply a minimalist layout to minimize distractions by avoiding notification badges and unnecessary app icons.
Block access to all social media apps and other distractive platforms except for a designated one-hour window.
Implement blocks for other potentially distracting apps such as the app store and Google search.

Utilize Siri for quick information retrieval to avoid the temptation of opening other apps.
The setup is designed to be practical by maintaining functions such as QR scanning, maps, payments, and camera use, which are essential in modern daily life.

Incorporate habit and mood tracking tools to monitor personal well-being and habits, reinforcing a more mindful tech use.
Use apps like "How We Feel" to log daily mood and gather insights.

"The solution is just to not have it on your table."
"You can make so many adjustments and modifications to your liking and add and remove different features."
"Setting up a blocking system makes it impossible to be distracted on my phone."
"It's very difficult to operate in today's world without a modern smartphone."

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.