Articles like this may seem a bit redundant, as there are some tips that everyone knows (delete your apps, turn off notifications), but all things considered, there are still plenty of people who can benefit from this kind of advice, as the smartphone addiction epidemic is still rampant, despite the fact that there are many things we can do to improve our mental health. Along with these tricks that are harder to implement, there are other more subtle ones that we will discuss below that can also help you distance yourself from your phone.
In the case of the iPhone, trying to turn the phone into a dumbphone can seem even more counterintuitive than trying to do so with any other phone. After all, iPhones are expensive, and you have to ask yourself: Did you spend all that money only to downplay its features and use it below its capabilities?
Yes, it sounds silly, but we can’t let this discourage us for two reasons: the fact that we use the iPhone less doesn’t mean that we are underusing the features of it that we like so much, such as perfect synchronization with the Apple system, the use of Apple Wallet to pay and use cards or bills, or a good camera to capture memories. On the other hand, if you have recently entered the minimalist trend, making some adjustments to your iPhone will help you to be able to make better choices when you need to buy another phone, knowing exactly what you will and will not use in a smartphone, being able to save money with your new mentality.
So, you don’t have to feel bad just for voluntarily giving up some iPhone features, such as the flashy colors of its screen, or its home screen, which will become more and more customizable as the new iOS 18 reaches everyone. The goal is to make using your mobile phone less and less attractive, less disruptive (it distracts you less), and less common in your routine, but that doesn’t mean not taking advantage of its power when the occasion requires it.
A study estimates that it takes us 23 minutes to regain our attention after being distracted, for example by a notification on our mobile phone. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the enormous amount of time we can waste just by not keeping track of how much time we use.
Simplify your screen
Well, as we said at the beginning, there are some very, very useful tips that, even so, many people don’t dare to apply. It involves deleting social media applications, only by accessing them from the browser or from the computer. It is the most difficult, but also the most effective. Thus, entering social networks will be a one-off thing, instead of a habit that does little for you. If someone sends you a meme or something interesting on WhatsApp, you will be able to see it from the mobile browser, only at that specific moment, but you will not have the app downloaded, so you will better avoid spending hours doomscrolling.
Aside from this and, of course, disabling notifications (or at least during a set schedule, using for example the iPhone’s focus modes), there is one other thing you should also do: simplify your start menu and the aesthetics of the interface as much as possible.
That is, you should use very simple wallpapers with colors that are not garish or attractive. For example, a uniform gray or black background. Then, you can get rid of the iPhone widgets and icons to delete all the ones that are not essential, and keep a completely reduced and functional start menu, for example, with the bank apps to manage your money, WhatsApp, and little else. You can always move your finger and search for the app you want in the search engine, without having to have the icon visible on the screen. Yes, your friends may look at you strangely for having such a dull background, but you know it is for a good cause.
In this way, your brain will gradually be able to understand your mobile phone again as a useful device for certain tasks, to be used only when you need it, and not out of habit and inertia every three minutes to see what’s new on Twitter.
In addition to making these changes, you can also ditch the iPhone’s pretty color display and set the screen to grayscale, from the Accessibility menu. 2021 studyin fact, supports that using the grayscale reduces anxiety, although few users manage to maintain the setting for a long time. Yes, it is sad to see the mobile in black and white, precisely knowing the good quality that Apple devices have in the visual section. But, even if it is for a while, doing so can help you get a little bored of the mobile. That is what it is about.
Finally, if you still have a strong desire to use your phone, you can replace Instagram or YouTube with apps like Forest, which challenge you to spend time without looking at your phone, or download apps to learn languages ​​and invest time in them (you’ll probably get bored and end up not using your phone for that either).
