iPhone Less

It’s been a few weeks since I passed my iPhone through a vacuum of minimalism, removing all nonessential apps. I intentionally purposed it to be mainly just a phone and an iPod. Surprisingly, I’ve not really needed the Mail app or the Safari app since I’m usually near a “real” computer.

The other bold new move I made was to relocate the nightly resting place of my iPhone. For years it sat on my bedside table charging overnight. This enabled my habit of unwinding with my smartphone at bedtime. Typically I’d check stuff or catch a few YouTube videos.

But not anymore.

My iPhone now lives atop my dresser well out of reach from my bed; there it charges. At first, this was slightly weird. Knowing I’d feel a bit lost without some digital screen in my hand at bedtime, my Kindle Paperwhite took up residence instead of my phone.

Now I’m feeding a good reading habit, enjoying more calm in restful books.

In the past few weeks, I think I’ve already disconnected my brain’s wiring for compulsively checking my phone throughout the day. Changing where it rests most of the day and at night, and removing apps I don’t need, has made a real difference. But this switch needs to settle in long-term so I can mark any true transformation.

When I’m tempted to just install a few apps, I take note and put on the brakes. I ask myself if I really need them, and I remind myself what can happen if I make my smartphone too capable. It always ends up becoming too distracting and, to a degree, addicting.

I minimized my phone. I smartphone in moderation.

Would you consider switching to a dumbphone, an old-school flip-phone?