For a few months now, there have only been nine apps on my smartphone: phone, messages, Foobar2000 (music app), voice recorder, camera, photos, clock, calculator, and settings. I also keep the greyscale filter at about 50%.
I’m not including all the back-end apps like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the flashlight, but when you look in my app drawer, those nine are all the apps you’ll see.
I hate social media. It’s nothing more than a tool used by corporations to sell us to us. It keeps our communities divided more than it connects us. There was a time when it seemed like a good addition to society, but that’s how they trick us. They made it look good, then pulled the old bait and switch.
I’ve been struggling with constantly being distracted by the little computer in my pocket for as long as I’ve had one. The first smartphone I got was in 2011, when I was 19 years old. It was one of the worst decisions of my life. Fast forward to 2025, and I’ve finally taken my attention back.
It seemed like no matter what I did, from deleting apps to changing passwords, I always went back to old habits. What broke the pattern was finally realizing I needed to replace the habit, not just quit. Without something to fill the void left by scrolling, I was always going to fail.
The most unlikely thing helped me replace the habit: a notebook. I started bullet journaling. Not in the artsy and hyper-decorative way, but the original stripped-down method made popular by Ryder Carroll. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing it the artsy way if that’s your thing. Personally, keeping it as simple as possible is what made it a regular habit for me. I started carrying my journal everywhere I went. My journal gets filled with notes, ideas, to-do lists, and anything else that pops into my head.
These days my journal is more chaotic than it’s ever been, but staying off my phone has never been easier. I still toy with the idea of deleting more apps. For now, I’m happy with the state of my phone. Who knows what the future will bring.