Smartphone Addiction

TL;DR

• Get a Windows phone or any dumb phone to beat smartphone addiction.

I have always been tech enthusiast ever since I was introduced to a computer with an Intel 286 processor. I used to only play games then, but I was hooked on technology. So as the smartphone revolution changed the world, I was sure to tinker with smartphones as and when I got the chance. I started with Android because of it’s tinker friendliness. Tried a Windows phone for a couple of years because I “loved” Microsoft so much. I decided to get an iPhone last after realizing that I am bored of tinkering and bricking my devices. I just want a device that works most of the time.

Now I am also a 30 something single guy. So I have a ton of dating apps on my phone. Apps that let you swipe, that let you message, and some that let you do both. It was just so easy to pick up your phone and swipe right or left on pictures of pretty women. Dating apps combined with a few other social media apps started to be an easy distraction for me. I always had a feeling that I used my phone too much. So I installed an app to track my phone usage. On average I was picking up my phone between 100-150 times and spending anywhere from 1-3 hours a day on my phone. I tried simple solutions like using my willpower, uninstalling distracting apps, keeping my phone in my bag when I work, but nothing seemed to work. So after putting much though into what I will be losing by not using a smartphone, I decided to a get a dumb phone.

I still relied on my phone for GPS and communicating (WhatsApp) with pretty much everyone I knew. So I wanted a smartphone, but a dumb smartphone. After looking up for dumb smartphones I had light-bulb moment. I realized that a Windows phone would be perfect for my needs. Windows phone have a decent GPS, but don’t have support for most of the apps that I waste my time on. Microsoft stopped development on Windows phone so I would be getting a pretty shitty phone. Which is what I wanted. So I bought a Windows phone off Ebay for $30. The phone has GPS and I decided to not install WhatsApp. I still have my iPhone with all my apps which I use for a bit when I get home from work.

One of my main goals for getting a dumb phone was to improve my focus and concentration while at work. To that end, I think this phone is working great. It has been two days, and I have had good long stretches of focused work. An interesting observation is that if your brain is used to being distracted, it will try to find other ways to distract itself. In my case, I started browsing news and finance sites. You still have to exercise your willpower to stay away from such distractions. Getting a dumb smartphone definitely helped but there still has to be a conscious effort to curtail other distractions.

Week 3

The most distracting apps on my smartphone have been Snapchat, Tinder, Bumble, and WhatsApp. Bumble is the most dangerous of all because you can keep swiping for ever. Tinder at least limits your number of swipes per day. Being not able to use these apps has done wonders for me. I have been able to work for 2-3 hours at a stretch which was impossible to think about a few weeks ago. I am also feeling the itch to reconnect with old friends who I haven’t talked to for a long time. Seems like all these apps were giving me a false sense of connection with strangers.

Week 6

My work day mostly consists of sitting in front of a monitor and writing code. Since I started using my dumb phone during the work week, I have been able to focus more. So much that I am starting to hit an interesting problem now. 2-3 hours of coding stretches are becoming normal for me. I am starting to realize that I am so tired after a couple of these stretches that I do not have the mental capacity to work more. Basically, I am hitting this ceiling of 5 hours a day of focused work. My next goal is to put in focused work without have these mini-burnouts. Maybe take more breaks?