My New Minimal Smartphone Setup

(to prevent losing important functionality)

2024/12/17

There's no real way I've found to escape the fact that my smartphone and so many of the apps on it are inherently designed to be addictive: and they're good at it. I've tried lots of things in the past: getting rid of it completely, limiting usage to certain time periods during the day, or simply not carrying it with me outside of the house.

Sadly, the reality of a modern age is that our society has become reliant on smartphones as tools. It is taken for granted that we all possess and use one regularly, that we carry it with us, and rely on it. Scanning QR codes at restaurants, using online resources for classes, accessing up-to-date train timetables during suspension periods... The above 'solutions' didn't really work for me because of these things.

What I needed, really, was something with the functionality of a smartphone, without the distracting features. Something I wouldn't reach for unless I actually, truly, needed it.

I browsed through some apps and found one that I really liked called Olauncher for my Android smartphone. My homescreen looks like this now:

I went through these steps to try to minimise my use:

1. Uninstall all unnecessary apps (whatever doesn't provide a specific function, or make me feel fulfilled once it is used; I reduced my list to whatever I deemed absolutely necessary);
2. Block all notifications unless urgent;
3. Back up and remove unnecessary files;
4. Optimise websites or applications using extensions that block unnecessary information (such as one of the various extensions that block suggestions or thumbnails within YouTube, which are known for grasping attention and leading to unnecessary time expenditure);
5. Set phone to greyscale. This helps me to avoid spending unnecessary time on my phone, because it's less stimulating to look at.

I feel a lot less overstimulated with this setup. I figured it might be useful for someone else, especially in an age where it's so difficult to escape the fact that our society takes smartphone ownership and usage for granted.

Do let me know if you have any other suggestions.