One among my favourite apps of the yr is focusedOS. This app had one aim, and it was to cut back distraction throughout instances of focus. It could principally put a block on apps that you just selected and wouldn’t allow you to open them till you turned off that Focus. The identical developer is again with one other digital detox-style app referred to as Dumb Cellphone, and I completely love the thought and the way it was carried out.
One among my objectives for 2024 was to essentially cut back the quantity of display screen time I’ve throughout my units. I particularly needed to do that on the weekends to be extra current and never let these pesky and insignificant notifications distract me. I’ve been an enormous fan of firms like Litephone. They made a devoted cellphone that solely offers you the necessities for communication and navigation, so distractions are restricted, however you’ll be able to nonetheless be reached when wanted.
The Dumb Cellphone app does this however on your iPhone, and it really works fairly completely.
Dumb Cellphone is designed to attenuate cognitive distractions with a minimalist person interface. The aim is to make your cellphone a software once more as an alternative of being a doom-scrolling system, which it’s for many individuals. It additionally goals to cut back all friction for the apps and instruments you select to make use of by making every little thing reachable with one hand.
Establishing your Dumb Cellphone in your iPhone could be very easy. There are how-to movies and get-started guides which are very simple to observe. What is going on right here is that you’re utilizing the Dumb Cellphone app to create an interactive widget. You choose one to 6 of the apps you need quick access to. These apps get positioned in a big widget. Then, you obtain the proper wallpaper (which is within the dumbphone app) to color-match the widget. This offers it that clear look, as if the phrases are simply floating.
The final piece is the dock. Technically, it’s important to take away your dock apps from the dock. There isn’t any approach to take away them based mostly on focus modes. That is an iOS limitation, not an app limitation. So, I simply eliminated my dock apps and put the Dumb Cellphone app within the dock. That it was offers it that hamburger menu look.
As I mentioned, if you happen to observe the directions within the app, you’ll be arrange in lower than 2 minutes!
How I exploit the Dumb Cellphone
Everybody’s wants and use circumstances for this might be totally different. Some folks can use this setup all day, day-after-day. Whereas others could have this for sure situations. The best way I’m utilizing this setup is for the weekend. I’ve a weekend focus mode, and once I flip it on, it turns my cellphone right into a Dumb Cellphone!
The aim for me is to restrict my distractions throughout household time. This has labored method higher than I anticipated. The mixture of the monotone colours, the shortage of notification badges, and the friction added to get to different purposes. All of that has made me use my cellphone a lot much less. But in addition, having the ability to entry the digital camera, maps, or Spotify shortly nonetheless permits me to make use of my cellphone because the software that it’s.
Pricing, availability & last ideas
Dumb Cellphone is accessible as we speak within the app retailer. It’s free to obtain and comes with a seven day free trial. So be happy to present it a shot and see if it’s one thing you’ll truly use. After the trial, it’s $2.99 monthly, $9.99 per yr, or $24.99 for lifetime entry.
Would you utilize one thing like this? Are you somebody who makes use of their cellphone method an excessive amount of? What are a number of the modifications you might have made which have labored to cut back display screen time? I can not suggest this app sufficient in case your aim is simply to make use of your cellphone much less. Let me know what you suppose!
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