In part 1 of this series, I described the nature of my screen addiction and how willpower alone wasn’t enough to liberate myself. In this article, I will describe the various strategies and habits I have developed to significantly change my behavior.

Keeping my phone away from my bed

I had tried for so long to create a healthy morning routine, but I’d always wake up too late (or wake up groggy), because I had stayed up too late, because I couldn’t pry myself away from the hypnotic glow of the screen. So, the first strategy I enacted was to simply create more physical distance from my phone, starting with bedtime, my biggest problem area. I stopped charging my phone on my nightstand, and instead relocated my charger to my desk, on the other side of my room. Once it’s time for me to settle into bed, I plug my phone in, turn on Do Not Disturb, and — that’s it for the day. Phone time is over.

Granted, there was an adjustment period where I would frequently face temptation, but gradually, my desire to stay warm and comfy under the covers began to overpower my urge to check my phone. At this point, not only has the withdrawal dissipated, but I actually enjoy the feeling of putting my phone away for the night, like tucking your kids into bed and knowing that you finally have some peace and quiet. And the more I got used to it, the more I became accustomed to wrapping up whatever I was doing on the phone by my designated bedtime, making it easier to turn it off when it was time to do so.

This strategy has the added bonus of forcing me to actually get out of bed in the morning to turn off my alarm, instead of hitting snooze four times in a row and then scrolling for 20 minutes before finally getting up. Once I’m out of bed, I go straight to the bathroom, without allowing myself to get back into bed with my phone.

Keeping my phone in its place

To control my daytime use, I bought a phone stand which I keep on top of my tall dresser at standing height. This is where my phone “lives” during the day if I’m not intentionally using it. This way, my phone has a “station,” instead of always being on my person and coming with me everywhere. I can still check my phone for messages or notifications, but if it’s something I need to respond to, I stay standing. I’ve created a rule that I can never use my phone on my bed until my work day is over and I’m officially in “relax mode.” This keeps me away from my biggest temptation when I’m feeling tired or low-energy, which is to flop down on my bed and numb out while scrolling on my phone. I’ve found that I’m much less prone to prolonged distraction if I’m standing rather than lounging comfortably. It’s also really helpful to have a phone station, rather than my phone being something that is always attached to me. It reminds me of having a desktop computer in the family room in the 90s, where “going on the internet” was an actual distinct activity for which you had to go to a particular place in the house.

Making my phone boring

In addition to creating physical distance from my phone, my second approach has been to create barriers and obstacles within the phone itself, to make it less stimulating and enticing. 

One of the most helpful modifications I’ve made to my phone has been to install a minimalist user interface (I use the Oasis Launcher, but there are a few out there). Now, my home screen is just a black background with a list of my most important apps — messages, email, maps, etc. For my other apps, I have to swipe to the next screen and scroll through an alphabetical list. Somehow, Instagram is much less enticing when I have to scroll through a list to “I,” rather than clicking on a shiny colorful button that looks like a piece of candy. The Oasis Launcher also allows me to hide certain apps, so I have to take a few extra steps to open them.

My favorite feature of this interface is the “Focus Mode,” which blocks me from swiping over to the list of apps. I can only access the four main apps on my home screen — Messages, Calendar, Spotify, and my Notes app. Now, embarrassingly, I still often lacked the self-control to avoid hitting the icon to exit out of Focus Mode when I felt particularly tempted. Luckily, I discovered that the Oasis Launcher has a feature that forces a 10-second countdown before exiting out of Focus Mode, or before opening a hidden app. This has been highly effective, undercutting my mindless impulsivity (and playing to one of my other ADHD traits — impatience). 

Time’s up

I’ve also installed a productivity app which allows me to set daily time limits for selected apps. This has been another huge game-changer for me. I use one called “Stay Focused.” As an example, I have a 30-minute daily limit for Instagram. After 30 minutes, the app is blocked. Of course, if I’m really determined to get my fix, I can go into the app settings and turn off the limitation. But, the genius that I am, I put Stay Focused in the hidden apps drawer, so if I want to go into the app and change my restriction settings, I’m interrupted by the 10-second countdown. Again, this has been remarkably effective.

While using an app with the restriction set, there’s a little countdown timer at the side of the screen, keeping me aware of how much time I have left. This helps me budget my time wisely, and not get lost in aimless scrolling, because I don’t want to spend too much of my limited time. As soon as I notice the timer icon, I ask myself “do I really want to use up my time right now?” Seeing that I only have five minutes left will motivate me to stop passively scrolling and remind me of the intention I had set. 

For certain apps which are particularly nefarious time suckers, I’ve deleted them from my phone altogether, including Facebook and Reddit. In both cases, I have to go to the website, and I’ve made a habit of always logging out when I’m finished. If I feel an impulse to check Facebook, I have to go through multiple steps instead of just clicking on an icon (or being bombarded with notifications). These steps are a wonderful way to, again, inject some mindfulness and intentionality into my phone use. These days, I barely even have the urge to go to Facebook, and often go a whole week without logging in. 

Leave me alone

Finally, my absolute favorite feature on my phone is the glorious “Do Not Disturb” setting. Whenever I’m in productivity mode — writing, working, doing chores, etc. — I have my phone on Do Not Disturb, with only my emergency contacts being able to get through. I don’t receive any notifications at all. Now, checking my phone for messages and notifications has become an intentional activity done in between my main activities, like the old days when we would go to the answering machine and check for messages (this is dating me…). I’ve also noticed that, psychologically, my phone is no longer always in my peripheral awareness. I’m not on alert for missed notifications, because I know I don’t have notifications, since I have them turned off. Checking my phone is now an actual time-bound activity I do, rather than a perpetual mode of being. It’s like taking the dog on a walk at certain points in the day instead of constantly being on the lookout to see if he pooped somewhere on the floor.

At first, when I started keeping my phone on “Do Not Disturb,” I’d feel a sense of anxiety and a desire to check my notifications, like a constant itch that needed to be scratched. Now that I’ve made it a habit, though, I actually associate Do Not Disturb mode with peace and freedom, and a sense of control over the constant demands and bombardments from the outer world.

So, to summarize: I’ve turned my phone screen into a boring-looking list of apps, created time limits and forced countdowns for my “problem apps,” and locked it all behind Do Not Disturb as the default mode. I keep this crippled, beaten-down shell of a phone in its “place” on the phone stand most of the time, or at least out of arm’s reach when I’m in a different location.

I realize that all these steps may not be feasible for everyone, especially people who need to be accessible to people while working. But all of these modifications are customizable. Do Not Disturb can be modified to let certain contacts in, or to receive calls but not texts, or calls and texts but not social media notifications, and so on. 

All this being said, I also realize the mistake of being too strict with myself. If I allow myself no mindless scrolling or texting, it’s actually harder to resist when I need to. After all, it’s 2025; I’m not going to entirely stop texting my friends, watching YouTube, or browsing internet forums. These things aren’t inherently evil; I just have a disordered relationship with them. (Although, I would argue that they are inherently addictive, and are designed to be so in order to keep us consuming.)

So, against the protestations of my inner drill-sergeant, I allow myself freedom to unwind on my phone for an hour or so at the end of the work day, and for a bit of time during an afternoon break. I allow myself more leeway on weekends, too. This has actually made it easier to resist temptation. If I feel tempted to check texts or scroll Instagram, it’s easier to avoid if I feel like do have dedicated time for it later. I can drop it if I know it will land somewhere and not just disappear.

Back to the good ol’ days

These days, our phones aren’t just phones — in fact, they aren’t even primarily phones anymore. They’re computers, notepads, calculators, calendars, clocks, navigators, and so on. So another important way I’ve untethered myself from screens has been by taking many of the functions I was using my phone (or laptop) for and outsourcing them back to the physical world.

For example, the entire first draft of this article was written using pen and paper, and then for the final draft, I just typed what I had written and did the editing on my computer. I do the bulk of my writing with pen and paper, including my voluminous journaling. This helps keep me away from the distractions on my computer, and it also keeps me in the real, tangible world, in contact with sensory reality, rather than being hypnotized and sucked into screen-land. I also still read physical books, for the same reasons.

As an added bonus, I’ve also noticed that my writing flows much better when writing with a pen. At least part of this is due, I’m sure, to the “stun effect” of the screen. When I’m looking at the screen, it feels like I’ve somehow been stupefied and have become unable to think clearly. It makes me think of being a kid glued to the TV, and being unresponsive when my parents would call my name.

For the last couple of years, I’ve also been using a paper planner (a bullet journal, to be specific) instead of just using my notes app on my laptop. This is another area of my life where I’ve been able to eliminate temptations, distractions, and screen-stun. It’s particularly helpful for keeping me away from screens first thing in the morning. Instead of starting my day on my laptop or phone, I can keep my phone on its stand, far away from me, and have a screen-free day-planning session. 

The other huge game-changer for me has been to stop relying on my phone for anything related to time. I’ve switched over to an old-school Casio digital watch that looks like something out of the 80s, and I also use this as an alarm and timer throughout my day, instead of using my phone as a timer (and inevitably getting tempted to check my notifications after I turn the alarm off, and having to carry my phone around with me at all times). I also bought little kitchen timers for each of my rooms, for when I need something more visual.

All of these strategies are well and good, but in order to truly be successful, I’ve also had to address the psychological elements of my addiction, continued in part 3.