Wirecutter - Break up with your phone

You’ll need to focus on changing your habits first if you want your digital detox to actually stick, Screen Life Balance founder Catherine Price told us. Here are some hacks to try:

• Slide a rubber band around your phone when you’re not using it. You’ll be more aware of how often you mindlessly grab your device if your thumb brushes against a physical barrier. This technique gives you a chance to reconsider whether you actually want to be on your phone or if you were simply operating out of habit.
• Rearrange your home screen. Switching up the layout of your home screen means it’ll take more effort to find a time-suck app, so you’ll have a chance to reevaluate if you really want to be using the app in the first place. Move only the essentials—such as messaging, phone, map, and camera apps—to your home screen. Hide the rest of your apps into folders and drag them to the second and third page of your phone so they’re out of sight.
• Turn off nonessential notifications and enable “Do Not Disturb” to limit distractions. Notifications are notoriously effective at sucking us into our phones, so don’t give them the opportunity to steal your attention in the first place. Turn off all notifications except phone calls, messages, and calendar reminders. Turn on “Do Not Disturb”, which silences all notifications while it’s engaged, but you can customize your settings to allow alerts from preselected people and apps.
• Cut yourself off from your problem apps. Using your phone’s settings, apply screen-time limits to the apps you spend the most time scrolling through, like Instagram or Twitter. The limits will kick you off for the day once you’ve hit them.

I spent two days testing a handful of apps to see which were most effective, at either introducing a speed bump or restricting my access to problem apps. Here are the ones that worked best:

Opal restricts your access to certain apps during specific user-determined windows of time. With the free version, you can create one “session”—mine is dedicated to blocking TikTok and Instagram during work hours.

One Sec is a fully automated app that leads you through a breathing exercise every time you attempt to open apps you’ve decided to flag. Instead of going straight to Instagram, you’ll be prompted to take a deep breath before One Sec asks if you really want to proceed. One Sec also tells you how many attempts you’ve made at opening those flagged apps, which can be eye-opening.

If you’ve already done what you can to introduce speed bumps into your scroll time yet you’re still struggling to put down your device, it might be time to get some gear to help you stick to your goals.

Sometimes it’s essential to keep your phone out of sight when you want to focus. This can be as simple as sticking your phone in a desk drawer during the workday or dropping it in a basket during meals.

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If you’d like a more official home for your devices when you’re not using them, consider a dedicated phone holder. I tried out the Bagby Original, a phone-size pouch designed to hang from a doorknob. The Bagby Social, a four-pocket hanging phone holder (that’s currently on sale!), is another good option for households looking to digitally detox together.

If you rely on your phone to wake up in the morning, and then find yourself mindlessly scrolling before getting up, consider getting an old-fashioned alarm clock. If the blare of an alarm is too abrasive, a sunrise alarm clock is a more gentle way to coax yourself from bed using soft light simulations.

Lockboxes with digital countdown timers and locking mechanisms are designed to keep tempting contraband out of reach when self control is not enough. Ultimately, placing your phone under lock and key should be a last resort.

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Of the boxes I tested, only the opaque kSafe lockbox was actually effective in helping me focus on the task at hand. I couldn’t see my phone, which helped me forget that it was locked in there (though I could hear it buzzing from time to time, so I’d suggest powering down your phone before dropping it in).

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Having the potential to lock my phone away for multiple days at a time was nerve-racking, but it’s not something you can do accidentally—you’d have to make a very concerted effort to turn the dial to reach an exorbitant amount of time.