One of the biggest problems people face on their phones is getting sucked into a bout of “doomscrolling” — just mindlessly going through never-ending social media feeds. Most of us open social media apps with a bit of purpose in mind, but it’s easy to get sucked into the feed for longer than we intended.
As I’ve been playing with different launchers for my phone, the one thing that has helped a lot is keeping the social media apps tucked away. They’re easy enough to get to if I want them, but they’re not on my home screen so I never notice them just sitting there. Out of sight, out of mind. Robert takes it even further and has zero apps on his home screen and accesses everything from the main app drawer. This takes intention to a whole new level and is a great way to do things.
I keep a few icons on my home screen, but they’re all either apps with a specific purpose (like Google Maps or Beeper) or else they’re apps that I’m happy to “waste” some time using, like Readwise or Anki. If I’m bored in a waiting room or something, spending time in those apps is far better than heading into Facebook or Instagram.
I still keep the social media apps on my phone, and certainly use them from time to time, but by making other apps my default time-killers it really helps to keep things in check.
