Dave Martin

Heya! I’m Dave. I’m a product designer, engineer, PM, and team lead who works at Automattic.

Breaking bad phone habits

Did you know that you can access the Battery Usage feature on your iPhone (Settings -> Battery -> Last 10 Days -> Show Activity) to see precisely how many minutes (or hours) you’ve spent on each app over the past 10 days? 😅

Years ago, after reviewing this insightful report, I made the decision to remove all social media apps and my company’s Slack app from my phone.

A few weeks ago, out of curiosity, I revisited this feature and was utterly shocked by the numbers I encountered. It turned out that I had developed a new addiction – video apps.

Consequently, I took immediate action by deleting all video apps (YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, Max) from my device. Additionally, I utilized the Screen Time feature on my iPhone to block my browser from accessing Hacker News, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

A week or so later, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Those apps were nothing but a distraction and a colossal waste of time.

3 responses to “Breaking bad phone habits”

  1. Sasha Stone Avatar
    Sasha Stone

    Inspiring!

    Instagram is my time suck. Years ago, I removed it from my phone for several months, and I found it incredibly freeing. All those moments where I would normally feel a strange compulsion to capture and share, I could just be fully present.

    Now I’ve convinced myself that Instagram is helpful to me in some way, but the truth is, most time I spend on there I end up thinking, I could’ve been reading a book.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dave Martin Avatar
      Dave Martin

      I did this for a long time as well. And truth be told, I may go back some day. But for now, I’m still enjoying completely blocking all social on my phone.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Zack Smith Avatar
    Zack Smith

    Hi Dave, great point! Many people spend more time on their phones than they realize. I’ve been debating between keeping my iPhone and switching to a dumbphone, but that’s unfortunately a bit too impractical. I found a nice compromise by “dumbing down” my iPhone using tips from this video. It’s only been 1-ish week, but it’s helped a lot. You might find it useful if you’re looking to disconnect more. Cheers and hope to see you around the “office”.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

Stay in the loop: