My first phone went into a lake. My second was swallowed by the ocean. Others have been locked in metal boxes, left on mountains or handed to friends with instructions not to give them back. Eventually I had to accept that throwing the phone away was not a workable plan. I needed the right tool for the right job, used consciously, at the right time.
I call that a de-weaponised phone. It keeps what helps and removes as many reasons to check as possible.
Watch Me Remove the Distractions from My iPhone
Watch how I remove distractions from my iPhone. Then use the current iPhone and Android steps below.
Phone menus have changed since this video was recorded, so use the written guide below for the exact current steps.
Start here: decide what the phone is for
Write down the jobs you need the phone to do. Mine include calls, banking, maps, music, photographs, voice notes and work video. Your list will be different. Keep those jobs available. Once those jobs are clear, it becomes easier to decide what else belongs on the phone.
This matters because “use your phone less” is too vague to act on. “Keep calls and maps; remove social media from the phone” is a decision.
Seven ways to make your phone quieter
If your phone feels too busy, it can be hard to know where to begin. You do not need to change everything today. Start with the first change that would make your day easier. Try it for a few days, then come back for another if you need it.
1. Turn off one notification that keeps interrupting you
Every sound, vibration and red badge asks you to look. Start with one app that interrupts you often. Turn off its notifications and see whether the day feels calmer.
Keep the alerts you genuinely need, such as calls from important people, calendar reminders, and security or banking alerts. You can usually turn off sales, news, recommendations, likes, streaks and other updates until you choose to open the app. Nothing here is permanent. You can turn an alert back on if you miss something useful.
On an iPhone: Open Settings → Notifications → choose the app. Turn off Allow Notifications, or choose which kinds of alert it can send. You can also put selected alerts into a scheduled summary. See Apple’s current instructions.
On Android: Open Settings → Notifications → App notifications, then choose the app. The names may be slightly different on your phone.
2. Remove one app you keep opening without meaning to
Think of the app you open most often and then wish you had not. Try removing that one from the phone. If you still need the service, you may be able to use it on a computer instead. This keeps it available without carrying it everywhere.
iPhone: touch and hold the app → Remove App → Delete App. If you only want it off the Home Screen, choose Remove from Home Screen instead. Apple’s current instructions.
Android: touch and hold the app → App info → Uninstall. System apps may only offer Disable.
3. Make the first Home Screen simple
Keep the few things you use on purpose, such as calls, messages or maps. Move the rest to another page, the App Library or one folder. When you unlock the phone for one job, a quieter Home Screen makes it easier to do that job and stop.
iPhone: Apple explains how to remove apps or entire pages from the Home Screen while keeping them in the App Library in its Home Screen guide.
4. Choose one time when distracting apps will be unavailable
Start with one part of the day you want to protect: a work session, a meal, the hour before bed or the beginning of the morning. Keep the people and essential apps that still need to reach you.
iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → Downtime. Turn on Block at Downtime if you do not want the restricted apps to remain easy to open. Apple’s current instructions.
Android: Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Focus mode or Bedtime mode. Google’s current instructions.
5. Put limits on the apps that remain
Choose the amount of time you would actually like to spend in the app. If you are not sure, look at last week’s Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing report and reduce it gradually. Most limits can be ignored, so think of this as a pause rather than a lock.
iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → App Limits. Apple allows limits for individual apps or categories.
Android: Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → App timers. Google notes that timers reset at midnight and can be deleted, so treat them as friction rather than an unbreakable lock.
6. Try greyscale if colour keeps pulling you in
Greyscale removes most of the colour from the screen. Some people find that this makes apps less tempting; other people notice no difference. It is free and reversible. Try it for a week, and turn it off if it does not help.
iPhone: Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Color Filters → Grayscale. Apple’s current instructions.
Android: Digital Wellbeing → Bedtime mode → Screen options at bedtime → Grayscale. Google warns that steps vary by device.
7. Give the phone a place to live
Choose one place where the phone will charge or rest when you are not using it. If it currently sleeps beside you, try charging it outside the bedroom and use a separate alarm clock. A physical place can help when an app setting is too easy to switch off.
Why I ended up with four phones
I use one iPhone without a SIM card or internet connection as a camera, voice recorder and music player. Another older iPhone has WhatsApp, banking and very little else. I also own two Light Phones. In theory I am a huge fan; in practice WhatsApp has often kept me tethered to the iPhone. When I want to go for a walk and remain reachable without carrying the internet, I can move the SIM card into the Light Phone.
I spent three months in Hawaii with the older Light Phone and no smartphone. Apart from the texting being irritating, it was fine. There are trade-offs with every arrangement. That is why this page starts with the phone you already own rather than telling everybody to buy mine.
What these settings cannot do
Settings can interrupt an automatic reach. They cannot tell you why the quiet feels unbearable, repair a lonely evening or treat compulsive use that is harming your life. I have tried all the settings, apps, boxes and alternative phones. They help, but they do not always hold.
If your technology use feels out of control, I recommend trying the free meetings and help options. If you want a structured reset without joining anything, use the Digital Detox Playbook.
If the built-in settings are not enough
Compare app blockers and browser extensions if you want stronger software. Compare dumb phones and physical devices if you keep switching software off.
Michael has spent much of his working life online—and much of the rest of it trying to stop that technology taking over. He has thrown a phone into a lake, locked devices in boxes and experimented with long periods offline. He writes about what helped, what failed and how to keep the useful parts of digital life.