ARTICLE / DISTRACTION FREE
a distraction-free
iPhone
IMAGE: www.depositphotos.com
In 2013, I realized I had a problem. My iPhone made me twitchy. I could
feel it in my pocket, calling me, like the Ring called Bilbo Baggins
A month went by, then two, and I loved my newfound freedom
I
t distracted me from my kids. It
distracted me from my wife. It
distracted me anytime, anywhere.
I just didn’t have the willpower
to ignore email and Twitter and
Instagram and the whole World
Wide Web. Infinity in my pocket
was too much. I wanted to get
control, but I didn’t want to give up
my iPhone altogether. I loved having
Google Maps and Uber and Find
Friends and an amazing camera.
So I decided to try an experiment.
I disabled Safari. I deleted my mail
account. I uninstalled every app I
couldn’t handle. I thought I’d try it for
a week. A month went by, then two,
and I loved my newfound freedom.
I have even written an article about
it. The biggest victory was when
my wife made her own iPhone
distraction-free. This, after 6 months
of telling me I was nuts. You bet I
was stoked! Anyway, I still get a lot
of people asking: am I still doing it?
Some of those people are probably
too impatient to read this long boring
intro. So for all you skimmers out
there, here’s the answer in big letters:
Yes, I’m still doing it.
Over one year later.
Oh great. Here comes the selfrighteous part. Over the last 12
months I’ve learned to enjoy (or
at least, be OK with) moments of
boredom. I reach for my phone a
lot less often. It’s probably just my
imagination, but it feels like it’s
easier to concentrate when I need
to get things done or tackle a big
project. Times when I travel to work
when I would have reached for my
phone the moment I stop at a tr Y