Using a minimal phone to fight phone addiction

For the last 18 months or so I’ve been trying to reduce my phone usage, especially when I’m just hanging out with my wife and kids. I’ve noticed that when I don’t use my phone, I feel an addictive pull to find it, even though there is no reason to see it. I have decided I want to try out using a “minimal phone” to help break myself of my phone addiction. To do this I’m going to have two devices: One for when I’m home and one for when I’m working.

In addition to being distracted from my family, my phone use is also a hindrance on my other hobbies. Rather than reading, I’ve been browsing my phone. I would also like to play more games and own many games I’d love to play, but never seem to make the time. I also enjoy gardening and have big plans for the yard this season. My phone is a major distraction to just going outside and digging in the dirt.

Challenges

This is a particular challenge for me for 3 reasons:

1. I own and operate a contracting business, which relies on me using my phone heavily during business hours. I need to send emails, message my business partner, look up specs, and write invoices.
2. I use my phone as my laptop. I love Samsung DeX and use it as my laptop connected to a UPerfect lapdock.
3. I don’t have any money to spend on this project. I will have to convert an old Android phone, which is actually fine. Purchasing a feature phone for a test project would be a waste of money, even if I had the funds.

I also know these habits will be hard to break:

• After the kids to bed I browse Imgur. This is fun and always makes me laugh. I prefer browsing Imgur on my phone.
• I live and die by my task list. I constantly add new things to it and reference it constantly throughout the day. Without my task list I am lost. I might need to keep a paper copy of my task list so I can view it in the evenings, weekends, and then add items to be added on my phone later.
• Accessing my Wyze cams. I have two cameras on the front of the house and I like to peek outside for weather events, noises, seeing when my teens/young adults leave or come home, and keeping an eye out for security events. I don’t need to see out there all the time, but I will definitely think about it a lot without access.
• Idle hands. When bored I reach for my phone. This includes when we are just hanging out in the living room and the kids are busy with each other, which leaves me just sitting quietly on the couch with nothing to do. I will need to have other items close by to keep me from slowly migrating back.

Background

I am old enough to remember life without any cell phone, let alone a smartphone. Both of my oldest children were born before the iPhone was released and even they remember a time without smartphones. However, this project isn’t about some yearning for “simpler times”. It is truly about my personal relationship with my phone.

There is no judgement here on others and their phone use. Everyone sets their own boundaries and goals.

If anything, I do want to be exposed to less news and be more focused on what makes me happy: My family. I spend way too much time reading the news or being exposed to it through social media. I do wish I could go back to a time when there were less distractions.

Project rules and boundaries

• When I get home from work, I put my internet access phone into my bag and turn it off.
• On weekdays, I turn on my internet phone an hour before I leave for work to check on the weather and jobs that are on the schedule for that day. I can also message my business partner and send some pre-work emails.
• On weekends, I keep my internet phone off until Sunday evenings so I can check in with my business partner and coordinate for the week.
• I will wipe my “home” phone and start fresh. It will not be connected to wifi after and will be kept fully offline.
• Only the apps listed below will be installed.
• The browser will be disabled.

Required apps

Although it would be easiest to simply not use my phone when at home, I think it is best if I have a crutch device. I need a device that I can use a small selection of apps, without access to the internet, to accomplish basic tasks. Since I use my primary phone as my laptop, for this project I will need to use an actual computer for most things. To keep myself from just plopping down at my desk all day, I need a few tools at the ready on a “dumb” phone.

Kiwix

I am one of those people who reads about movies while we watch them. Kiwix with the no pic Wikipedia will make it so I can do that without having broader internet access. I know, I know, I should just pay attention to the movie. But, I like to do it and I don’t have to explain myself.

Having offline Wikipedia means I can look up facts without getting out a laptop or going to my desk. Being offline means I won’t get further distracted after looking something up and then browsing Mastodon, my RSS feeds, or Imgur.

Briar

My wife and I message each other all day, even when sitting next to each other on the couch. Such is the life when having kids. Messaging means we can have private conversations. I don’t want to lose this.

Briar will work via bluetooth with no internet access when we are in close proximity. That shouldn’t be a problem in our house.

VLC

Occasionally I will listen to podcasts or YouTube videos while doing chores around the house. If I’m going to stick to it being 100% offline on my mobile while at home, I need to be able to put files onto the device and listen to them.

For this test, I will manually move files over from my PC and then use VLC for playback.

Obsidian

I am an avid note-taker and Obsidian is my tool of choice. Since my test is fully offline, I can’t use my mobile for writing notes. But, I will definitely need access to them. My notes have all kinds of documents for my cars, the house, garden, and recipes.

This should be straightforward. I copy my notes folder to the device and then view in Obsidian. I can update my notes from my PC as needed.

Misc

• Calculator
• Calendar (just for seeing dates and when holidays are)
• Camera

Devices

I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 with LineageOS that is not being used at the moment and I can easily set it up for this project.

My two options for a laptop are a Pinebook Pro and a Dell Precision M4700. I recently configured my Pinebook Pro with more apps and I have a lot more CLI apps I like to use, so this is probably the best option for low power couch surfing and messaging. The Dell is much more capable, but weighs as much as microwave and is the size of a baking sheet.

I don’t want to swap phone use for laptop use and then my kids just see me pecking away all day on yet another screen. This is why I think the Pinebook Pro is perfect. Its enough laptop to get the job done, but not good enough that I want to be on it all day.

Project start

I want to have everything setup and ready to go for a March 1 start and then test it out for the entire month.

Todo:

• Setup Redmi Note 7 phone
• Talk to my wife about this project
• Speak with my business partner and tell him the times I won’t be reachable.
• Review Pinebook Pro and configure anything I’ll need to compensate for my phone.

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