mdohr's logbook

Digital minimalism & default apps for 2024

A neon sign saying INTERNET and some shadowy person is watching it with a party popper going off in their head

Oh my, it's been a while since my last blog post!

It seems I’ve been pretty busy. Initially, I intended to write about digital minimalism and my efforts in this area today, and I will, but with an addition. Since we started working on our solo projects in retraining, I haven’t had the chance to read other blogs. Today, I finally sat down and went through my semi-dusty feed reader.

Once again, Brandon’s blog particularly caught my attention. Among other things, I found his post Default Apps for 2024. He, in turn, seems to have been inspired by this post to create his own list of default apps. Well, isn’t that a perfect fit for today’s topic?

Review

I’ve previously tried digital minimalism, and it worked pretty well. However, my phone usage has increased since I started retraining. Before retraining, I averaged about one hour of phone usage per day.

The average daily online activity on smartphones amounts to 3 hours and 50 minutes. backlinko.com

Now, during retraining, my usage has risen to up to one hour and forty-five minutes — that is nearly double the time than before on some days. One concern always in the back of my mind is: even if I spent zero hours on my phone, my online time would still be high. Of course, during a full-time IT retraining program, I spend a lot of time on the computer. In the evenings, I enjoy watching Netflix with my wife, and on weekends, the computer is on most of the time. During weekends, I like watching some YouTube videos or researching topics (lately, for example, about urticaria). I also chat a bit on Telegram and/or WhatsApp. In the first two cases, I’m often learning or seeking information, which isn’t bad. During retraining, I frequently read blogs or various news during idle times. These activities don’t seem harmful to me, even though they count as “screen time.”

The issue arises when I get caught in the spiral many are familiar with: intending to look up just one thing, only to end up far off-track, consuming more and more content for vague reasons. Here are my two main time-wasters, which I admit with some shame:

  1. Searching for reference images or inspiration for drawing on Pinterest. Often, I’m not entirely satisfied with what I find, and I scroll endlessly without making a decision.
  2. Browsing online shops without intending to buy anything. Usually, I compare options for what feels like ages. My excuse is that I want to make the best possible choice when I eventually do buy something. Otherwise, it’s probably (brace for philosophy) a quest to understand myself.

I want to improve these habits and reduce my phone usage again. This morning, I reviewed my statistics and made some notes. Here are the key points:

I spend too much time on…

I can improve my behavior by…

Decentralizing the Phone

I’ve seen this concept on YouTube, and I think it’s a good idea, but not fully applicable to me. For example, I already use my old Nintendo 2DS XL for gaming, so I don’t play games on my phone. I’ve also started wearing my wristwatch again (it was sidelined because the battery was dead). Additionally, I use a notebook for jotting down ideas on the go, especially shopping lists. However, achieving the full experience would require me to buy a camera or an iPod — or something similar — which I won’t do.

Tech-Free Mornings

Another YouTube-inspired idea, but it’s not practical for me. Mornings aren’t a great tech-free option because I use my tram rides during retraining to make good use of my free time. For instance, I’ve written some blog entries on the go. But I can certainly try avoiding my phone in the evenings once I’m home and, to a large extent, on weekends as well.

My Most-Used Apps Last Week

  1. Telegram
  2. Firefox
  3. Settings
  4. Brave
  5. Offline Music Player

I’m unsure how representative this is, as last week was a bit unusual in terms of app usage. I decided to make a “mixtape,” like in the old days — just without the tape. I selected songs totaling no more than 90 minutes and arranged them in order. It turns out you can’t simply listen to any music on Apple Music anymore, so I downloaded an app called “Offline Music.” Learning to navigate and organize playlists in the app turned out to be more challenging than expected, which probably explains my unusually high time spent in the Settings app.

Conclusion:

Here’s what I’ve done so far: Two apps have been deleted because I rarely used them. Some apps are now unrestricted, like messaging apps (I primarily use Telegram), music and podcasts, translation tools, Notion, Strava, schedule planners, and similar tools. I’ve halved my Pinterest time and set the same limit for browser usage. I’ve also reduced weekday screen time by 30 minutes and enabled all-day downtime on weekends (allowing only specific apps).

Now I just need to allocate time for mindful(!) phone use — like during tram rides or the 10 a.m. break.

Default Apps 2024

Finally, here’s my list:

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Music: Black roses for the wicked one - Elvenking
Mood: hungry

#health #personal development