March 2018
I love my smartphone, but I take great care to ensure it doesn't consume my time or ability to focus.
A couple hours before bed, I put my phone in airplane and grayscale mode in the kitchen. Since it's not on my nightstand, I'm not tempted to check it as soon as I wake up. By the time I see the phone in the morning, I'm in the middle of my routine, so it's easy to ignore.
After my morning routine, I spend five minutes responding to messages, ignoring anything that is not time-sensitive. I'm careful not to open any "attention" apps or read any news.[0] I've found that if I read a story in the morning, it sticks in my mind throughout the day, almost like a background process consuming memory.
During the day I leave the phone in airplane mode in another room. Just having it in my line of sight or in my pocket is too tempting. Every few hours I open it and spend five minutes responding to messages, which allows me to get back to people in a reasonable amount of time.[1] My family and friends have come to expect slightly delayed responses from me; it's rarely a problem.
I don't have my phone around when I exercise or eat. I like to give those activities my complete attention. Food tastes better and conversation is more engaging without phones.
At some point in the evening, I'll allow myself 45 minutes to turn off grayscale and explore attention apps. I've found that's enough time to catch up with my previously ignored messages, video chat, read an article and watch a video or two. I strictly limit this time because it can quickly get out of hand.
An hour or two before bed I put my phone back into airplane mode. If I stimulate my mind too close to bedtime, it's hard to fall asleep.
Every weekend or two I'll leave the phone off for an entire day to completely detox. On vacation, I check my phone once or twice a day.
Obviously not every day follows this script. But the majority do, and that's worked well for me.
[0] I only keep productivity apps on my phone's home screen. All other apps are in folders on secondary screens.
[1] An added bonus: since my time is so limited, I've become a more efficient communicator.