“Lock” Your IPhone Is My Best Tech Update of the Year.

My concentration is completely broken. I know this because I checked my phone four times while writing this first paragraph. I’m so addicted to my phone that it’s simultaneously shameful and completely normal, and that’s probably the worst part. My phone feels essential to everything: my job requires promptly responding to Slack messages and emails, my hobbies involve apps and group chats, and even in my free time, I scroll through news feeds I don’t actually enjoy.

These days, we tend to think of updates (in life, in technology, anywhere) as adding new features, but sometimes the real upgrade is removing them. So this year, I did something a little drastic: I killed my iPhone. Well, almost. And it was the best tech decision I’ve made in years.

What I Actually Did to Improve My Focus

We talk about phone addiction as a personal flaw, but we shouldn’t limit ourselves. Every app, every notification, every endless scroll is designed by engineers whose job it is to keep us captive. Thus, we’ve practically deprived ourselves of any free time, filling every moment of waiting with content consumption. Waiting for the train? Scrolling. Standing in line at the store? Scrolling. Between tasks at work? Scrolling.

I can’t afford to completely switch to a “bare phone,” so I’ve chosen a middle ground: I’ve downgraded my smartphone so it functions like a bare phone while still retaining useful features like navigation, ride-sharing services, and FaceTime. Here’s what I did:

I turned on grayscale mode. It’s amazing how boring a phone becomes when it looks like an old newspaper. That dopamine-inducing red notification icon? Just gray. That carefully curated Instagram visual feast? Gray. Suddenly, my phone became as interesting as a filing cabinet.

I deleted time-consuming apps. I got rid of my main social media apps, any news apps that were really just anxiety-relieving tools, and other social media apps. If I needed to check something, I had to do it on the computer, which was inconvenient enough to make me reconsider whether I really cared about it.

I turned off nonessential notifications. In fact, I turned off almost all notifications. No icons, no banners, no sounds. My phone went silent unless someone called or texted me directly.

I started physically distancing myself from my phone while I was focused on work. It went into another room, face down in a drawer, anywhere but within reach. Out of sight, out of the dopamine cycle.

How My Broken iPhone Became a Life Hack

It might sound awkward, but it’s true: at first, it felt like phantom limb syndrome. My thumb kept reaching for apps that weren’t there. I’d pull out my phone in line at the coffee shop, only to see a blank screen instead of a screen, and think, “What do I do now?” The answer, it turned out, was nothing. And that nothing was exactly what I needed.

The first week was truly uncomfortable. My brain was constantly expecting an effect that never came. I felt anxiety, shame, resignation, a lack of stimulation, almost an itch—which, basically, told me everything I needed to know about the depth of my addiction.

Fortunately, the results showed up faster than I expected. Within two weeks, I noticed I could read for longer. I think my creative work also improved. Deep work—the kind where you tackle truly complex problems—requires a state of flow. I need at least 20 minutes of uninterrupted focus to even enter that state, and for me, an Instagram notification instantly ruins it. By removing all distractions from my phone, I suddenly had entire mornings where I could think clearly.

Along with simplifying my phone usage, I made it a goal to become more observant again. I’d wait somewhere, and instead of reaching for my phone, I’d just… look around. Watch people. Notice architectural details. Eavesdrop on conversations. Watch the weather change. It sounds small, but it completely changed my outlook on being in public places.

I believe creativity is born in boredom. When your mind isn’t constantly being fed, it starts to entertain itself. I started having ideas again. Real ideas, not just fragments borrowed from something I read online; I had original thoughts that surprised me, connections my brain made when it wasn’t being forced. It sounds corny, but believe me, it’s the opposite. This is how thinking really works when you let it.

Especially on social media, I’ve become accustomed to the constant need to “perform.” While I still consider this performance necessary to “make it” in a creative field, I’ve realized that much of my fear of missing out (FOMO) was an algorithmic issue. You’re not actually missing out; you’re being shown a carefully curated highlight reel designed to make you feel inadequate. Once you step out of this stream, you realize how artificially induced this anxiety was. What I thought I needed to keep up with turns out to be completely forgettable.

Result

My broken iPhone is a step back in functionality, but it’s an improvement in my quality of life. That’s the whole story.

We view phone use as a matter of personal responsibility, but that’s like blaming people for addiction to substances designed to be addictive . Companies build their algorithms on persuasive technologies . They A/B test features to maximize engagement. They know exactly what they’re doing, and their goal is to turn your attention into profit.

Look, I’d love to go further, but I have my limits. My work requires me to respond quickly—Slack messages can’t wait three hours. And I genuinely enjoy having a laugh in a group chat, and that’s really important. These moments of connection are important, and I don’t want to become a complete digital hermit.

But going forward, I desperately want to regain my ability to think deeply, concentrate, create meaningfully, and make authentic connections—it’s not just a luxury, it’s the meaning of life.

If your phone seems to own you more than you own it, the next update might not be a new model. It might just make your current phone a little duller, less interesting, and a lot more cumbersome. Your brain will thank you for it.

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