This Physical Barrier Has Finally Helped Me Limit My Screen Time.
I’ve written before about various software tricks that can bring a smartphone closer to a “basic phone” state: simplifying the home screen to a minimum, enabling grayscale mode, scheduling idle periods. I tried all of these, and for a while, they worked , but only in the same way as hiding a bag of chips in a high cabinet—technically an obstacle, but not a real one. One tap of the “Ignore Limitation” button, and I can scroll again.
The problem is, the key to all this is right in your pocket. It turns out I only needed a little device called “The Brick” to physically restrain me and create a physical barrier, and I can finally feel my screen-related habits changing for the better.
How Brick interacts with your smartphone
The Brick is a small NFC keychain, about the size of an AirPods case, paired with an app. You open the app, choose which apps or websites to block (or vice versa: select only the apps you want to keep , and everything else is blocked), name it, for example, “Work” or “Family Time” (or simply “Health”), and tap your phone to the Brick to activate it.
That’s it. To restore everything, you need to physically go to the place where you left the “Brick” and tap it again. Each “Brick” has five disaster recovery features that can be activated from the app. I appreciate their existence, and fortunately, I haven’t had to use them yet.
Why Brick Really Helps Reduce Screen Time
Here’s what I keep coming back to: any digital solution requires you to rely on yourself at the very moment when you’re most vulnerable. By the time you encounter the “Ignore Restriction” option, you’ve already picked up your phone. You’re already in the process of forming a habit.
The Brick changes the physical nature of the problem. I’ve found that the Brick’s greatest benefit is that it doesn’t require you to resist temptation in the moment; instead, it forces you to set an intention in advance and then reinforces that intention through physical separation, not willpower. Behavior change research suggests this is absolutely the right approach. Environmental design almost always trumps a short-term solution. (Apparently, it just took me a $59 device to finally realize this.)
Honestly, it’s absurd to me: I spent a ton of money on my phone. And now I’ve spent an extra $59 just to stop using it. Oh well! That’s where my screen obsession has led me. On the other hand, the Brick is a one-time purchase that doesn’t require a subscription or “premium plan.” I admit, I debated for a long time whether it was worth it, given the irony of the situation and my desire to simply have more willpower. But I’ve realized that my time and attention are worth the money, and I’m annoyed that it took me so long to realize that.