Transform Your Life by Decluttering Your Smartphone Apps

Explore the journey of an American designer who decided to stop letting his smartphone steal his attention.

Smartphones simplify many aspects of life but can also severely hamper productivity. Whether chatting with friends or working, these devices often distract us with notifications, emails, and messages, breaking our concentration and affecting relationships.

Jake Knapp, a designer and author, recognized the negative impact his smartphone had on his life. He took a bold step by deleting all distracting apps from his iPhone, a path anyone can follow.

Jake Knapp
Designer and writer.

In 2012, I realized I had a problem. My iPhone was making me anxious. It called to me from my pocket like the One Ring called to Bilbo Baggins.

How Jake Knapp Cleared His Smartphone

Known for co-authoring the book "Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days," Jake’s story started simply. In 2007, the first shiny iPhone was released, and he wanted it. It had email, a browser, and even an investment app, so it seemed useful for work.

Over time, Jake installed more apps: Facebook, Instagram, news, games — the typical smartphone user’s collection.

Jake Knapp

More inboxes to check, more channels to read. Each app latched onto my brain, tethering the phone to my skull with an invisible string.

One evening while playing with his children, his eldest asked, "Dad, why are you looking at your phone?" Jake realized he didn’t know why and couldn’t even remember how the phone ended up in his hand. He had spent the day wanting to be present with his kids but found himself distracted instead.

Reflecting on this, Jake understood his iPhone was not a tool but a source of distraction. He wanted to control the device, not be controlled by it. Frustrated, he decided to stop letting his phone steal his attention.

Jake Knapp

I deleted Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Removed YouTube and all games. Then I went into settings and deleted Safari.

He kept email initially, as he loved it—having sent his first email in the 1990s and contributed to Gmail’s design. Yet email proved to be his biggest distraction, stealing time under the guise of work importance. Eventually, he deleted Gmail too.

Within 60 seconds, Jake was alone and isolated. Anxiety crept in, but he reassured himself it was just an experiment. He planned to try living without apps for a week and then reinstall them.

The first days felt odd. He would unlock his phone and remember there was nothing to check. This unusual calm brought peace. His mind felt clearer, and time seemed to slow, allowing him to accomplish more.

Jake enjoyed this freedom so much that his week-long experiment extended into years. During that time, he wrote articles about his experience and his six years living with a distraction-free smartphone. His writings sparked widespread discussion online. Some called him arrogant or lacking self-control, but many followed his example and deleted some apps.

His iPhone remained useful for music, podcasts, translations, voice commands, maps, and photography. He simply removed what distracted him.

Jake Knapp

If I had this device as a kid in the 1980s, I’d have gone mad with excitement. An iPhone without distractions is a futuristic tool I control. It’s what I truly wanted all along.

Of course, sacrifices were made. Jake lost his reputation for quick email responses and immediate task completion. He used Facebook less and lost touch with some friends. But he gained more quality time with his wife and children, which mattered most to him.

Recently, I personally deleted all apps with notifications from my smartphone except work chats and email, which are rarely used and only for important messages. Though just two months in, I already feel significant improvement. Now, my phone doesn’t distract me during work, and in free time, I read or spend time with family instead of scrolling social media. Reinstalling apps doesn’t even appeal to me.

Benefits of a Distraction-Free Smartphone

Removing work-related apps might seem counterproductive. Jake was prepared for this because his goal was to spend more quality time with family.

Without distractions from external tasks and messages, he found it easier to focus on truly important projects. He completed many postponed tasks and authored two books.

This success is largely thanks to his distraction-free phone. Research from the German Institute of Psychology at Humboldt University shows it takes at least 23 minutes to regain focus after an interruption. With many apps sending notifications more frequently, continuous focus is nearly impossible.

Jake Knapp’s Two-Hour Experiment

Jumping straight to deleting all apps permanently might be daunting. Jake recommends starting with a two-hour experiment involving these steps:

1. Identify what you want to focus on. Jake wanted more family time. What about you? Work, study, self-improvement? Set your priorities.
2. Inform others. Let friends and colleagues know you won’t be constantly available on messengers. For urgent matters, they can call.
3. Delete social media apps. You can always access accounts on a computer or tablet.
4. Remove news apps. You can check news on other devices or skip it altogether.
5. Delete games and video streaming apps (YouTube, Netflix, etc.).
6. Remove web browsers if possible; this might require digging into settings.
7. Delete email and all messengers, including work-related ones.
8. Leave your phone like this for two hours and observe what happens.

If this sounds intimidating, start by deleting just a few apps, like games or social media. Remember, this isn’t a permanent vow—you can always reinstall them. This mindset makes the process easier.

For more on Jake’s experiment and ideas on saving time and attention, check out his book "Find Time."

If you try the two-hour experiment, share your results in the comments or tell us how you manage your smartphone’s impact on your life.

Discover engaging topics and analytical content in Technologies as of 10-04-2022. The article titled " Transform Your Life by Decluttering Your Smartphone Apps " provides new insights and practical guidance in the Technologies field. Each topic is meticulously analyzed to deliver actionable information to readers.

The topic " Transform Your Life by Decluttering Your Smartphone Apps " helps you make smarter decisions within the Technologies category. All topics on our website are unique and offer valuable content for our audience.