It was a rainy day in October. There was nothing to do outside, so I picked up my phone. I looked at my Instagram feed. Then I checked my friends’ messages on Snapchat. I watched YouTube Shorts until nothing really hit me anymore. I could not even watch a movie or a series, because I would get distracted and bored very quickly. That was the moment I realised this was a serious problem. If I kept doing this, I would never get anything done. I would just keep feeding my mind with more content. Something really had to change. The fix turned out to be a boring phone.
And so, about five years ago, I deleted most of my social media apps. I tried to make my phone as boring as possible. At first, I did this to feel better. To spend more time on the things that I care about. But digital minimalism has turned into an asset for my online business. So many people are struggling with their phone addiction nowadays. Everywhere you go, people are glued to their phones. The average American now spends 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phone every day. When you take sleep and work into account, that is almost all of your spare time.
The Double-Edged Sword
Right now I spend an average of 2 hours on my phone every day, sometimes even less. The biggest factor is that I deleted social media. I only kept YouTube, especially for financial literacy and business content. I kept it because reducing the apps on your phone is a double-edged sword. If you delete everything, you lack useful information. But if you have too much exposure, you become addicted to it. Short form content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram is especially addictive, because it is basically designed like a slot machine.
Publishing, Not Consuming
There is a distinction between using a platform to publish and using a platform to consume. Deleting the app does not mean you delete your audience on that platform. You still have people you can reach. You can still learn from these platforms in a more focused way, like in a browser on your computer. That way you are not mindlessly scrolling, but doing actual learning work instead. It might seem like a contradiction, since you are consuming there as well. But you are studying with a purpose, and that is the real difference.
Digital minimalism is an asset to me because I have more energy and time for writing, scripting, building products and developing my personal brand. Last year I made a cinematic video in two weeks. It would have taken me a month if I had still been spending my evenings watching how other creators made theirs — telling myself it was research, when I was really just avoiding the work. It lets me spend more time on business skills and creative skills, the two foundational pillars behind this website and my YouTube channel.
How to Make a Boring Phone
As a creative person, you want to spend as much time as possible on your craft. Five hours of doom scrolling does not add anything to that. The best method for spending less time on your phone is making the phone as boring as possible. The way I do this is by hiding most of my apps behind folders and staying aware of each app and how addictive it is. A screen-time monitoring widget is also very useful. And turning off notifications will help you stay focused.
The Uncomfortable Moments
But the best way to understand your own habit is to notice why you pick your phone up at an uncomfortable moment. The moment you take a break, when sitting on the toilet, when waiting at the train or bus station. Is it because you feel socially anxious? Bored? Or are you not content with the present moment? They are all connected.
I am sure you have had a moment in public when you felt a bit nervous and tried to escape by checking your phone. Or when you were at home on the couch and watched Reels for entertainment. Or when you felt like you were lacking something in the present moment, like new information or a reward. We are all human, and we should not feel guilty about it. We only need to recognize when these moments occur, and remind ourselves that the present moment is fine as it is. That we do not have to escape it. Once the distracting apps are gone, there is no reason to reach for your phone at all in these moments. You have the energy and the patience to start a conversation, or to simply look around you.
The Cost of a Boring Phone
But this comes at a cost. In the beginning, you will feel like you are missing things. Like updates from friends. You will feel like you are the boring one for not following the newest trends. It can be uncomfortable to stand there daydreaming while everyone around you stares into a screen, even though this was completely normal twenty years ago. It takes a while to get used to your new grounded lifestyle.
The Boring Phone Superpower
Then it becomes a superpower. While everyone else is playing games on their phones or scrolling through their feed, you have the energy and the time to work on your projects or read books. Reading especially is a great replacement for your phone. When I go to school, I always pick up a book on the bus or while waiting for my next lesson.
Narrowing Your Focus
I feel like if we don’t develop the habit of using our phones in the right way, that is to learn, explore, experiment and connect, we might actually lose some of the intelligence we used to have. We have so much knowledge around us, yet we fail to absorb it and do something useful with it. That is why narrowing your focus will often make you smarter. Building the habit of digital minimalism is an asset that will help you learn skills and develop talents that are valuable right now.
If you want to discover the foundational pillars for your own business, take a look at the Creative Asset Map.
Have a great day,
Mart Bergsma
