Most of us are irremediably addicted to the mobile. An ex-Google worker has the solution

How many times do you look at your mobile per day? You can easily check it and surely the number will surprise them (I an average of 70 times a day). Many times we only look at the time, sometimes it is a notification that attracts our attention. The fact is that we look at the mobile many times, to fight it, in Xataka mobile They have tested the trick proposed by a former Google employee: not having apps on the home screen.

The idea. In an attempt to lower their mobile statistics, our partner Eva Rodríguez He found a method that he had not tried. The idea arises from the book ‘Make Time: How to focus on what matters every day’written by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky Ex-Google and YouTube workmen respectively. In the book, the authors explore several methods to improve our habits and recover The concentration, the great victim of the digital era. The mobile is one of the main culprits, so it is not surprising to dedicate a complete block.

Zero apps. You unlock the mobile to look at the time and, without realizing it, you end up sending Reels To your friends. If you use a lot of Instagram and you have the app in view, it is very likely that you almost unconsciously open the app. We can try to hide it in a folder or take it to another screen, but the authors propose something more radical: to completely empty the home screen. The idea behind this is that we have to think what we want to consult when taking the mobile and not that we do it impulsively because we see an icon.

The before and after the Eva beginning screen.

Works? Eva left her starting screen completely “peeled” to see if he stopped consulting the mobile. The first thing he felt was unease in case something important was lost, although he admits that he has not had problems in that regard. The second was that the mobile was resulting extremely uncomfortable to drive. It may seem negative, but it really is what this technique seeks. He has managed to stop the inertia that makes Instagram, X or Tiktok open and end up in a spiral of doomscrolling.

There are more. In the book, Knapp and Zeratsky speak of more tips to reduce mobile distractions such as eliminating all notifications. This is quite obvious, but they have other more curious such as closing the open sessions. The author not only closed them, he also changed the passwords for something very difficult to remember, so that he could not log in without going through the password manager, which of course also had the session closed.

Create friction. This is what the advice of these authors seeks, which is uncomfortable to find that app with which we lose time. In other words: we have to strive to procrastine. If we eliminate fast access we can no longer enter with a simple touch; Now you have to open the Apps drawer and look for it among all we have installed. Automatism ceases to be something automatic and becomes something sought and intentional.

Images | Eva Rodríguez, Xataka Mobile

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