2. They Never Let Their Phone Run Their Day
The smartphone is the greatest productivity tool and the greatest productivity destroyer ever invented. Its default state is engineered to addict you. Badges, banners, and endless notification sounds create a constant sense of manufactured urgency, pulling your attention away from deep, meaningful work.
Most people treat their phone like a demanding toddler, giving it attention whenever it screams. They leave notifications on for every app, place their most distracting apps on the home screen, and check it dozens, if not hundreds, of times per day. This isn’t just a bad habit; it’s a cognitive disaster. Every time you’re pulled away from a task, it takes significant time and mental energy to re-engage. This is known as “context switching,” and it obliterates focus.
Productive people understand this. They don’t rely on willpower to ignore their phone; they architect their relationship with it to serve their goals, not the goals of app developers.
What They Do Instead: Engineer a Zero-Friction, One-Screen Phone.
They turn their phone from a slot machine into a simple tool. The goal is to make intentional use easy and mindless scrolling difficult. One of the most powerful successful habits you can adopt is the one-screen phone setup.
Here’s the exact process:
First, turn off almost all notifications. Go into your phone’s settings and disable notifications for every app except for essentials like phone calls, text messages from actual people (not automated systems), and your calendar. No social media, no news alerts, no email banners. You will check these apps on your own schedule, not when they demand it.
Second, curate your home screen. Drag every single app off your home screen until it is blank. Then, move only your essential, tool-based apps back. This usually includes the phone, messages, camera, and maybe a notes app or a maps app. Put them in the dock at the bottom.
Third, hide the distractions. Move all your other apps—especially social media, news, and games—onto a second or third screen. Do not put them in folders. The point is to make them slightly inconvenient to access. To open Instagram, you’ll have to consciously swipe over and find it, a small moment of friction that gives you a chance to ask, “Do I really want to do this?”
For an even more advanced setup, remove them from your home screens entirely and only access them by using your phone’s search function. You have to type the name of the app to open it. This simple act transforms your phone from a passive content consumption device into an active, intention-driven tool.
