Use Your iPhone Like It Was Intended To

Only use technology for its primary use-case. Just like a Kindle or a Kobo e-ink reader, you only use it for reading books. You don’t want to install apps on it. You don’t even want it to connect to the wifi most of the time. Life is simple when you use Kindle, you just grab it, turn it on and start reading your book of choice.

This is how all technology should be used. Even “multi tools” like computers and smartphones, we should only have a handful of apps/tools that each have their own use-case. After the intended use the device gets turned off and goes into the bag until we need it again.

Use your iPhone for navigation, notes and taking photos. Use your Mac to write, design and make software or whatever else you fancy.

What I use my computers for, and I think should be banned, is short form video content. There’s something in those videos that make our brain numb and spiral us into doom scrolling. Sadly I’ve experienced this multiple times. I know just how hard it is to break the loop of scrolling after a hard day of work.

Watching the announcement of the first iPhone from Steve, it’s clear that the format and main ideas of what an iPhone is haven’t changed much. I think we should try and make our iPhones function more like what the idealized ideas of the first one were. Simple, less apps, less fluff. I’ve noticed how a lot of us use our iPhones and I think by just deleting 2-4 apps and finding better alternatives we would be much better off.

And by alternatives I don’t mean another app. I mean another activity in itself. Drawing, going for a run, reading, going on a walk...