Ever since I was introduced minimalism, I became obsessive with decluttering. Not just physical items, but digital stuff as well.
The process of decluttering feels like meditating. Every item I removed, my mind felt lighter. I also like to be in a distraction-free environment. For the past few years, I've been turning off notifications and deleting apps from my phone. Here's the 3 things I've done.
1. Deleting Apps
Since I have semi-retire from social media, I do not have Facebook or Instagram app on my phone. The only social media app I have is Twitter for catching latest news and YouTube for learning and entertainment. I deleted all the apps that I'm not using and don't keep "just in case" apps in my phone.
Currently I have 68 apps which includes native Apple apps in my phone. On the first page of my home screen I have 19 apps and second page is just my one and only gaming app - Pokemon GO which I played with my family. The rest is hidden in the App Library.
My iPhone home screen
I don't store apps in a folder because it looks cluttered. Occasionally I'll review my current apps to identify any unused app.
2. Off Notifications
Managing notification is easy for me. By default I turned it off for every app I installed. The only notification I turned on is my Phone (obviously), Message, Telegram, WhatsApp, Reminder and Calendar.
Recently I turned off notification for my email app Spark as I've been getting a lot of unnecessary alert from spam mails. Since I realised there is no need for me to reply email instantly.
3. Set up Do Not Disturb
I scheduled Do Not Disturb to turn off and on automatically since my son was born. I did that because while putting him to sleep, my phone would rang and wake him up. If you are a parent you should know what it feels like after trying so hard to make your baby sleep and the last thing you want is a call from a bank asking if you want to borrow money.
My phone will now automatically turn on Do Not Disturb mode from 8pm to the next day 8am in the morning. I keep this settings even when my son is now five years old. I prefer my evening time to be peaceful and uninterrupted.
Having said that I have a favourite list where calls from my friends and family would ring in case of emergency.
Actually I want to share about my ways of managing distraction, but don't know why it turns out to be more related to phone decluttering. Anyway that's the fun part, I just let it flow without restriction.