
Take Your Time Back: Apps for Digital Wellbeing
While technology can add enrichment and ease to our lives, there is such a thing as too much screen time. Lo and behold, we’ve found that apps are some of the most powerful tools for bringing balance and control to our digital lives — here are our favorites.
Space makes habit-changing approachable, with a beautiful design and plenty of personality. You’ll identify your phone persona (we’re a bunch of “Social Sticky Mitts” here), then set goals based on your habits: a daily phone time limit, unlock allowance, and notification blockers. Expect gentle nudges, like reminders to put your phone down and “spend some time in the real world” — with progress graphs and achievements to help motivate you.
More InfoThis stats-savvy app gives you an honest look at your phone habits. See how much time you spend on each app, a timeline and chart of your app use, and a breakdown of data usage. You can set apps to lock after a time limit — and lock your phone by the minute or hour, during which time you’ll be able to use your phone only for calls, text, and any apps you’ve deemed essential.
More InfoBlock “problem apps” in a way that makes sense for your life. AppBlock lets you create various profiles, each of which blocks specified apps based on time (say, weekdays from 9am-5pm), location (within 100 meters of home, for instance), or based on Wi-Fi network (no Facebook at work, perhaps?). You can turn off, archive, and delete unused profiles; you’ll need to upgrade to Pro to add more than three profiles, or more than five apps within one.
More InfoForest helps you fight phone dependency in the loveliest of ways. Plant a seed, and a tree grows as you resist the temptation to use your phone; leave the app, and the tree withers away. We’re especially fond of the friend system, by which trees grow only with the participation of your entire “planting group.” That accountability can help with both individual and team work — and maybe even get the family to unplug during dinnertime.
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