Something that I think most people can agree upon is that we spend way too much time on our phones. This is something that I am trying to work on in 2024. Something that I am trying is to keep my phone as minimal as possible. This is in the hopes that it does not entice me to want to look at it and interact with it any more than I need to. I just wanted to keep the essentials within reach. Something that helped spark this setup was coming across this application called Blank Spaces. Essentially, it allows you to be able to create a minimal home screen launcher with the goal to eliminate distractions. This app allows you to have access to your most important apps without all the clutter. I thought, “what the heck I’ll give it a shot”.
To keep with the minimal, less distracting home screen, I used one of Blank Spaces wallpapers to hide the dock. I just think this gives the home screen such a clean look. Right now, I have two widgets on my home screen, both from Blank Spaces. The top widget shows the current weather conditions. Under that is a large widget that has a launcher for 6 applications. This is configurable within the app. Currently, it set up where I have quick access to the following apps: Calendar, Music, Podcasts, Bible, Journal, and Notes. Calendar launches the default Apple Calendar. I have used other apps in the past, but have come to realize the default calendar app fits all my needs. Next we have Music. I use Apple Music. I really enjoy the changes that have come to the music app and being part of the Apple Ecosystem makes it really easy to share songs and create collaborative playlists with my wife. Next on the list is Podcasts which goes to Apple Podcast. I use to not be a fan of Apple Podcast, but it has really improved recently so I am giving it another shot. Next I have my Bible app where I can read, highlight, save, and share verses. After that comes Journal which actually goes to Day One. They recently released a Shared Journals feature which looks really interesting. My wife and I have been wanting a place where we can document events in our kids lives and now we have a place for that. Plus, with Day One, you can get your journals bound and printed into books so we can create keep sakes for our kiddos. Finally is Notes which goes to Apple Notes. While I use Twos for quick capture, all of my personal notes end up in Apple Notes.
To add to the clean home screen look, I disabled the Search button on the home screen. I am still able to search for apps by either swiping to the App Library, or just swiping down on my home screen to bring up search. To disable the search button on the home screen, head on over to Settings > Home Screen & App Library > then toggle off “Show on Home Screen” under the Search section.
To add to this feel, I minimized the essential apps I need to one folder. The folder has two pages. The first page just has a blank icon. All of the other apps live on the second page. This way, it gives it a clean look, but I also see the red notification from important apps I have in this folder. If I see a notification badge, I can long press on the folder and it will show me the app that has the notification.
On the second page of this folder, you will find an overall theme: Communication. First we begin with phone for, yes you guessed it, phone calls. Band is an app that one of my kid’s dance studio uses for communication. Next we have Messages. Self explanatory there. Moving on down we have Telegram. This app allows you to either message people or join chat groups. I am part of a few chat groups here. The next app we have in this folder is Exodus 90. Exodus 90 is a spiritual exercise for men based on Christ’s roadmap to freedom: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. This is my first year participating in Exodus 90. I started at the beginning of the year so am about 3 weeks in. So far, so good. Next to Exodus we have Locals. Locals is a social media app that allows creators to start a subscription based community. Moving to the last row we have Remind. This is the app that my church uses for communication. ParentSquare is an app that my district and my child’s school uses for all types of communication. Finally we have Facebook Messenger. I use Messenger for some chats I have with friends as well as some group/community chats I am part of.
So that’s it. That is my iPhone setup for 2024. I am interested in seeing how this setup lasts in the long term and if it will help reduce my screen time.