Reducing Digital Distraction

September 11, 2025

My General Favorite Distraction Reduction Tips:

I am always trying to create boundaries and guardrails to keep myself feeling more present and less distracted. It may be different for each person, and that's great. These are things I am doing that I think help me to feel more focused.

Do Not Disturb mode with Favorite contacts:

This is amazing. Calls and texts only come through from my "favorite" contacts. This is on an Android phone, but I believe you can do the same with iPhone. Everything else is silent. If I am expecting a call from someone not in my contacts, I just turn off this mode for a while. But knowing that most of the time, if the phone rings it's someone I actually want to talk to, is beautiful.

Data and Time Usage Trackers:

I added a widget to the home screen of my phone that shows the amount of time spent on the phone for the day. In my case it's the built in Android "Digital Wellbeing" settings app.
I also installed an app called Data Monitor and have a widget that shows the amount of mobile data I have used today. We have a minimal data plan, 1 GB shared between myself and my husband, and we don't have the wifi on all the time in our house, so it takes a concerted effort to minimize data usage. Those things are an inconvenience, but I actually like it, because it puts resistance on looking things up on the phone. It is remarkable how much data one little google search burns up. I think that just increasing the friction in usage can go a long way in improving habits. It's not that I want to google stuff all the time, but it's just so darn easy and available, which isn't always ideal.

Using a Separate iPod:

This may sound silly, but I use a separate device for podcasts. It is an old iPhone 5C with no SIM card. It is tiny enough to fit in a pocket, it works great even though it's got out of date software. All I use it for is podcasts, so I don't feel the burden of any distractions from my phone, it won't ring, it won't do anything except for play podcasts downloaded via wifi. It is a small detail, but the quiet provided by being able to listen to a podcast while still feeling distraction-free, is a helpful thing. I am doing my best to not use my phone, except when really necessary. I don't want my kid to see me on the phone all the time, and that's not how I want to live my life.

Using a Digital Camera:

Admittedly, I am not consistent about this, but I think it is a worthy goal. The mental calm that comes with a device that doesn't tempt you to check stuff is small, but cumulative, and I think it matters. I would prefer to use a digital camera than my phone, but am still building the habit of having it on hand for when I need to grab a picture when my kid is being cute. I should improve my storage, so it's handy to grab when I want it.

Streamlining Digital Habits:

Ruthlessly evaluate what each service provides and if it is a positive influence or something we can replace with a better option.
I deleted my Instagram account, so my only social media accounts are Facebook, Reddit and Mastodon. Facebook serves a purpose in my local buy nothing group. I would like to replace Reddit, but it is a handy source of suggestions and has a nice pregnancy and mom group. Honestly Mastodon is much more ethically decent than other social media, but it is questionable in its value to me at this point, so I may let it go one of these days.
Use a feed blocking extension for any social media. I like News Feed Eradicator. It replaces the main social media feed with a random quote, which is awesome, because the Facebook feed is a terrible hellscape of suggested posts and ads.
Obviously, I don't have social media apps on my phone. I turned off notifications to everything that isn't critical. Et cetera. All the standard advice.
It is an ongoing process, gradually recognizing what is not necessary and clearing it out.

More Inspiration:

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Plus I enjoy his podcast - he's got good advice and inspiration and I am amused by how dry and snarky he can be.
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
Ten Arguments for Deleting your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier
The Social Dilemma documentary movie