Productivity Tip #1: Rearrange your Home Screen
I’m addicted. I’m addicted to watching basketball highlights. I’m addicted to dumbass memes. And I’m addicted to “pulling down to refresh” even though I’m already up to date.
I’ve seen people walk into poles, ram into strangers, and even swerve on the road — all to be up to date on the latest puppy news on Instagram.
And no matter how much we try to blame the Social Media companies for being these evil technology masterminds, we just have to accept that we are just addicted to our phones.
Face the facts: phones are merely hodge-podges of glass, transistors, and code. They don’t have feelings or personalities (yet?), and are merely a digital window into our inner souls.
But I figured something out that helped me battle this addiction.
Little things make big things happen.
As a product designer, we’re trained to focus on every single detail.
I live by the motto: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” (John Wooden).
I’m the type of nerd that will look at a website, notice that something is 1 pixel off and get pissed off about it. I’ll notice that shade of blue is actually not the right shade of blue. Or something’s not actually a perfect circle.
Most people just think I’m crazy.
Sure, I might be but I’m also trying to be ridiculously intentional with every decision that I make.
Your Home Screen should be a Reflection of Your Life Priorities
One way I apply intentionality is through my relationship with my phone. And that starts with the screen that require the most amount of user interaction: the Home Screen.
For 2020, I set three main goals:
- Create a f***-ton more content
- Be more financially savvy
- Use Chat as a way to set up in-person meetings, instead of just chatting with people
Ergonomically Focused Apps
Put the apps you use the most in the lower-right hand corner.
As a right-handed person, my right thumb naturally falls in the lower-right hand corner of my phone. This means that it’s significantly easier for me to tap that area of the screen.
Spotify is my most used app of all time. Last year, I clocked in around 90,000 minutes of listen time, and I hope to break 100,000 this year.
Other essentials include: Spark Email, Messages, Chrome, Google Maps, Calendar, etc.
Also mix in apps that are aligned with your goals.
My #1 Goal is to create more content, so I utilize 3 different apps:
- Medium: Drafting new stories and reading inspirational longform pieces
- Notion: Taking notes and tracking progress of work
- Instagram: Posting creative content
As you move up my home screen, you’ll notice that the apps are aligned with my #2 Goal of being more financially savvy: Citi, Amex, Robinhood, and Mint.
Note: You don’t always have to be using these apps to be working towards your goals. For example, I sometimes create content by jotting notes or sketching on the back of a napkin. But the apps still exist as a nice reminder of what I’m focused on.
Conveniently Inconvenient Apps
Put the apps you’re addicted to in the top-left corner.
Following the same train of thought, the top-left corner is the hardest place to access as a righty. To access that area of the screen, I have to perform superhuman feat of reaching across the gigantic phone screen.
It’s super clear that the two apps that live there are: SNKRS and Call of Duty. To give you more context, I get a feeling of pure joy when I play COD Mobile. Within the first week of its released, I got to level 70 and unlocked almost every weapon upgrade. My friends were still hovering at level 20.
It’s a bad addiction, and I couldn’t stop — so I had to slow it down. So I banished it to the top-left corner of my Home Screen.
And I’m too embarrassed to talk about my sneaker addiction, so I’ll save that for a later post.
Use folders to create more friction
My #3 Goal is to use chatting apps as a way to schedule in-person meetings. That means to get off chatting apps, which are all now housed in a folder.
Adding the extra “tap” means that I get an extra to consider why I want to start a new conversation. Even though it’s conveniently and within reach, there is still a hint of inconvenience that nudges me to be more thoughtful.
And thoughtfulness is what makes or breaks real relationships.
Live Life One Pixel at a Time
Re-arranging your Home Screen can be a bigger metaphor for being intentional with every decision you make. It’s a short exercise that lets you step back to reevaluate: Is more always better? Do I really need this? Or what are my goals?
And as we evolve in the digital age, we may really need to live life one pixel at a time.
What does your Home Screen look like?
Liked this article? Have a better productivity tip?
Feel free to drop a line! iamtedko@gmail.com
