5 Apps to Save You From the Internet

How to Use the Smartphone Against Itself

Hi guys!

I sincerely hope you enjoy this post. What’s coming in this issue is NOT SPONSORED. [Who’d pay a newsletter SEVEN AWESOME SUBSCRIBERS big]. These are apps I use in my daily life and I’ve found they greatly improve me well-being and overall mood. I hope they do the same for you.

This’ll be a longer post. I’m hoping to get into each app in a detailed way. But feel free just to skim through the suggestions and see what works for you! Here goes!

Photo by Kahar Erbol on Unsplash

1. Forest App

This is the SINGLE MOST important app in my journey to freedom from the Internet and Social Media. Although the image I’ve attached tells you how it works, let me get into it a little deeper.

You open the app. You set a timer for let’s say 15 minutes. You add a category: it may be work, entertainment, relationships, or anything at all. You plant a tree of your choice. Now’s when the fun begins.

The tree starts off as a sapling. Over those 15 minutes you’ve set, the tree grows. As long as you’re in the app, or have your phone off, the tree will continue to grow. If at all, you leave the app, the tree will wilt.

This is how a forest looks if you grow a lot of trees!

Now, your forest has many plots. A plot is each square in the forest. Each plot can contain one tree. Now, if you’ve wilted a tree, there’s no fixing it. You’ll have a wilted tree in the forest like I’ve shown below!

It looks so sad to see a wilted tree! My mind won’t have it! And that’s the point! To keep you forest nice and pretty, YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAY FROM YOUR PHONE!

The premium feature, which I bought since I love the app [THIS ISN’T SPONSORED] let’s you plant, 2 REAL TREES with some of the virtual gold you’ll earn through the app. This’ll also allow you to make REAL WORLD change just by staying away from your phone!

2. Freedom

A less gamified version of Forest this app lets you track, block, and focus your attention to specific tasks. Freedom blocks social media apps and websites across all devices—your phone, tablet, and desktop. You can schedule specific times when distractions like Instagram or Twitter are inaccessible, ensuring uninterrupted work or relaxation periods.

Syncs blocks across devices, so you won’t be tempted to check social media on another gadget. This was a big problem for me with Forest, where it works great on my phone, which I agree, is where I spent perhaps 80% of my time, but if I REALLY couldn’t resist the urge, I’d always get on Instagram through the laptop or the PC. This doesn’t happen with Freedom.

3. Opal

Opal gives YOU the responsibility. I guess, it has worked for me to a large extent. This is the same approach I’m attempting to take with regard to ctrl + alt + escape too. I want to speak about these things, how Social Media affects people. How other people have dealt with these things. How we can better our lives to suit this age of the internet. I won’t force you [more like I CAN’T] to take action.

Opal gives you insight into what you’re staring at most. How you spend your time. It helps you develop a customized and personalized plan to your own needs and requirements. It never outright bans any apps.

This to me is very important due to the question of relapse. I’m sure when you’re blocked, all it really takes is to delete a certain app to get back to your old habits. It’s almost like keeping the cookie jar at on top of the shelf so that the kid can’t reach it. When the kid is tall enough, or if the kid has access to a ladder, the cookies are going to be gone in no time!

Now, commitment is key. Opal allows YOU to take charge, look at what’s happening in your life, and change accordingly. Observe. Think. Adapt.

4. Aloe Bud

Aloe bud is just straight-up GREAT! Aloe bud has amazing pixel-art. It’s cute and useful! Here’s how it works: the app works not based on tracking or blocking your apps and usage but on a sort of positive-therapy sort of way. It reminds you to care for yourself during the day. It give you small reminders throughout the day to strengthen your habits such as hydrating, skin-care, hair-care, calling a friend, or setting up a meeting.

This app really spoke to me based on not GETTING RID of my phone but rather to use it mindfully, still caring for myself and the things I WANT TO DO. I really began using social media for very specific purposes.

5. RUBBER BAND - HAIR BAND

Alright, alright. Yes, I tricked you. It’s not an app.

But this is the hack that really reminds me to stop using my phone. This is what you got to do. Put a rubber band or hair band over your phone. This’ll remind you every time, OUT OF REFLEX, you take out your phone and mindlessly enter your passcode. Check out the image below to understand how.

This of course requires a certain level of commitment on your part. You need to tell yourself I NEED TO STOP USING MY PHONE. This hack is completely based on you.

Those few seconds in which you remove the rubber band to use your phone, might just save you hours and hours of doom scrolling!

COMMENT BELOW ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS YOU HAVE!!

Catch you in the next one!