u/Paaaweeel

A few months ago I realized I wasn’t using my phone because I actually needed it. I was picking it up simply because it was always next to me. I tried iPhone App Limits and Pomodoro timers (which are great for work), but I always ended up disabling them after a few days. They felt too restrictive, and after a while I just ignored them. Then I had a different idea.Instead of trying to stop myself from using my phone, I started tracking how long I had already stayed away from it. At first it was just a simple timer. Since I’m a programmer, I eventually turned it into a small app that also tracks my sessions and some basic statistics.What surprised me was the psychological effect. More than once I reached for my phone, saw that I’d already stayed away for over two hours, and simply put it back down. I didn’t want to “break” the timer. It made me wonder if awareness is sometimes more effective than restrictions.Has anyone else found that simply seeing your progress helps more than blocking apps? Or have you found something else that actually works long term?