I use an app called AppDetox . This app lets you set limits on how much time you can spend on an app. I set mine to let me spend only 30 minutes per day on SyncPro. Once you pass the specified amount of time you can't open the app until the next day.

Check out detoxify or something like that. I used to use it when I was on Android. I’m on iOS now and miss it but the screen time thing is decent.

Edit:

AppDetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox&hl=en_US

I use AppDetox https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

It lets you set it up in a few different ways. It will block apps after a certain amount of time per hour, day, or week, after a certain amount of times the app is opened, or at certain times of day

Are you on iOS or Android? If the latter then there is an all called Appdetox that allows you to create certain rules for apps that if violated will automatically close the all when you start it. It varies from allowing you to open an app a certain number of times or having an app active for a certain amount of time. This couple help you set goals and help force yourself to keep them. It also keeps track of which apps you violate the rules for the most so you can figure out which apps you are most addicted to.

I'm not sure it has that exact feature but I recommend App Detox, which worked really well for me to block out Reddit and Facebook at night.

Obviously not to night, but after that I'm reapplying it!

I'm using AppDetox. It doesn't count screen unlocks, but it counts # of launches for each app, and time spent in each. Can get a bit "buggy" (doesn't seem like its fault) as some apps count a launch even when you just use the Android Share feature to share something to it. but so far it's been successful at limiting my social media time to 15 min per day per app.

​

You can set rules for each app separately; there are rules for specific daytimes, number of launches allowed, total usage time per hour/day/week, time per 100 steps, etc.

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> Get more social time for your life, block apps and notifications and spent less time on the phone! AppDetox helps you to calm down your mobile app usage, and take a digital detox. You are able ...

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You can fiddle with Appdetox. You can set it to block an app during certain specified times and such. It has more functions as well. Here's a link.

I use an app called AppDetox to help me with my social media addiction.

I was staying up hours later than I should have because of my phone. I set the app to not allow me to use those apps after a certain time and now I go to bed earlier. I also took a break from Reddit for a few days using AppDetox to keep me off it. Also has a feature that you're only allowed to use an app once you've reached a daily activity goal.

Good luck on your goals!

I've been using Google's Digital Wellbeing to limit my reddit usage. Although it doesn't function exactly the way you described, it can lock you out of apps after you've reached a certain usage for the day. It was built into my device's settings app, so it could be in yours as well.

Another one that could maybe do a similar function is this AppDetox, which you can set rules to block apps.

You just gotta put the device down. Try going on walks without your phone, and leave your phone in your bedroom (or just away from you in general) when you have things to do, or whenever you'll be socializing. Meditating could also be helpful; get comfortable sitting silently with your own mind instead of constantly distracting yourself.

Try apps like this one it will show you how much you use certain apps, you can create specific rules for different apps, and you'll see how much you violate your own rules.

Most of all, you need to work on your self-discipline and control. If you can't just put the phone down and obey the "rules" you make, nothing will help.

>sadly i need whatsapp for company stuff (IMO this should be illegal)

​

If you want to limit your usage you can use something like AppDetox to limit yourself to a set number of minutes per hour. A lot of my smart phone use is really positive (I use it a lot for language learning so I don't want to just turn it off) but I've developed some bad habits recently that i want to break.

> Besides talking to me about my obvious self-control issues

At least your self control issues takes form in an addiction to a game, and not anything dangerous.

With a quick Google search, I found AppDetox, which should be what you're looking for.

You can try posting in /r/AndroidApps if that doesn't have all the functionality you want.

Are you on Android? If so, there's a handy little app that let's you set limits on how long you can use certain apps. I can't remember the name of it but I can come back to this thread with the name once I find it if that would help you.

Edit: Took me a while but I found it! It's called AppDetox. Strongly recommended.

If you're on Android, A few apps come to mind.

App detox will allow you to set up rules for when it how long you're allowed to use any given app, and shut the app down if you try to break the rules.

Quality time will simply provide you with time tracking, showing you how much time you spend on any of your apps. It has a limited rules based system to disallow some apps, but isn't as robust as app detox. I actually prefer it though.

Those are the two I use, but other great options which might work better for you are these :

ClearLock similar to app detox.

Rescue time is another good one.

Break free is also good.

AppDetox or this Magisk Module if your device is rooted.

App Detox . I use this app, it is free and will work for you too.

Your title and post seem like they're asking different things, so I'll just chime in with hopefully related content. Basically, what digital tools do I use to keep myself on track:

• I heard about Skedpal from Howtoadhd. It's a paid service, but it helps you plan without overcrowding your calendar to where you can't actually do what you planned.
• I use google keep (app and pc) for my shared grocery list with my SO. It's easy, because I can add stuff and it'll update for him as well.
• I also use the app AppDetox to make sure I stay focused. If I'm over my allotted time on certain apps, or I open one I'm not supposed to during a set schedule it auto closes. No more endless reddit.

• I save all my recipes in copy me that (site and app). It's a thing where any word in your recipe is searchable. I can also access it in the store when I'm shopping. If I see cauliflower on sale, I can search for cauliflower and it'll show all the recipes with that. I can also scale recipes, make meal plans etc. Actually, let me cut my app talk short and just start linking the good stuff:

• AppDetox: like I mentioned. Great for staying off certain distracting apps.

• Brave: adfree chromium based browser. Filters out most ads.

• Copy Me That: easy place to store recipes and do meal planning.

• Forest: similar to app detox, but this one rewards you wit some trees if you stayed off your phone. Helps you visualize your productivity more.

• Google Opinion Rewards: just really nice to make some pennies to use in the app store. I just checked and have earned over €100 by answering if I paid by card at a certain grocery store nearby.

• Headspace: guided meditation to slow my brain down and check in with myself.

• Hermit : helps you make certain web pages into a sandboxed app. Nice if you don't have a lot of space on your phone, or if you go crazy from notifications that come with certain apps. Works well!

• Keep-notes: lists and shit.

• Lib : great for if you want to do "something" but you don't know what. This app lets you select what genre of stuff you want to do (outside, social, date, fitness, creative, tech etc.) and gives you a suggestion. Helps to get out more.

• Messenger Lite: the original fb app is too distracting, I use the lite version.

• Month: I have two pages on my homescreen. One has a clock, weather and some shortcuts. The other page is a full page dedicated to my calendar appointments. It shows me the entire month, so I get more grip on time and when things are happening.

• Sleep: sleep tracker that will put some nice data and charts down for you. Will remind you to go to bed if you want. Also helps if you have trouble getting up.

• Twilight: makes your phone gentler on the eyes in the evening. Helps with gearing up to sleep.

• find my device : set this up, so if you ever lose it you can find it from a distance and make it ring (even if it's on silent.)

• Your Calendar Widget : useful to have a short list on my homescreen showing me next appointments.

app detox might help

Here's a random article I found that has a few suggestions for managing your time spent on apps: https://www.inc.com/jeremy-goldman/6-apps-to-stop-your-smartphone-addiction.html

> * http://offtime.co/ * http://www.breakfree-app.com/ * https://www.flipdapp.co/ * https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox * https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=valavg.stayontask

I haven't tried any of these before. If anyone has recommendations, feel free to post them!

AppDetox.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox&hl=en

I use App Detox

AppDetox

Appdetox lets you disable apps at certain times.

App Detox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

I use Appdetox. Trying to cut down on reddit a bit.

Try App Detox

I use AppDetox on Android, it's good and has a ton of features.

If you have an Android device you can use Appdetox https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox&hl=it

If you have an android phone I reccomend Appdetox: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox and (offtime) : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit to limit apps usage. If you want a browser that automatically block porn and distractions: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nationaledtech.spinbrowser

AppDetox.

App detox

Go try there app. It's a great way to help you manage time. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

AppDetox

App Detox is the best one I've found

App detox

App detox Helps you to set time for each app separately

I wrote a comment earlier about apps I use that help with adhd. If you allow me to repost:

• I heard about Skedpal from Howtoadhd. It's a paid service, but it helps you plan without overcrowding your calendar to where you can't actually do what you planned.
• AppDetox: make sure I stay focused. If I'm over my allotted time on certain apps, or I open one I'm not supposed to during a set schedule it auto closes. No more endless reddit.
• Brave: adfree chromium based browser. Filters out most ads.
• Copy Me That: I save all my recipes in copy me that (site and app). It's a thing where any word in your recipe is searchable. I can also access it in the supermarket when I'm shopping. If I see cauliflower on sale, I can search for cauliflower and it'll show all the recipes with that. I can also scale recipes, make meal plans etc.
• Forest: similar to app detox, but this one rewards you wit some trees if you stayed off your phone. Helps you visualize your productivity more.
• Google Opinion Rewards: just really nice to make some pennies to use in the app store. I just checked and have earned over €100 by answering if I paid by card at a certain grocery store nearby.
• Headspace: guided meditation to slow my brain down and check in with myself.
• Hermit : helps you make certain web pages into a sandboxed app. Nice if you don't have a lot of space on your phone, or if you go crazy from notifications that come with certain apps. Works well!
• Keep-notes: lists and shit. I use it for my shared grocery list with my SO. It's easy, because I can add stuff and it'll update for him as well.
• Lib : great for if you want to do "something" but you don't know what. This app lets you select what genre of stuff you want to do (outside, social, date, fitness, creative, tech etc.) and gives you a suggestion. Helps to get out more.
• Messenger Lite: the original fb app is too distracting, I use the lite version.
• Month: I have two pages on my homescreen. One has a clock, weather and some shortcuts. The other page is a full page dedicated to my calendar appointments. It shows me the entire month, so I get more grip on time and when things are happening.
• Sleep: sleep tracker that will put some nice data and charts down for you. Will remind you to go to bed if you want. Also helps if you have trouble getting up.
• Twilight: makes your phone gentler on the eyes in the evening. Helps with gearing up to sleep.
• find my device : set this up, so if you ever lose it you can find it from a distance and make it ring (even if it's on silent.)
• Your Calendar Widget : useful to have a short list on my homescreen showing me next appointments.

A phone is not inherently minimalist. It's a tool that you can use. Minimalism to me means minimizing things that you don't use or that don't bring you happiness. You can enjoy tech and be a minimalist, for example.

There are a few ways to handle phone and minimalism.

Modifying your phone to fit you

Ask yourself some questions:

What do I want to use my phone for? (news, games, music etc.) What do I want to stay away from on my phone? (scrolling reddit too much, impulse shopping)

I use a custom launcher called Nova Prime (I linked it in the app section) This enables me to customize my home screen and app drawer.

Picking a device

I use an android phone. Currently I use the oneplus 3. It's still going strong and at some point I'll probably refresh it with another mid tier priced smartphone. I love Android because I can customize everything so that it works for me. If something doesn't, I replace it with a different app. I personally feel iPhone is quite expensive and it's not very pleasant to use with non-apple products. There is also little option to change things to your liking. Hence, my preference. If you're super deep in the apple ecosystem, you do you. They're lovely phones.

I recently purchased a Huawei p30 for someone else, which is also a decently priced phone. Good camera and good battery life.

My device doesn't really matter much, because I have a custom homescreen, so I personally go for good battery, decent camera, storage space, ram, nfc (so I can use it for banking), fingerprint sensor (so I don't have to type in my unlock code all the time).

If you know what's important to you you can either send a query to /r/pickanandroidforme or, if you're more phone savvy, use this tool to mark your specific needs and see what floats to the top. (I would recommend getting a phone from 2019 or newer, so it's likelier to be future proof.)

Using your phone as a tool

I enjoy finding better ways to organize and do things. I've made a list of android apps that I use that in some way help me tidy up my life or make things I enjoy doing easier.

• AppDetox: if you find yourself unable to stay away from a game or too much reddit, this is for you. You can set some rules like X amount of time spent on an app, or x amount of times you're allowed to open it.
• Brave: a chromium based browser that has built in adblock.
• Copy Me That: i used to have bookmarks, clippings and whatnot to gather my recipes. Cooking is my passion, and with this app I can gather recipes from all over in one place. The website and app work together. The app isn't very pretty, but it is useful.
• DiskUsage: If I run out of space, it's good to see what is taking it up and helps with reevaluating what you need to have on your phone.
• F-Droid: open source apps, if you care about that.
• Fit: helps me track my health and exercise. With the built in pedometer I don't really need a fitbit tracker.
• Flud: clean torrent client for your phone.
• Forest: similar to app detox. Here you can say that you're stepping away from your phone for x amount of time, and a tree will grow in that time. Good if you want to be more mindful of how much time you spend on your phone.
• Friendly: a sandbox Facebook client with adblock and options to block certain content. I know it's popular to say "delete Facebook" but as someone who actually likes their friends and family who live far and wide it's nice to be able to have the tether. Also for events. The app is lightweight. If you ever use fb on your desktop, consider installing FB Purity. That one really works well to remove any and all features you don't like or that distract you.
• Google Opinion Rewards: answer a question from Google about visiting certain shops in your area and they give you credit to purchase apps with. It's brief and made it easy to purchase the ad-free or premium version of some apps I use a lot.
• Headspace: Guided meditation. They offer different audios for different subjects. Another great one is insight timer.
• Hermit: massive help. This app is only 3 MB and with it, you can replace your large native apps with Web-based Lite Apps. I use it for things like imdb, my local news, Wikipedia or Instagram. The great part is that you can also turn on adblock for it.
• IFTTT: can be used to easily automate certain tasks. Stuff like "when at home, turn on wifi" or "add my discover weekly playlist to an archive so I can always relisten. Very easy to use.
• Keep-notities: google's lightweight note app. Accessible by web as well. I use it to jot stuff down quickly or for my grocery list. It updates in real time, so if my partner is in the store they can see me check it off or add to it.
• Lib: lovely wat to shuffle things up in life that you may not think about. Really lovely for spontaneous ideas. They have different "packs" of things to do. Social, dating, tech, creative... So whatever you want to do more, this can give you an idea.
• Lithium : lovely ebook reader app. I personally prefer reading on an eReader with e-ink, because it's light and looks like real paper. However, if you have a tablet or don't mind your phone this works very well.
• Measure: easy as a quick way to measure things irl.
• Messenger Lite: I found the regular messenger app too bulky, so I switched to the lite version.
• Min: minimal white icons for your home screen.
• Month: I use this widget to see my monthly calendar.
• Nova Launcher: amazing launcher that will allow you to export your settings to your new phone. I have it set so tapping an folder opens the first app in the folder, and swiping up on it opens the folder.
• Office Lens: replaced my scanner. Also less shady than camscanner.
• Pocket Casts: podcast app that
• Reclamefolder: an app that has all the discount flyers digitally if you don't want to receive the paper versions. Also nice because I can search for specific items to see if they're on sale somewhere. I'm Dutch so the app is for Dutch stores, however you can probably find one that does the same in your area.
• rif is fun golden platinum :ad-free reddit. I also like it because there's a nice information density, so the design doesn't distract too much.
• SD Maid: clean up your phone. Stuff like old folders for apps long deleted or duplicates.
• Solid Explorer: nice clean file manager.
• Twilight: App to adjust your phone's brightness and turns on a red filter for when you use it late in the evening. Similar to the desktop client f.lux
• find my device: for when you need to find your phone. Can also make it ring, even if it's on silent.
• Voice: app where you can load up your audio books.
• Your Calendar Widget : customizable widget that shows the upcoming events.
• YouTube vanced: ad-free YouTube and background play. Look for the thread on xda to find the actual site to download it.
• ZArchiver: unzips zipped files on your phone.

Try AppDetox: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

AppDetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox&hl=en_US

great similar app on playstore https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

Try AppDetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

Check out App Detox https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox

PDF-XChange Viewer. I've been using it since I started university and it is now one of my vital tools to take notes and sometimes do homework.

If you're bad with procrastination on your Android tablet or phone, try using AppDetox. You can block access to certain apps at certain times, or limit the time you spend on certain apps.

If you spend too much time doing meaningless things on the internet, try StayFocusd for Chrome. It allows you to set time limits on certain sites and even allows you to block all non-allowed sites or all sites at certain times of the day, if you waste your time limit away or on demand. It keeps my procrastination habits in check a lot of the time.

> AppDetox

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox