Guided technique · Digital life · 5 min
Add friction to your phone
Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read
Adding small bits of effort between you and the apps you over-use: moving them off the home screen, logging out, using grayscale, or keeping the phone in another room.
Why it may help
Most checking is automatic. A little friction interrupts the automatic loop and gives you a moment to choose.
When to use it
- you open certain apps without deciding to
- you want to use your phone more intentionally
- willpower keeps losing to one app
Helps with
- Phone checking
- Mindless scrolling
How to do it
- Pick the app you over-use most.
- Move it off your home screen, into a folder on the last page.
- Optionally, log out so opening it takes a few extra steps, or try grayscale mode.
- Notice over the next few days how often you open it.
What the evidence says
Emerging evidence: Early or mixed research looks promising, but it is too soon to be confident. Treat it as worth trying, not proven.
- What was found
- Adding friction and removing cues is well supported in behavioural science generally.
- What is uncertain
- Specific tactics like grayscale or moving apps have only small studies behind them.
- Who it may not suit
- If an app is genuinely useful for work or staying in touch, add friction only to the parts that pull you in, such as the feed.
Where this comes from: Habit formation research; Research on digital media and wellbeing.
Afterwards, ask yourself
How did a little friction change how often you opened the app?
Lessons behind this technique
- Design a low-distraction environment — Change the setting instead of fighting yourself: home screens, phone placement and friction. (8 min · Practising)
- Friction and cues — Make the good thing easy to start and the distracting thing a little harder. (7 min · Practising)
If you need more support
- When self-help isn’t enough — Signs it is time to talk to someone, and who you can talk to.