I listened to a podcast where a brain researcher said it would be good if someone turned reducing phone use into a game. That got me thinking. At first, I tried to make it game-like, but after testing it, I didn’t think the game-like approach would work. After all, I’ve always believed that not all screen time is bad. I tried all the screen time apps, but for some reason, I didn’t like any of them. All of this, combined with a few iterations of the app, led to what I’m releasing today: Phoneless Garden. Screen time tracking that takes mindfulness into account. The idea behind the app is to require the user to consciously choose how much time they want to spend on it. Unlike other apps, it doesn’t track total screen time. Instead, the user can choose only the apps they want to track. Daily goals can also vary: just like in real life, spending a little time on your phone on the weekend can be nice, but on weekdays you might want to use that time for something else. All of this is possible with Phoneless Garden. Give it a try!

Phoneless Garden

A mindful pause, mid-scroll.

A mindful pause, mid-scroll.