Dear Reader,

I’ve already described a simple strategy to avoid distractions on the phone while maintaining the possibility of being reached by a controlled list of people. You can find details in my post The Nineties’ Way.

I’m happy to say that turning off the internet connection has become a pleasant ritual before the lunches I have with the friend who explained to me the system, and with other people as well. On the last day of the year, I had lunch with my “editor” V.P. and I did not have to rely on that trick: the cosy restaurant had thick walls, and so I had no connection by design. I’m getting the feeling that architecture can do wonders when used deliberately.

In the never-ending quest for technology optimisation, I explored the net a bit, finding an attractive site that gives its own spin on the matter of staying “responsibly disconnected” from the phone, and more connected to our lives. The site is called The Brick Method, the name derives from the act of virtually turning (at least for a while) your phone into… a brick, a featureless conglomerate of inert matter.

The method proposed in the site is slightly different from what I suggested. It is a “hard” do-not-disturb, one that exploits a feature of iOS to send back an SMS to let the other people know that you are in “… Brick Mode to fully enjoy the real world”, as they say. The complete setup procedure is detailed on this page.

If you would like, there is the possibility of combining the “Nineties’ Way” with Brick Mode: turn on the do-not-disturb mode they describe, and then cut off wifi and cellular internet connection. To enjoy more protection against distractions, you could only put the phone in airplane mode, or switch it off entirely, or… leave it at home.

I do not find the mechanics of the Brick Mode particularly thrilling since I have already devised a method to subtract “distraction power” from my phone. However, I like the idea of comparing abusing the phone to being addicted (which is definitely true) and turning the concept into a movement.

I found especially useful the survey the have to assess whether you are in control of your phone, or vice-versa: I invite you to devote it a couple of minutes. In complete honesty, I did not have to reach the end to realise how much I use the phone like a stress reliever, with scrolling through app substituting squeezing foam. Maybe I should get a stress reliever phone case!

In another post, I will come back to the topic of reducing distractions and getting fewer email. For the time being, I’d like to experiment a little more with the Freedom app, a powerful way to reduce digital distractions on all your devices (PCs, tablets, phones) simultaneously.

Until next time, put another brick in the wall against distractions.