A few weeks ago I was really stressed, overwhelmed by everything coming at me from everywhere. And this is from a guy who used to have phone notifications for when a recipient opened an email I’d sent.

My only tactic was to try and block out the noise, but that also meant missing things I actually needed to stay on top of.

One day, I’d had enough. I saw that most of the issues were related to my phone, so I started going through it. On the first day, I deleted all the apps I don’t regularly use. A couple of days later, I took another sweep—more thorough this time—and deleted even more.

But it still wasn’t enough. The phone still stressed me out, and basically the only thing I used it for, proactively, was playing games.

So I started removing apps from my home screen. Not deleting them—just hiding them. They were still on the phone, but I had to use the search window to open them. That was a struggle. There were a lot of apps I use regularly but don’t need quick access to. The banking app, for example. I can’t delete it—I use it often—but I also don’t need it in my face when I open the phone.

At first I told myself, But what if I forget that I have this or that app? That became a reason to keep them visible. But soon I realized: if I forget I have an app, then it’s probably not all that important.

I also deleted all my social media apps. That part was easy. Social media has lost all meaning for me. It used to be a way to catch up with friends and family from around the world. Now it’s just endless scrolling.

In the end, I landed on one home screen, with just my messaging apps. Because I do need to see if I have unread messages. But that’s all I need. Everything else is available through search—and it turns out there really aren’t that many apps I need.

I also set a monochrome background and made everything match in low-key monochrome colors. That, combined with going through notifications with a large axe, made the phone feel... calmer.

I kept just one game—Last War—my current main source of resting… I mean procrastination.
How that went is a story of its own. (Hint: it’s gone now, but it took several more weeks.)

And while my learning to be here is mostly about failing at something and learning from it, the clean home screen is actually something I’m really happy about. It made a bigger difference than I thought it would, even if it’s a small thing to do.
Maybe it’s as simple as this: a tidy and organised home—with fewer impressions—is calmer than a messy one. And since the phone is something I use a lot, it’s quite possible the same applies there.