I’d noticed a growing unrest and anxiety bothering me, a direct result of my doomscrolling and Instagram Reels habit spiraling out of control. I decided it was time for a change. I remembered a time before I had a smartphone, when I could finish tasks with genuine focus. It struck me that attention is the most valuable currency in our modern era, and a thousand digital platforms are competing to steal it.
This is my Everyday Carry (EDC), a collection of tools I carry daily to combat mindless phone scrolling and reduce my screen time.
- iPhone 12 Pro with the Dumbify Launcher App
- Soundpeats Engine 4 Earbuds
- Nintendo DSi XL
- Kindle Paperwhite
- A simple notebook and pen
- My G-Shock Watch
The battle for our focus is relentless. Think about it: classical music, once an art form accessible only to aristocrats, is now available to anyone with a phone. Yet, why isn’t it more popular? This is elite-level entertainment! Instead, we often choose to listen to overstimulating, AI-generated TikTok music. These tracks are engineered to hijack our attention for as long as possible without offering any meaningful reward. Pardon my choice of words, but they are essentially “audio porn”—drugs in the form of sound.
And don’t get me started on short-form videos. You can spend three hours scrolling through a random feed and be left with almost nothing but wasted time. In contrast, just 30 minutes spent reading a book can enrich your mind in ways that endless scrolling never will.
If you’re interested in making a similar change, here is the two-phase plan I devised for myself.
Phase 1: Inner Transformation
Before changing my tools, I had to brainwash myself. This internal rewiring involved me finishing some readings and mental contrasting.
First, I read Deep Work by Cal Newport. If you haven’t read it, I cannot recommend it enough. In the book, Newport argues that the ability to focus without distraction is one of the most valuable skills in today’s economy. He distinguishes between “deep work” (intense, distraction-free concentration on demanding tasks) and “shallow work” (low-value, logistical tasks that drain time). He shows how modern life erodes our capacity for deep work, leaving us busy but unproductive. Cultivating focus isn’t just about professional success; it’s about living a more meaningful life.
He provides a powerful equation to illustrate his point:
High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) × (Intensity of Focus)
Second, I turned to a much older source of wisdom: the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum), a collection of teachings from the early Christian monks. I stumbled upon this passage about St. Antony the Great:
“Once when Antony was living in the desert his soul was troubled by boredom and irritation. He said to God ‘Lord, I want to be made whole and my thoughts do not let me. What am I to do about this trouble, how shall I be cured?’ After a while he got up and went outside. He saw someone like himself sitting down and working, then standing up to pray; then sitting down again to make a plait of palm leaves, and standing up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct Antony and make him vigilant. He heard the voice of the angel saying, ‘Do this and you will be cured.’ When he heard of it he was very glad and recovered his confidence. He did what the angel had done, and found the salvation that he was seeking.”
This story forms the basis of the Western monastic tradition of ‘ora et labora’—pray and work (I’ll write a specific post about this topic, stay tuned!). The idea is that your life is meant to be a rhythm of these two things. Of course, leisure is necessary, but our primary state should be one of productive effort. We have to work, whether we’re a jobless mother, a street food merchant, or a corporate salesman. This is the essence of maturing. It’s the ugly reality we must face if we want to avoid being stuck as a confused man-child.
Finally, I solidified this mindset with mental contrasting. The logic is simple and stark. Now, I’m a young adult. I need to study hard, work out, and spend my time taking care of myself and the people around me. If I cannot command my focus now, I will become a pathetic man in the future, incapable of fulfilling my responsibilities. By internalizing these ideas, I set the stage for sustained action.
Phase 2: External Adaptation
With the internal foundation laid, it was time to materialize these ideas by adapting my environment. My main problem was the digital distraction of social media, particularly Instagram.
The first thing I did was reconfigure my iPhone. Since I need Instagram for work to manage several accounts, I couldn’t delete it. Instead, I buried the app and installed the Dumbify launcher. This turns my home screen into a text-based, minimalist interface. I limited my accessible apps to only the essentials: WhatsApp, Notes, Camera, Email, and Safari. I use my Soundpeats earbuds for calls and occasionally for music. I’m building the habit of curating specific playlists with quality music, not cheap, overstimulating pop.
Next, I curated my entertainment. While embracing boredom is part of the process, I also need mindful breaks. This is where the Kindle and the Nintendo DSi XL come in. They serve as my dedicated entertainers, but with a crucial difference: they demand intention. I have to choose a specific book to read or a specific game to play, a far cry from the random, passive consumption of a social media feed. This small friction before engaging in entertainment helps me to mindfully choose between work and play. It truly works!
I also carry a small notebook and pen. This is my ‘Nepsis’ journal. Nepsis (Νῆψις) is a Greek term for vigilant watchfulness—a sober-minded alertness in guarding one’s heart and thoughts. Each day, I write down a single sentence or thought that comes to mind. It’s a simple practice of mindfulness.
Conclusion
This is the system I intend to stick with. I carry these items every day in my backpack, besides my laptop, which I use for work and writing. This EDC will surely evolve, but I believe I’ve built a solid foundation for my ultimate goal, which is taking back my attention. The most critical lesson in all of this is that inner transformation and external adaptation must walk hand-in-hand. Without both, any effort to change will collapse into inconsistency. This isn’t just about using different gadgets; I don’t want to fall into materialism or certain gadget dependency. I cannot expect change by just buying certain items. All the steps I wrote above are to build a life of intention, one focused moment at a time.
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