- Move apps on the Home Screen by touching an app icon until all icons start jiggling.
- Use folders for organization by moving them to a new position and leaving your hold.
- Use the Dock wisely by placing essential apps near your thumb.
- Use App Library to keep essential apps close to your thumb.
- Remove unnecessary Home Screens by removing apps by color or alphabetically.
- Organize apps alphabetically by color.
- Use Spotlight instead of app icons.
Organizing your iPhone or iPad home screen can be an unpleasant experience, but it can help maintain productivity and focus. Group apps by category or function to make them easier to find. Use folders to keep similar apps together and reduce clutter.
Folders in iOS help organize your home screen by grouping apps based on functionality, making it less cluttered. To create a folder, press and hold an app icon until it shakes, then drag one app onto another to automatically create a new folder, which you can rename.
To set up an iPhone with a minimalist home screen, limit the number of apps and folders you need. You can put more apps and folders on a row, but don’t force yourself to put apps you don’t need.
Organize entertainment apps in a group folder labeled “entertainment” and delete any unneeded apps. Apple’s iOS allows users to customize their home screens with 15 home screen layout ideas.
📹 How I Setup My iPhone — So It Doesn’t Ruin My Life..
In this video, I share how I setup my iPhone to maximize productivity. Tweet me your homescreen …
📹 Simplifying Life with Digital Minimalism | What’s on My iPhone (iOS 17) & Finding Balance
Welcome to my channel! Join me on a journey towards digital minimalism as we explore how to make our tech fit our lifestyle, not …
Since graduating at UW, I am still a loyal Blackberry user. With the disconnect of the Blackberry server, I am still able to use the Blackberry Passport. It has no social media, no games, and no addition apps other than the default that originally came with. A year N half later after the disconnect, I continue to use it for calls, SMS text, emails, contacts, notes, and calendar. Basically, it’s just productivity. I recently bought an Android device but still haven’t really set it up yet. There are just too many things going on that device and I don’t want to get lost into a sea of apps and time consuming of looking onto a glass screen. I like the hard keyboard and minimalism of the Blackberry devices. 🙂
This is awesome! Thank you for sharing this with us. I find it almost impossible to get much done every day, between distractions and social media overtaking my brain. I am going to set these up right now! One question – You said you start sleep mode at 9pm. Can you give us an idea of the rest of your day, hour wise? I have GOT to do something to get a grip on my productivity, so I’m just curious as to how many hours you dedicate to different things! Thank you! ^.^
Excellent article man! I’m going to nerd out and implement these as well. Thanks so much for putting this article together. I recently created an ‘accessibility shortcut’; triple tapping my power button to turn the entire screen grayscale. It makes the phone surprisingly less enticing! Side note – just started (finally) reading Atomic Habits today! I’ve definitely found compounding habits to be a total game-changer in my life 🔥
I definately recommed the Huberman Lab podcast – it incredibly informative on so many aspects of one’s life with health and body related topics. It’s hosted by Andrew Huberman who is a nuerology professor at stanford and all the information is incredibly useful and backed in science. He also frequently has guests on the podcast that are experts in the respective topic. 10/10 podcast, it’s what got me into podcasts actually
my phone doesn’t have anything on its Home Screen.. or even on any pages at all. Since because the iPhone has the search bar by swiping left or down, there’s no need! Makes the Home Screen seem much better. I have the essential 4 apps at the bottom, and have had my Home Screen empty since. If the little thing at the bottom of the screen disappeared when you have no apps in it, I wouldn’t even have any in that.
It’s not all technologies fault. We as humans both on the consumer and creator side have to take accountability too. Also technology is revolutionary, with all things of that nature there will be painful learning curves. During the Industrial Revolution growth without proper rules and regulations killed and poisoned many factory workers. Now we have things liek unions nd regulations to protect workers rights. In the future we will have much more regulations in place so that we can make sure that the unhealthy parts of technology are tended too. Even then thought it was never the industrial innovation that created overworked employees it was the greed of the people running the factories and companies. It’s was always by humans to humans. Technology has no inherent evil intention. We are the ones wielding it and so we need to take ownership both on the consumer and creator’s side. It’s easy to blame it’s harder to see how we are also playing a very vital role in the issue. If humans we led more by balance, hope and altruism companies will change their tune to providing the content we want to take in. We are the ones voting and telling companies this is what grabs my attention give me more.
It’s true that people spend a lot of time on their smartphones. But what are they doing? They send mails, research, read newspaper, make calls, buy stuff. Nobody ever summed up the time they spent on those activities before. it used to be considered intellectual if you spent time reading a newspaper. Now it’s wasted screen time? The things we do moved into the internet. And the smartphone is the main device to access all those things. But you surely have to check yourself and your usage.
I never pay much attention to those stats about how long people spend on their phones because so many people use their phones to read listen to podcasts or audio books and look on youtube for educational articles so it doesn’t mean that much when they say people spend a certain amount of time on their devices.
here is how i set my phone up to be less addicted to phones by doing even more things on my phone. dude, you really do not need to track every thing in your life. dont track your steps and dont track your weights. this is billionaires telling you you need to track everything in your life. dont rely on your phone to tell you how many steps you take. i feel whenever i am not addicted to my phone i completely forget to switch between the focus modes.
I achieved digital minimalism several years ago when I realized my phone was taking over my life. It is incredibly freeing when you turn off notifications to your social media and email accounts. Since Apple added the App Library, I can now enjoy the picture of my beautiful cat on my Home Screen instead of 20 apps covering his face. I went on my first technology-free vacation at a beautiful cabin on a lake last month and it was fantastic! I read three books, did a lot of hiking and I learned how to fish! I did not miss my phone those entire 10 days. I’m going to try to convince some friends to go with me next year and see how long they can go without their digital devices 😂
This article was so relatable, as a teen i spend way too much time on tiktok mostly. The fear of missing out was so real to me beacuse i broke my phone and i had to wait a week and it was painful and it did made me realise how much control it had over me. I had massive anxiety in that periord but in the same time it opened my eyes and focus mode helps a lot. Whenver i have the urge to scroll i now listen to music.
Wowwww maisyyyy!! This was so beautiful and inspiring!! Can we get more vids like this?! 😍 I love your strategies to help live more intentionally. I spend wayyyy too much time on my phone on my days off, mindlessly scrolling. I’ve been journaling and using structured too lately and it helps me stay more productive and less scrolling. here’s to our journey of digital minimalism! 🌱
This was such a good check-in for myself! I used to take a week off of social media every 3-4 months, but then once I started working as a Social Media Manager I couldn’t do that anymore and have really missed it! This article gave me a lot of good ideas for other ways I can minimize my digital life even with my current job.
I’ve been binge-watching your website over the past few weeks and have FINALLY got up to date with your articles! Absolutely loved this and appreciate your way of storytelling and editing. Would you consider doing a ‘How I film my articles’ tutorial? I’m always in awe of how well you shoot your footage and tie it all together! ❤
I mainly grew up without tech; had my first chunky mobile phone at 25 years old. So, when I get caught up in too much distraction-by-tech, I go back to an old habit; music. I’ll sometimes spend an entire evening listening to music from my CD collection; sometimes I’ll just pick a few albums and listen to each album all the way through. Often I have it on in the background when working on personal projects, or engaging in a hobby. Hobbies are another way to get you away from distractions that drag you all over the place from one article (or social media post) to another. From time to time I’ll even sit down with my math book or notes I’ve kept from college and work through some problems. Really there are so many things you can do which feel more rewarding than aimlessly scrolling through social media. A lot of people report feeling less anxious and lighter for cutting down that kind of relationship with social media platforms.
This was so calming to watch Maisy! I woke up this morning and saw that this new article was up and it made my day! I’m in Australia so it should be cold (meant to be in the middle of winter lol), but it’s been feeling like spring almost, and your articles+ warm weather really makes me happy. I’m sad to hear that being on youtube and social media often stresses you out, but I hope that you are able to balance out your life to make yourself happy too. Take care, and I hope that you can do this for a long time and continue to find value and energy in your endeavors.
Beautifully shot and so meaningful. I’ve been thinking a lot about my phone usage since my son was born a year ago and it’s something I’ve struggled with, I didn’t realise how addicted I was until I found myself scrolling through my phone with him infront of me 🙁 Definitely working hard to change it for the better.
okay but youre still relying on your phone for certain time restraints as shown throughout this entire article, youre wearing headphones, youre recording using a camera, and the irony of “whats on my iphone 17” paired with that title is completely contradictory ?? its not so much digital minimalism than it is digital control..Technology WILL be in our lives 24/7, its called the future….how youre able to handle it and the amount of usage is no different from time management that most people STILL suck at….point is one step at a time. Theres nothing wrong with completely integrating tech in your daily life; depending on your job you might not have a choice…now “social media” on the other is far different beast that is mutually exclusive from tech itself.
This article is very helpful. I find it hard to stay present and social media is such a toxic place for me. I’m going to start hiding my social media apps as well, so Im not tempted to go down the rabbit hole and come out feeling insecure or unhappy after. I hope to see positive results in my life w/ your tips ❤.
Little Reminder: All these strategies has worked with ~HER~ and she focus to find ways to evolve in her environment!~ Everyone has a different environment, so that means you’ll need to work to find the strategies or routines to make YOUR evolve better for you!~ It’s ok to use some of hers, but don’t forget that you are you~
I think you inspire me to try digital minimalism and it gave me an idea. I’m thinking of using social media on my laptop or computer when I need to use social media, which forces me to spend less screen time and promote less stress, and less mental health struggles. I’ll only use my phone for phone calling, text messaging, surfing the internet/web, and YouTube. I hope this idea will work.
Additional tips: 1. Read Books with real BOOKS (Not digital) for a long time. 2. When you go out simply leave your phone at home. (People will get mad at you when they call, but you will get healthier) 3. Little extreme, remove Whatsapp, tiktok, and instagram. Keep the rest if you want. (See the difference)
I feel sad for you younger folks who grew up with this tuff. I grew up long before mobile phones so I never had to deal with this. I have a smart phone but it spends 90% of the time it’s on in my pocket. I’m hopeful that you continue in this minimalism. It will help you make better connections with people who also are trying to retake their lives away from the phone. Stay with it!
Hi~ I really enjoyed how you presented the idea of being distant and the theme of being minimalistic. Your voice is so sweet and sounds very nice. I like how you just randomly entered my YouTube recommendations. You’re very alot like me, including personal background and stories you’ve shared on Q&A clip. Despite of our heavy similar background, everything in our current life and personality wise is quite the same. I too am very energized with what I incorporate my ideas into while working. In my personal world, I am actually more introverted and well balanced with my digital lifestyle. So, I can say we are quite similar as an unique individual. I may have just watched only 2 clips from your website. But, it feels like I know you from the inside, how you truly feel and see yourself. I want to take this last minute to say: You are saved by God’s grace and his mercy will reign over all of our body. I will pray for your physical health and emotional well-being. Let’s continue this journey together with more strength and senses. I love you as a sister. ❤
wow. I feel like this is what I really needed. I’ve felt too attached to the internet & disconnected from the real world. I’ve been trying to work on it for months, practicing mindfulness & setting times to get off my devices. this was a great reminder, I’m gonna go through my phone right now lol~ thank you maisy, your articles always inspire me <3
My passion is social media which is why I’m constantly on my phone. I should truly re-evaluate and control how much use I have. It’s true how it can affect certain people’s mental health. It boosts so much comparison that we don’t want to admit. This has been so helpful and validates how we feel around our phones.
I really think that this is a good balance, I want to use my phone because it allows me to have as little real things as possible, having the most functionality in the smallest space possible. a flip phone is more of the “do nothing” mindset, but for me, I use my phone all the time. a few things I could recommend, keep your phone as long as it’s supported, to reduce waste. when you do get a new phone, pick a flagship (for longevity), but get a smaller one. the bigger your phone is, the easier it is to get sucked into it. use a laptop instead of a phone or tablet as much as possible, having a more optimal setup for doing work than a phone would get you to be able to put you in the position of not procrastinating.
This is such a beautiful article Maisy! I have a sleep do not disturb that automatically turns on at 9pm so i dont get any notifications. I love that structure app and want to try and implment it at work, since it can get pretty chatoic and I’m sure people can relate to when everyone says something is urgent but then you find yourself fickling through 4 different projects but not really making much progess. I convinced my work to get me a work mobile with all the company social accounts and for photos and articles so that i dont have to have it on my personal phone, which has been really good to help switch off from work. I also love using noise cancelling headphones at work and playing Lo-Fi music at work to help me stay focused. I struggle with anxiety, so it helps me calm myself when i feel overwhelmed.
I think you missed the most important zen way to use tech and that is by perusal this article! Lot of calming shots and the music alone is very relaxing 🙂 As for the tips, I love the focus ability and the way we can have different lock screens to reflect which apps are important. Such as for a work focus, bringing things like Teams, Outlook, and Email front and center while a “day off” focus could take those away and put more leisure, recreation based activities (thinking of my camping/national parks apps)!
this article was made so well! really motivates me to look into how i consume things on my phone and consider any changes for me to be more present in real life over scrolling so much for so long. journaling (bullet journaling specifically too) is definitely one of those things i enjoy doing that forces me off my phone and be an artist off of the screen. i do have a question for you though if you’re able to answer this (or if anyone can answer this, it’d be helpful!), i’ve tried customizing my app icons on my home screen as well, but i’ve always been annoyed by the pop up notification by Shortcuts that comes up every time i open an app, and it doesn’t seem to be an issue for you. do you or does anyone know the solution to this? i’ve tried everything from making sure Shortcuts notifications aren’t on and all the other solutions google has tried to offer me lol.
Maisy, I just want to say that your articles make me so happy and are always so calming, even when they’re bustling with to-dos! They’re great for me when I’m trying to be productive but feeling overwhelmed. Thank you so much for sharing! (And the tech stuff is great… I know you’ve done ‘code with me’ type work articles but have you considered ‘how to code articles?’ I took a coding class in college and I was awful at it but from seeing your content it makes me want to give it another shot! )