I built my iPhone into the Ultimate Productivity Machine

Summary

This video introduces a personalized system to transform your phone from a distraction into a tool for hyper-productivity. Rather than relying on generic advice like digital detoxes, the speaker walks through a customizable three-step process. This includes auditing your daily routines, designing different home screens for various tasks (work, socializing, fitness), and using focus modes to streamline productivity. Inspired by concepts like habit stacking from 'Atomic Habits,' the goal is to minimize distractions and align your phone with your daily habits, while maintaining flexibility for life's unpredictable moments.

Takeaways

• 📱 Your phone is designed to capture your attention, but you can turn it into a tool for hyper-productivity without switching to a dumb phone or deleting apps.
• 🧠 You need a personalized system to reduce screen time effectively, as generic solutions often fail to meet individual needs.
• 📅 Step 1: Audit your daily routine to identify how and when you use your phone, dividing your day into blocks to tailor your phone usage accordingly.
• 🛠️ Set up different home screens for various modes of your life (e.g., work, gym, socializing) to minimize distractions and focus on specific tasks at the right time.
• 📊 Use widgets and app icons relevant to each life mode, keeping each screen clean and purpose-driven to streamline phone interaction.
• 🚫 Hide or delete non-essential apps to reduce distractions and avoid mindless scrolling; out of sight, out of mind.
• 🔄 Step 2: Create Focus Modes that activate specific home screens, helping you switch seamlessly between different tasks or life modes.
• 🧩 Habit stacking: Link different Focus Modes together to create a workflow where transitioning between tasks becomes automatic and easy.
• 🔍 Use manual triggers for Focus Modes rather than automatic ones to stay in control of your phone usage and develop conscious habits.
• 🎯 The key to success is setting up a flexible yet structured digital environment that reflects your goals and keeps you focused without overwhelming you.

Q & A

What is the main problem discussed in the video regarding smartphone usage?

The main problem discussed is that smartphones are designed to capture and monetize users' attention, resulting in people spending a significant amount of time—28% of their waking hours—mindlessly scrolling in 2024.

What solution does the speaker propose to reduce smartphone screen time?

The speaker proposes a personalized system to manage smartphone usage, focusing on productivity. This involves customizing the phone's home screen and using focus modes to align the phone's interface with the user's daily habits, rather than following generic tips like digital detoxes or using 'dumb' phones.

Why does the speaker believe generic solutions to phone addiction don’t work?

The speaker argues that generic solutions, like locking the phone away or switching to a 'dumb' phone, don't work because they aren't tailored to individual needs. A one-size-fits-all approach may be ineffective, as people have different lifestyles and requirements for their phones.

What is the first step the speaker suggests in developing a personalized phone usage system?

The first step is to audit your typical day. This involves dividing the day into blocks of 1-3 hours and identifying what tasks you perform, what apps you need, and when you need them. This helps create a clear structure for your phone's interface.

How does the speaker suggest organizing apps on your phone?

The speaker suggests organizing apps based on the time of day and specific activities rather than function. For example, during workouts, you should only see fitness-related apps, and during work hours, only work-related apps. This creates a cleaner, more purposeful interface.

What is 'habit stacking' and how does it apply to phone usage?

Habit stacking is a concept from the book 'Atomic Habits,' where one habit triggers the next. The speaker suggests applying this to phone usage by linking focus modes to different times of the day, so when you switch to one focus mode, it naturally leads to the next based on your daily routine.

What role does the 'default mode' play in this system?

The default mode acts as a central hub for important but non-time-sensitive apps that don’t fit into any specific focus mode. It’s a minimal setup for less urgent activities, such as managing bills or casual browsing.

How does creating focus modes for different parts of the day help reduce screen time?

By creating focus modes for different parts of the day, your phone only shows the apps relevant to the current activity, reducing distractions. This minimalism discourages mindless scrolling, helping you stay focused on the task at hand.

What does the speaker say about deleting apps from the home screen?

The speaker recommends hiding or deleting non-essential apps from the home screen to reduce clutter. While these apps are still accessible via search or the app library, not seeing them on the home screen helps reduce the temptation to use them.

Why does the speaker advise against automatic focus mode triggers?

The speaker advises against automatic focus mode triggers because they take away the decision-making process. The idea is that switching modes should be a conscious decision, reinforcing productive habits and giving the user more control over their time.

Outlines

00:00

The Phone as a Tool for Productivity

05:00

Personalizing Productivity Systems for Your Phone

10:02

Step 1: Auditing Your Day for Optimal Phone Use

15:03

Creating Patterns and Names for Phone Usage Modes

Step 2: Designing Home Screens for Each Mode

Customizing and Hiding Apps for Better Productivity

Using Focus Modes for Maximum Productivity

Utilizing Habit Stacking and Focus Modes

Creating Shortcut Widgets for Focus Modes

Additional Tips for Using Focus Modes Effectively

Keywords

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of an individual or system in converting inputs into desired outputs. In the context of the video, productivity is the main goal the speaker aims to enhance by transforming the phone from a distraction into a tool. The script mentions creating a 'hyper productivity' environment by managing how and when apps are accessed on the phone.

💡Phone Addiction

Phone addiction is a compulsive or obsessive use of a mobile phone, which can interfere with daily life. The video addresses this issue by suggesting methods to combat the addictive nature of phones, such as creating personalized systems to manage screen time effectively.

💡Digital Detox

Digital detox is the act of stepping away from digital devices for a period of time, often to reduce stress or to focus on social interaction in the physical world. The script contrasts this concept with the personalized system proposed, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach like digital detox may not work for everyone.

💡Dumb Phone

A dumb phone is a mobile phone that is limited to basic functions like calling and texting and lacks the advanced functionalities of smartphones. The video mentions that switching to a dumb phone is an extreme measure some take to reduce screen time, but it suggests a more balanced approach.

💡Screen Time

Screen time is the amount of time one spends looking at and interacting with electronic devices, especially smartphones. The video discusses the high percentage of waking hours people spend on their phones and offers strategies to reduce screen time while maintaining productivity.

💡Focus Mode

Focus mode, as discussed in the video, is a custom setting on a smartphone that limits the functionality of the device to certain apps, helping users concentrate on specific tasks. The script describes how to set up different focus modes for various activities throughout the day.

💡Habit Stacking

Habit stacking is a productivity technique where a new habit is added onto an existing routine, making it easier to form and maintain. The video suggests using habit stacking to transition between different focus modes on the phone as part of a daily routine.

💡Atomic Habits

Atomic Habits refers to the concept from the book by James Clear, which emphasizes making small, incremental changes to habits to improve one's life. The video draws on this concept to encourage creating an environment that shapes behavior, such as setting up a phone to support productive habits.

💡Home Screen Customization

Home screen customization is the process of arranging the apps and widgets on the main screen of a smartphone to suit an individual's preferences and needs. The video provides a detailed guide on customizing the home screen to reflect different modes of the day and to enhance productivity.

💡Shortcuts

Shortcuts are quick ways to perform tasks on a device, often involving a series of actions that can be executed with a single command. In the video, the speaker shows how to use the Shortcuts app on iOS to create buttons that switch between different focus modes, streamlining the user's interaction with the phone.

💡Mode

In the context of the video, 'mode' refers to different states or activities that a person engages in throughout the day, such as work, fitness, or socializing. The speaker advises setting up the phone to match these modes, displaying only relevant apps and information for each activity.

Highlights

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Transcripts

your phone is meticulously designed a

billion dollar company to capture and

monetize your attention it is so

successful that in 2024 it's estimated

that people spend 28% of their waking

hours on their phone in leely scrolling

but what if there's a special matter to

turn your phone back into the tool for

hyper productivity and no you won't have

to switch to a d phone or uninstall all

your favorite apps what I'm about to

show you in this video is the ultimate

measure Management Consultant are using

to drastically reduce screen time and

get a lot more done so let's get to it

the first thing we need to talk about is

why do you need a method or system to

combat this issue because so many I wi

on treating phone addictions from

digital detox rituals to Extreme

Measures like using a dumb phone but

here is the catch almost none of these

tips are going to work for you it's a

little bit like trying on someone else's

classes it's just going to be a blurry

mess what you need is not a one- size

fed old solution for example you might

hear this awise a lot locking your phone

in a seal tight launch box and put a

timer on it I mean stoically they all

work to some extent but if you're an

investment banker or a Management

Consultant like myself pulling zwi not

only reduce screen time but most likely

it's going to get me fired really

quickly and that's why you need your own

system so in this video my aim isn't

just to show you how to tweak your phone

settings although of course I will show

you my own setup as an example instead I

think what will help you the most is to

do a simple three-step exercise to come

up with your own personalized system

that fits your own needs I've spoken to

plenty of colleagues about this topic

and I'm quite sure that this is the most

effective measure it's just so much

better than the general tips floating on

the internet so with that said let's get

to the part number one step one audit

your typical day this is me using my

great PowerPoint skills to Showcase how

most of us use our phone throughout the

day we do all different tasks like

workout go on business trips socializing

and bench watching YouTube but for the

most of us every single time we pick our

our phone we are faced with the exact

same messy clustered home screen and

that is not really ideal isn't it I

think that most of us would agree in

order for your phone to truly work for

you in a productive way it needs to be

simple clean and purposeful something

like this when you go work out you reach

for your phone and you see one page and

nothing else you sit down at your office

chair and look at your phone another

Different Page and nothing else just

super clean you see a productive phone

is supposed to be a reflection of your

daily habits every single time you look

at your phone it should have a specific

and simple interface waiting for you

that's why before we jump into the

setting menu of your phone and T things

around you actually have to take a very

good look at your life have a good

understanding how you want your ideal

day to unfold what are the most helpful

apps that you use at what time what are

the bad ones you should delete and hide

away and it can be very simple exercise

basically can be accomplish with a pen

and a paper here's how it works first

divide your typical dat into several

blocks box each lasting about 1 to 3

hours take myself as an example it looks

something like this from 7:30 to 8:30

I'll get ready for the day that includes

everything I do before I arrive at the

office like workout breakfast reading

news and checking for early emails from

8:30 to 9:30 I'll either drive to school

to drop off my kids or drive to work

9:30 to 12:00 this is my working time

typically is my most productive period

of the day we most important meetings

happen and we get the most things done

I'll do some intensive work early on and

probably some lighter work like

scheduling and replying to email towards

12:00 Mark between 12:00 to 1:30 this is

typically launch break uh when I usually

nwork a little bit and talk to

interesting colleague and Friends

between 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. I do intensive

work again but occasionally I'm on the

road to kind meeting from 4:00 to 600

p.m. this is when I do some light work

again if I have time I'll will catch up

on some uh learning or work related

trainings from 6 p.m. to 900 p.m. I

really try not to do anything at all and

reserve it for family and friends it

doesn't always happen but we're talking

about ideal day right so I'm going to in

for a 3our break here between 9:00 to

12:00 p.m. this is when I consume a lot

of content learning new languages doing

my hobbies reading books and create

YouTube videos this is when my case has

already gone to bed and I want to have a

little bit me time in case you didn't

see it uh this eight time block on mine

a basically have seven different modes

I'm operating on every single day yours

might be very different or very similar

but that's why this Audi is so important

and very underrated if you don't have a

very clear idea uh what are you going to

to do at any given time of the day you

can possibly set up your phone in a

productive and specific way which is you

want your phone to only display the

right amount of information to you at

the right remote streamlining how you

interact with your phone at different

times so that instead of a classroom

phone screen filled with apps you can

always have a minimalistic setup that

reflects your life mode whenever is

triggered and next I want you to take a

good look at this pattern where you

interact with your phone for each

pattern I want you to give it a name me

as example the lunch break and family

time look very similar so I'll just name

it socializing morning and afternoon

work are very similar so it just becomes

work gym session I call it Fitness

driving and taking a taxi is basically

the same mode which I will call a road

either learn new languages and a lot of

times I watch tutorial videos so I'll

call it consumption and well YouTube is

YouTube now that you have the patterns

and their corresponding name with that

we can now move on to step number two

which is all about designing a separ

home screen or AKA Focus mode for each

and every one of your behavior patterns

so that your phone is both customized

and simplified at any given time now

this is a very good concept coming from

the bestselling book Atomic habit I'm

sure by now you heard about this if you

haven't one of the most fundamental

concept is environment shapes human

behavior certain Behavior arise again

and again under the same environmental

conditions we choose to do something not

because of who we are but because of

where we are chances are you have heard

about this concept but I'll bet money on

it that you haven't implemented this

much especially when it comes to

managing your phone because nowadays

your phone is much as a part of your

environment as your bedroom or office

how it setup can significantly shape

your behavior throughout the day many

years ago before my Consulting career I

used to group my apps based on

functionality so social media has a

folder email and another folder well I

thought it was very nice and clean until

one day I realized that every time I

unlock my phone my finger just has this

muscle memory of hovering over the

Instagram icon this is when I finally

realized that this habit has to go away

I need to clean up my digital

environment first thing I did is I had

every single app from my home screen yes

every single app it's a lot like moving

to a new home and you feel the urge to

redecorating and cleaning up everything

and night time out of 10 you end up with

a nicer and more comfortable environment

to hide any app just long press on the I

icon and instead of deleting it for good

you can actually select hide from home

screen this way the app is not actually

deleted you can still search for it or

see it in the Live library and the next

thing you want to do is to create a lot

of empty pages as your new home screen

how many I would suggest M plus two n

being the number of live pattern you

have previously created for me I have

seven patterns so I will create nine EMP

Pages for each pattern of your life I

want you to find the most productive

most useful app and f one page using

both rdet and individual icons in case

you don't know how this is done on an

iPhone you basically just long press the

empty space and then search for the most

used apps you scroll through type of

widget that you want to use and drag the

widget onto your home screen for example

while I'm on the road I'll typically

open up either my Tesla app or Uber

depends on whether I'm driving or having

a taxi I have music or audible when I

listen to stop on the road and Google

Map or bu map depends on where I'm

traveling too remember you can stack

fidget like this any of the app with

similar functionality can be switched

back and forth this is useful because

you're associating a screen realistic

with functionality so I find it very

useful another example during my YouTube

shooting my home screen look like this I

got linked to the video home base which

is a notion template uh it has

everything of my ongoing production of

videos and video ideas brainstorming

code Bank Etc yoube studio in case I

want to reply some comments oh right

don't forget to leave a comment down

below video IQ for video analytics email

for answering questions occasionally

people send me emails and many other

utility apps such as controller to my

studio light and monitoring app in case

I want to use my phone as a secondary

monitor and then also turn off

notification for everything when I'm

recording so as you can see when I

switch to this mode my phone really

becomes like the central control of this

studio and after that I'll set up

different p screen for every one of them

now you have all the individual Pages

you need to turn the pages into a focus

mode so anytime you switch on the focus

mode your phone become a super

simplified version at any given time so

here's a quick tutorial of making a

focus mode you just swipe down and long

press Focus click a new Focus mode and

under the home screen you want to

uncheck everything else and just leave

the one page you wanted but you may be

wondering uh what about the banking apps

or many other utility app that you don't

use on any particular time of the day

but those are also very important to you

whenever you want to pay the bill or

shop on Amazon now that's where the plus

two empty pages comes from one of the

page I'll design a central tle shortcut

Reg to link all your focus mode together

and the other one to fit all your

important but non time sensitive apps

this is what I called a default mode and

the purpose of the default mode on your

phone is to serve as a parking spot for

apps that don't fit into any specific

Focus mode this mode is ideal for times

when you are not in a hurry or just want

to relax or handle tasks that aren't

time sensitive it's a designated space

for leisurely bring or less urgent

activities allowing you to engage with

these apps without disrupting your focus

you may feel like a one page is not not

enough well that's exactly the point if

you can manage to do a minimal home you

can do with just one extra page of apps

remember you haven't really delete

anything yet if you ever feel like

there's another app that you need to

bring into the default home screen feel

free to do so just remember need to bump

another one off the page for the apps

that aren't included in either your

focus or default modes you will need to

decide their fate based on their utility

in your life if this app aren't

essential for productivity nor have

frequent and useful functions chances

are they're primarily for entertainment

or apps you might have downloaded once

and forgotten and for these apps I then

open up the I library and I delete as

many as I can most of these apps you

won't be using very often and so

deleting them keep your phone minimal or

if there's something that you use too

often maybe consider deleting it too and

in my experience this alone actually

reduce my screen time by more than 50%

uh my simple philosophy if you don't see

it you don't click

it now moving on let's talk about step

number three how we use habit stacking

and focus mode to enable us to jump from

one page to another page with one click

of a button now habit stacking is

another concept popularized by atomic

habit and the concept goes like this

human habit Stacks each action become a

Quee that triggers the next Behavior by

leing positive habits to establish ones

you build powerful habit chains that

drastically improve your life so

basically when you do action a and out

of habit you carry on to perform action

B with enough repetition your life is

sort of become a virtual cycle that runs

on autoplay when it comes to our phone I

realize the same principle can apply

just not on automic level you see what I

realized over the years is that you can

basically change Focus mode based on

your daily agenda for example once I'm

done workout I'm automatically want to

go on the road mode since want to leave

for work when I got on my car I

automatically want to go into work mode

at each home screen of each Focus mode

you want to add a little shortcut

pointing towards the next Focus mode so

when you finish one thing you can carry

on and do the next and that's not all if

you want maximum flexibility you also

want to set up this little shortcut

which allows you to go back to default

mode anytime you want this way

technically you have access to every

single useful app on your phone but you

can still be very focused where you need

to be for example if you're committed to

using Focus mode for the entire day you

can absolutely change this Focus mode

together with a click of a button it

goes from one Focus mode directly to the

next and the next and it help you build

have it so easily and if anytime you

want to take a pause from this Focus

mode chin just click this down and

you'll be redirect back to the default

mode and when you're ready to jump back

in you can just use a central shortcut

widget to get back in and to set it up

this is how it's done you need a central

shortcut widget to connect everything so

that's why in your default mode you want

to enable two pages we already talked

about the default mode now we're going

to talk about the central Hub you can

think of this as a central control of

every Focus mode that you created a

quick tutorial on how to set this up

first of all you need to open the app

called shortcut this is a Apple native

application so you don't have to pay

anything basically what you want to do

is Click open the app and click this

plus sign to add a new shortcut give

this shortcut the exact same name as

your focus mode you want to pick a nice

color and icon I already have one C work

so to demonstrate I'll just create a new

one called something else and what this

is doing is basically pre-program your

iPhone with a series of steps as

instruction ction and turn those steps

into a simple button so every time you

click the button it's like you just made

a bunch of command to your iPhone so

next we want to click add action here

and then you want to search for Focus

then you want to scroll down and then

find the set Focus option and click it

once you did that you're going to see

this page turn do not disturb off do not

disturb is basically the default Focus

mode which we do not want what you need

to do instead is to click it it's going

to show you a list of focus mode option

that you you have already created select

the one that this short card is supposed

to be linked to and change off to on and

the next phrase by default is going to

be until turn off but this is what we

want and you want to leave it as is app

would really try to make this as

friendly as possible it feels a little

bit like the training tool they use for

beginner programming class but I can see

it look confusing as hell to some people

so just follow you along if you're

feeling a little bit confused it will

all make sense a little bit later rewind

the video for 20 second if you have to

because now next you want to repeat this

step for every one of your focus mode

and every single shortcut is basically

the same except for one which is this

down button which allows you to go back

to default mode you want to again click

the plus sign to add a shortcut then

search for Focus but instead of Click

set Focus you want to click the get

current Focus then add an if condition

click if current Focus has any value and

if that condition is satisfied meaning

that you're actually currently in a

focus mode then come to the bottom and

search for Focus again this time click

set focus and in the parameter session

select turn current Focus off then

you're done great now we have the

shortcut we want to display all of this

shortcut simultaneously on a screen as a

viget and here is how to do that so what

you want to do is to go to the first

page of your default mode and add a vget

as normal search for the app shortcut

find the eight boxes style click add

make sure you edit the vet so it shows

appropriate set in case you have other

shortcuts enabled and lastly to change

all the focus mode together you want to

create a series of shortcut icons

linking all the focus mode together to

make shortcut into an icon you can go to

the shortcut app click this three dots

then share then click save to home

screen and then you can find icon in the

home screen of your current Focus mode

how do you want to link everything

together is completely your decision but

I would suggest you to follow follow

your typical day just like what we talk

about in Step number one for example

Driving Mode come after the workout mode

for me so there will be a driving little

icon on the workout Focus mode now if

you set up everything properly your

phone should look like this as you

remember the first week I test this

system out using my phone literally feel

like my life has so much more structure

and I certainly hope they help you too

and to get the most out of this habit

stacking method I will give you some

additional tips and guiding principle to

make your own system more effective tip

number one if you find the focus mode to

be too limiting Don't force yourself to

lock into a Syle mode this is because

the more rigid the system is the more

reasonable you will feel towards it and

in turn the less likely you're going to

use it in the long run there are so many

times that I remember I have to uh leave

a gym session because there's some

emergency at work and that's okay

subcribe your plan for the day and focus

on the shorttime task our life is

constantly moving forward and backwards

you need your phone to be very flexible

as well to accommodate any potential

change es getting things done in my

opinion is actually more important but

do make sure you switch back into the

focus mode when you're ready to continue

in my experience you'll find yourself

switching back and forth quite

frequently at the beginning when you

first try out the system that's not

necessarily A indication of you don't

have strong willpower maybe it's just

because you haven't perfect each mode

yet and some function are just missing

from the focus mode you're currently in

so consider taking the focus mode a

little bit further to suit your needs

and tip number two I I wise you to stay

away from Auto triggering of the focus

mode I know the iPhone has a system to

auto trigger certain Focus mode depends

on where you are or what time of the day

I find automatic triggering of a focus

mode to be a bad thing for creating

habit because you're basically

Outsourcing our decision- making to a

robot your phone is not supposed to be

the decision maker in your life rather

it needs to help you process information

accomplishing task whenever you allowed

it to switching to a focus mode and stay

focus for an extensive amount of time is

a conscious decision on your part and

you need to be the person holding the

trigger and the last thing you want to

be mindful is each time you tackle a

focus mode you not only trigger a list

of app on your home screen you also

trigger a new mindset putting the mental

commitment into doing something now that

wraps up everything I want to share for

this three-step system I'll be the first

to admit although this system works

wonderfully for me and a lot of

colleagues over the past year it's

probably not the most intuitive meas to

build habits it takes a lot of set up

and so searching to come up with a

carefully planned digital space now if

simple and minimalism is your thing

here's a system used by Management

Consultant to get things done even

without a digital phone if that topic

interests you click right here where I

show you my analog system to accomplish

anything