Smartphones have become indispensable tools for a wide variety of work and personal tasks. However, many people admit that mobile devices have also grown into our ultimate distractions, with an endless stream of notifications, an overwhelming number of icons on the screen, and plenty of apps vying for our attention. The issue of maintaining the ‘life-phone’ balance is getting evergreen, but potential controversy can be eliminated – with a responsible and mindful approach. It applies to both quantity and quality aspects, meaning you cut back on screen time when it’s too much, prioritize functional phone usage depending on your professional and leisure needs, and optimize your mobile experience for convenience and efficiency by introducing some screen modifications. As the first two are pretty straightforward, let’s touch upon the third facet more closely and discuss four concentration-promoting and productivity-boosting screen customization strategies that can help you alleviate distractions, stay more focused on your daily to-dos, and reap some extra motivation when using your iPhone. Declutter and Organize Your Screen Space Like your living space, your digital space should be kept in order. Messy environments are shown to trigger stress and induce disorientation and procrastination, thus degrading focus and productivity. Flip through your screen pages indicating the apps you haven’t been using for a couple of months now, and delete them. The accumulation of irrelevant icons provokes digital noise and annoyance, occupying and cluttering your screen space and distracting your eyes from the ones you really need. The next step is organizing your space to address your functional necessities. You can use a ready-to-go home screen pack template for the structure, and fill it out with widgets and icons in your preferred sequence. These visual arrangements will help you eliminate the risk of randomness while browsing your phone, saving time and promoting mental focus. Overall, there are many auxiliary apps available to pick some drafts and ideas. For instance, the MyScreen app provides the whole package of the latest and most creative screen customization features, including themes, wallpapers, widgets, icon packs, keyboards, and more. Determine Essential Work and Lifestyle Tools and Set Priorities Highlighting the things you regularly need for work or leisure activities makes them quickly accessible, promoting concentration on your intentions and speeding up the outcomes. If your main goal is enhancing your screen time for work, prioritize the tools that you actually use for work, think documents, messengers, scanning apps, or other utilities. If your smartphone usage is more lifestyle, ensure easy reach for the stuff you engage with most frequently. You can also add widgets for the things you want to keep at your fingertips or at the top of your mind. For example, you can track the UV index, weather forecast, stock exchange, calendar events, steps count, shopping lists, and more besides standard date and time. Social media icon placement requires special attention as these are the most time-consuming and interrupting apps of all. Consider placing them on the second or third pages of your screen so they don’t spot your eye each time you unlock your phone. You can go further and switch off notifications to avoid random alerts popping up on the screen. These ‘out of sight, out of mind’ tweaks will help you alleviate the presence of social media in your daily life and stay focused on what you are up to. Display Personally Beneficial Content Since your phone screen is something you observe repeatedly during the day, it’s a no-brainer to fill it with content that resonates with your objectives and facilitates your goals. Once the screen space is cleaned and organized, it’s time to review what else can be added to promote your mindfulness and motivation. For example, you can introduce a widget listing your intentions for the day or displaying your progress toward your daily health goals, such as 10K or water intake. Another advantageous tweak is setting the wallpaper, which addresses you personally and appeals to your state of mind. Even with a brief and unintentional eye contact, what we see launches a chain of cognitive and psycho-emotional reactions in the brain. Naturally, as long as you bring a sense of purpose to the table, you can turn your phone screen into a stress reliever, mood booster, source of motivation, or whatever else you’re looking for. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s science-backed that seeing calming nature scenery – even on your phone screen – promotes stress relief and relaxation, funny pictures make you smile, and positive affirmations keep you encouraged and uplifted. MyScreen offers a vast, constantly updating catalog of live and still wallpapers if you need to pick some fresh ideas that capture your eye. To enhance the effect, consider dividing the screen area between functional and inspirational constituents. Place the icons above, below, or around the central theme of your wallpaper so they don’t overlap, and you can still see the purposeful part of the picture without barriers. Optimize Color Schemes and Design Elements The colors and patterns we see can subconsciously impact our mental and emotional states. While your favorite ones are the clear winners, it’s also worth taking into account some common associations. Darker colors can induce gloominess and sadness, while brighter and lighter colors foster happiness and optimism. Calm pastel colors promote serenity and focus, and warm neutrals are comforting and uplifting. Besides, the color choice should not be generalized, as each color has several shades that can induce either positive, neutral, or negative responses in you. Overstimulating bold patterns and combinations of colors that clash with each other can provoke mental discomfort, overload your eyes and brain, cause disturbance and anxiety, disrupt concentration, and drain your productivity without you even realizing it. And vice versa, when all design elements are tuned with one another, your screen will feel harmonious and pleasing, complementing your productive mode. Takeaway As the digital environment we inhabit via our phones is where we spend quite a bit of time daily, its design should naturally be approached as a matter of personal requirements and preferences. Unpersonalized and messy screens can provoke a negatively persuaded, disorienting experience and blur focus and productivity. In contrast, an organized, visually appealing screen with clear accents aligned with your needs will support your mental sharpness and promote your performance. Smartphones have become indispensable tools for a wide variety of work and personal tasks. However, many people admit that mobile devices have also grown into our ultimate distractions, with an endless stream of notifications, an overwhelming number of icons on the screen, and plenty of apps vying for our attention. The issue of maintaining the ‘life-phone’ balance is getting evergreen, but potential controversy can be eliminated – with a responsible and mindful approach. It applies to both quantity and quality aspects, meaning you cut back on screen time when it’s too much, prioritize functional phone usage depending on your professional and leisure needs, and optimize your mobile experience for convenience and efficiency by introducing some screen modifications. As the first two are pretty straightforward, let’s touch upon the third facet more closely and discuss four concentration-promoting and productivity-boosting screen customization strategies that can help you alleviate distractions, stay more focused on your daily to-dos, and reap some extra motivation when using your iPhone. Declutter and Organize Your Screen Space Declutter and Organize Your Screen Space Like your living space, your digital space should be kept in order. Messy environments are shown to trigger stress and induce disorientation and procrastination, thus degrading focus and productivity. Flip through your screen pages indicating the apps you haven’t been using for a couple of months now, and delete them. The accumulation of irrelevant icons provokes digital noise and annoyance, occupying and cluttering your screen space and distracting your eyes from the ones you really need. The next step is organizing your space to address your functional necessities. You can use a ready-to-go home screen pack template for the structure, and fill it out with widgets and icons in your preferred sequence. These visual arrangements will help you eliminate the risk of randomness while browsing your phone, saving time and promoting mental focus. Overall, there are many auxiliary apps available to pick some drafts and ideas. For instance, the MyScreen app provides the whole package of the latest and most creative screen customization features, including themes, wallpapers, widgets, icon packs, keyboards, and more. MyScreen Determine Essential Work and Lifestyle Tools and Set Priorities Determine Essential Work and Lifestyle Tools and Set Priorities Highlighting the things you regularly need for work or leisure activities makes them quickly accessible, promoting concentration on your intentions and speeding up the outcomes. If your main goal is enhancing your screen time for work, prioritize the tools that you actually use for work, think documents, messengers, scanning apps, or other utilities. If your smartphone usage is more lifestyle, ensure easy reach for the stuff you engage with most frequently. You can also add widgets for the things you want to keep at your fingertips or at the top of your mind. For example, you can track the UV index, weather forecast, stock exchange, calendar events, steps count, shopping lists, and more besides standard date and time. Social media icon placement requires special attention as these are the most time-consuming and interrupting apps of all. Consider placing them on the second or third pages of your screen so they don’t spot your eye each time you unlock your phone. You can go further and switch off notifications to avoid random alerts popping up on the screen. These ‘out of sight, out of mind’ tweaks will help you alleviate the presence of social media in your daily life and stay focused on what you are up to. Display Personally Beneficial Content Display Personally Beneficial Content Since your phone screen is something you observe repeatedly during the day, it’s a no-brainer to fill it with content that resonates with your objectives and facilitates your goals. Once the screen space is cleaned and organized, it’s time to review what else can be added to promote your mindfulness and motivation. For example, you can introduce a widget listing your intentions for the day or displaying your progress toward your daily health goals, such as 10K or water intake. Another advantageous tweak is setting the wallpaper, which addresses you personally and appeals to your state of mind. Even with a brief and unintentional eye contact, what we see launches a chain of cognitive and psycho-emotional reactions in the brain. Naturally, as long as you bring a sense of purpose to the table, you can turn your phone screen into a stress reliever, mood booster, source of motivation, or whatever else you’re looking for. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s science-backed that seeing calming nature scenery – even on your phone screen – promotes stress relief and relaxation, funny pictures make you smile, and positive affirmations keep you encouraged and uplifted. MyScreen offers a vast, constantly updating catalog of live and still wallpapers if you need to pick some fresh ideas that capture your eye. MyScreen To enhance the effect, consider dividing the screen area between functional and inspirational constituents. Place the icons above, below, or around the central theme of your wallpaper so they don’t overlap, and you can still see the purposeful part of the picture without barriers. Optimize Color Schemes and Design Elements Optimize Color Schemes and Design Elements The colors and patterns we see can subconsciously impact our mental and emotional states. While your favorite ones are the clear winners, it’s also worth taking into account some common associations. Darker colors can induce gloominess and sadness, while brighter and lighter colors foster happiness and optimism. Calm pastel colors promote serenity and focus, and warm neutrals are comforting and uplifting. Besides, the color choice should not be generalized, as each color has several shades that can induce either positive, neutral, or negative responses in you. Overstimulating bold patterns and combinations of colors that clash with each other can provoke mental discomfort, overload your eyes and brain, cause disturbance and anxiety, disrupt concentration, and drain your productivity without you even realizing it. And vice versa, when all design elements are tuned with one another, your screen will feel harmonious and pleasing, complementing your productive mode. Takeaway Takeaway As the digital environment we inhabit via our phones is where we spend quite a bit of time daily, its design should naturally be approached as a matter of personal requirements and preferences. Unpersonalized and messy screens can provoke a negatively persuaded, disorienting experience and blur focus and productivity. In contrast, an organized, visually appealing screen with clear accents aligned with your needs will support your mental sharpness and promote your performance.
