The case for a smaller home screen
I deleted 41 apps in one evening. Three months later I've reinstalled four. Here's what the rest taught me about attention.
Idris Kaan
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I counted 63 apps on my phone one Sunday night and deleted 41 of them before bed.
The rule was simple: if I couldn’t remember opening it this month, it went. Banking, maps and the camera stayed. Almost everything else could be reached from a browser.
Three months on I have reinstalled four: the train app, a parking app, a scanner and a podcast player. I haven’t missed the other 37.
The surprise was how quiet the phone became. A smaller home screen is not a productivity trick. It is a way of deciding, once, what deserves to interrupt you.
Written by
Idris Kaan
Idris is a product designer in Rotterdam. He writes about tools, screens and the habits they shape.
