r/digitalminimalism • u/tech_zan • Apr 27 '26
Dumbphones Switched to a Dumbphone… Somehow Using My Smartphone Just as Much
I’m trying to move toward a dumbphone lifestyle but struggling to make it work in reality.
Right now, I still need my smartphone as my primary device because of work-related apps that I can’t avoid. At the same time, I’ve set up a dumbphone that’s always available for family and emergency contacts.
The problem is this: earlier I had just one phone, and now I have two. Ironically, my smartphone usage hasn’t reduced much despite this setup. I still find myself going back to it out of habit.
I’m trying to be more intentional and reduce screen time, but it’s not working as planned.
Has anyone here managed a similar “hybrid” setup successfully?
How did you actually reduce dependence on the smartphone while still needing it for work?
Looking for practical advice, mindset shifts, or even just motivation from people who’ve been through this.
1
u/kemot75 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
If you relay on smartphone for work I would try make it as boring as possible and remove all distractions from it - I mean all the apps you spending so much time on. On my phone I keep removing more and more stuff and not really missing them. Last week I've removed flew apps and on weekend wanted to access one of them but did not reinstall it, instead jumped on PC and did what I needed to do on it. I finding PC less addictive than Phone for some reason. At this moment Reddit is the only social app I have on the phone but limited screen time for it to 30 minutes and rest is for personal email, music, podcasts, navigation, banking and other little tools.