In my quest for a distraction-free workday my biggest downfall is having "just a quick peek" at Twitter, Instagram or one of a multitude of news apps. I'm always one tap away from @jvn's latest outfit or Trump's most recent outburst and it's tempting to give in. So I downloaded the latest version of digital wellness app Flipd with hopes of successfully "flipping off" my smartphone.
Flipd has two main modes: Light Lock and Full Lock. The former nudges you towards spending time off your phone but should will power fail you, it will allow you to exit with a guilt-inducing notification. The latter is the one for me: Full Lock allows you to set a custom time – anywhere from 5 minutes to 12 hours – ensuring you are locked out of all downloaded apps.
After 10 minutes I’d completely forgotten and automatically reached for my phone, tapped to the home screen and then on Twitter. Twitter didn’t load, instead I found myself staring at the Flipd countdown screen for time well spent. What a way to jolt one into the realisation that they are frittering away their days on mindless tapping and scrolling. We all need this app.
