Distractions often peak in the evening for various reasons—fatigue, the need to unwind, and, simply, laziness. According to statistics, the highest engagement on social networks, the time when users are most active, occurs between 6 pm and 9 pm—the time when we're most receptive.
Given the ease of succumbing to the temptation of lingering on social media without realizing the passing evening, several strategies can help gradually eliminate screen time before bedtime. You asked us to do it, so we did!
We'll explain how to make your phone less distracting and, most importantly, how to automate the process to protect not just one evening but ALL your evenings!
Automatically Turn Your iPhone into Dumb Mode
🕥 Set up a "Sleep Cycle"!
What if your phone could automatically turn itself off, ensuring you get at least 8 hours of sleep? Well, it's possible, and it's free!
To do this, set up a "Sleep Cycle" on your iPhone. Don't worry; it's not only straightforward but also step-by-step explained.
You can use either the "Clock" application or "Apple Health" for this. Configuring Sleep Cycle is simple: input your wake-up time and desired sleep duration. Experts recommend an average of 8 hours of sleep per night for adults and around 9 hours for teenagers (up to 10 hours for children).
Once you've provided these details, Sleep Cycle will suggest a bedtime based on your input. Confirm if suitable or manually adjust using the slider. Feel free to modify it anytime from the Clock application. Don't forget to set an alarm ringtone before confirming!
🌙 Create and Use a Focus Filter "Sleep"
The second step is to make your phone as minimally distracting and attractive as possible at bedtime. After all, picking up the phone should not be too enticing!
Prepare for bedtime by utilizing a "Focus Filter." Since iOS 15, you can associate an automation with your alarm clock to temporarily modify your phone. This feature is 100% free and included in your iPhone (iOS 15+).
To do this, navigate to your iPhone Settings, then "Focus."
Select the "🛏️ Sleep" filter. A screen will appear detailing the actions triggered by this automatic filter.
To maximize your sleep phase, here are our recommended settings:
🔕 Cut ALL notifications
One of the major phone-related issues is not controlling others' actions, especially notifications tied to their activities. Turning them off, at least while you're asleep, prevents disturbances.
Note that you can retain notifications for specific contacts and apps for emergencies (iMessages & Phone). Add important contacts under "People" and essential "Apps" that won't be affected by the filter. We recommend adding the Jomo app.
Press "Options" below to access the detailed notification menu. For our part, we've chosen to turn everything off!
🌚 Choose a dark & non-distracting wallpaper
To make your phone even less appealing, opt for a new iPhone wallpaper with a dark background. The goal is to fall asleep quickly!
Meanwhile, remove all non-essential applications from your home screen so that there's no reflex to use it (or at least not as impulsively).
To change the wallpaper, press "Edit" below the wallpaper, then select from the various suggestions or create your own!
Next, to change the displayed apps, press "Edit" below the right-hand screen. Again, the iPhone will provide various suggestions. Choose one of them! (We chose option 1).
🔒 Associate a Jomo blocking session
If you don't already have Jomo on your iPhone, now's the time to download it for free! To prevent watching videos until noon or scrolling through networks, add a blocking session with Jomo. This way, Jomo will automatically block the apps of your choice when it's bedtime!
To do this, first, create a "Template" session on the Jomo app. Detailed instructions are available in this article.
Once created, press "Add Filter," select Jomo, and tick your pre-created session template.
🔦 Switch to dark mode
Again, the goal is to minimize blue light. Avoid bright screens just before sleep by automatically switching your phone to dark mode with this focus filter.
Simply press "Add Filter," then "Dark Mode," and tick "Dark."
🪫 Save your battery while you sleep
As a little bonus, since we don't charge the phone at night, we set our phone to "Battery Saver" mode with the Focus Filter.
To do this, press "Add Filter" again, then "Low Power Mode."
Going Further With Shortcuts
If that's still not enough, you can add an automation that turns your phone into grayscale when it's bedtime. Watching black and white content is unpleasant, and our brains know it! By switching your phone to black and white, you're once again reducing its appeal and addictiveness.
🖤 Switch to black & white mode automatically
Before setting up the automation, configure a tiny detail! Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. Activate it, then check "Greyscale" and deactivate it. That's it!
Next, use the "Shortcut" application (100% free with your iPhone, a service provided by Apple).
Open Shortcuts, then select Automation > "New automation."
In the list, choose "Sleep" > "Wind Down Begins" and check "Run immediately," then press Next.
Next, press "New Blank Automation" > "Add Action," then type "Set Color Filters" and select this action.
Press "On" to obtain "Turn color filters ON," then press "Done."
Now do the same in reverse to automatically turn off black & white mode when you wake up.
Open Shortcuts, then select Automation > "New automation."
In the list, choose "Sleep" > "Waking Up" and check "Run immediately," then press Next.
Next, press "New Blank Automation" > "Add Action," then type "Set Color Filters" and select this action.
Press "On" and choose "OFF" to obtain "Turn color filters OFF," then press "Done."
And that's how it looks in pictures! Doesn't it make you want to put down your phone and forget about it for a good night's sleep? 😴 'Cause to me it works … 💤 … perfe… 💤 ctly… 💤
🔗 Focus Filter on iOS ; Shortcuts on iOS
✋ Illustrations by Jomo ; Photography Unsplash
Made with love in Brittany