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so when i posted the fancy event ushiten last week, there were multiple people immediately trying to get them into the met gala. since it is the season and all, I decided to doodle red carpet looks for a few haikyuu characters!! :3

there's an app called one sec which BLOCKS all other apps on your phone. It can also restrict specific apps. It injects a delay in opening the apps - you can customise the message and delay length.

Android (One UI, maybe just samsung, I'm not sure) phones have settings that can whitelist specific apps during specific times or when a particular "mode" is active. This is under Modes and Routines.

In my experience these are the only ADHD apps that work.

More ADHD pro tips: uninstall as many apps as possible

Set your browser to close tabs automatically after a certain amount of time inactive (mine is 7 days I think). If you REALLY need the open tab, bookmark it.

If you really need the delay, set your phone/ computer browsers to clear cookies daily. This will force you to need to log in to websites every day. This introduces DELAY and FRICTION between you and the easy, habitual distractions.

DELAY and FRICTION are short term solutions. The habits run pretty deep and humans can get used to anything; you'll figure out ways to go around the blockers you put in place in time, and you'll need to create new blockers. Use the time to address the longer term ROOT CAUSES, because that's what's gonna actually make it stick.

ROOT CAUSES is harder. What would you rather be doing, if you weren't on your phone? Journal. Journal a lot. Take long solitary walks (LEAVE PHONE AT HOME!) and try to figure out what you really think, what you really want, when you're not on your phone.

I find I tend to use the phone to Escape. I have worked pretty hard to build a life I don't always want to escape from, as well as some mindsets. I know another very common mode is Seeking, and whatever you're trying to find in Phone chances are it's not there.

I will second One Sec, though! The delay on opening apps is helpful when you’re stuck in that loop of opening an app, closing it, and then immediately opening it again. Plus they have ways of blocking apps that are harder to get around than the built in screen time limitations.

I like to read fanfiction in bed and will stay up all night. If I have it hard block after a certain time, I’ll get all grumpy and defiant and decide I don’t need to listen to that and turn it off. So instead, starting at a certain time, I can only open the app for fifteen minute increments, but as many of them as I want. I have to wait 12 seconds between opens and a screen comes up to encourage me to do a round of box breathing, and then I can open Firefox again. After 8 opens, I have a new setting to only allow five minutes at a time, AND each time I open the app it adds 10 seconds to the wait before I can open it again. That means if I really really want to finish a chapter I can buy the friction gets worse and worse each time until I’m waiting well over a minute to open it again. Usually once it’s over a minute I’m out of “the zone” enough that it’s pretty easy to decide I can stop reading and go to sleep.

Anyway I’m a huge fan, it helps so so much and has dramatically improved my quality of life around phone use.