There’s been a lot of subscribers since the last AIR method installment. If you’re new here- this is my guide to beating smartphone addiction by re-imagining it as a tool. You can find the start here.

AIR Method Overview

Phase V is descending the mountain. You’ve made past the hardest parts, un-hooked yourself from the tendrils of most addictive apps. Take a moment to appreciate the view and the progress you’ve made! Now it’s just a matter of climbing back down the mountain, back to reality and real life. You are ready to start Phase V if:

• You do not have any “junk food” apps on your device anymore.

• You’re still scrolling when bored/stressed/anxious, but the content is more wholesome/educational.

• You’re finding it generally a little easier to put the phone down.

The hardest part now is just sticking with the plan. It’s surprisingly easy to forget the addictiveness of “junk food” apps when they’re not around, and there’s a tendency to become overconfident in your abilities to resist their pull.

Phase V:

1. Do with “whole grain” apps what you previously did with “junk food”.

2. Strengthen Your “Work on Longer-Term Goals” Muscle.

3. Go live your life!

1 - Repeat Phases 3 and 4, but With Your Remaining Entertainment apps.

In earlier phases, the goal was to stop scrolling “junk food” on your phone. Now the goal is to remove all entertainment so that the final re-visualizing of your phone as a tool can fully take shape:

• Look up your average screen times on your “whole grain” entertainment.

• Set your screen time/Digital wellbeing timers to five minutes OVER your average.

• Slowly wind them down in small increments until you’re ready to uninstall.

You should find it’s a lot easier to wind down the “whole grains” as compared to the “junk food” (and that’s the point).

2 - Strengthen Your “Work on Longer-Term Goals” Muscle.

This part of the AIR Method feels a little like work (sorry for lying back in the intro). But now that you have broken the spell of addictive apps, the notion of “getting started on something more meaningful” should feel much more attainable.

If your progress is going anything like mine, eliminating junk food has already dramatically reduced your screen time from what it was, and that time has been filled with more productive tasks.

In Phase III we talked about taking “mini digital detoxes”. But now, as you’re winding down your whole grains timers, you’ll find yourself confronted with open swaths of indefinite time and nothing to scroll. A big reason people pull out their phones in the first place is not because they’re bored, it’s because they’re overwhelmed. Sometimes, even the effort it takes to begin something pleasant —a new novel for example— can feel more burdensome than the instant distractions offered by your phone. Many of us know the feeling of mindlessly taking our devices back out the second we just put it away. That’s because the mental work of choosing something to do is harder than scrolling.

A trick I’ve found useful for times like this is the “Ten Minute Rule”. If you don’t feel like doing something, try it for ten minutes. You may be surprised how easy it gets.

Protip: Be Bored Sometimes

Or, —and this may be a little controversial— but when your timers are up you could also just do nothing. It’s free and doesn’t hurt anyone. For some reason society doesn’t judge someone staring at a screen, but it is very quick to judge someone doing “nothing”. But remember: the desire to “optimize every second” is the same mindset that often leads one to mindless scrolling in the first place because it can simulate feelings of productivity. Be bored. Boredom is broccoli, after all.

Also, I still recommend getting a dedicated tablet for all your whole grain scrolling:

Protip: Be Vigilant

If you do reinstall an app for some reason, just delete it when that reason is over. Remember: your phone is a tool.

It’s pretty easy to stumble backwards down the mountain if you’re not vigilant. You may find yourself re-installing Instagram to get the address of an event, or re-installing TikTok or YouTube to pass the time during an unexpectedly long airport delay and then “forget” to delete the apps after. It’s easy to think “I’m not addicted anymore so it can’t hurt me”, but it’s kinda like when an alcoholic has an uneventful glass of wine at a wedding and they convince themselves this time they’ve got it under control. As the start of this guide reminds us:

“You can try having self-control, but there are a thousand engineers on the other side of the screen working against you.” ― Tristan Harris

An occasional glass of wine doesn’t turn Jeckyll into Hyde. An occasional flip through TikTok won’t kill you either. It’s the habit that’s unhealthy, and these apps are engineered to be habit-forming. You shouldn’t feel afraid of technology or that you need avoid it like the plague, just be aware of how it hooks into your brain and be vigilant to not let the habit re-form by not keeping addictive junk on your device at all times.

Final Step - Go Live Your Life!

That’s it! I’ve taught you all I know. What you do with your time now is up to you.

Please share any feedback on how the AIR Method worked for you, if you have any questions, tips (or tricks) to add, or if there’s anything you’d change!

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Oh also-

If you “relapse” with a specific app, just go back to Phase I, Step 4 of the AIR Method, which is “forgive yourself”. It’s not a failure of your character. This shit is addictive!

It may feel defeating and appear to be a major setback since it took you months to get here, but with the skills you learned along the way you’ll find it’s much easier to get that timer back down to zero than it was the first time.

AIR Method Overview

Phase IV is the top of the mountain. It’s the place you wished you were at the start of this journey. There’s more ground to travel, but it’s downhill from here. If you’re reading this, then you are ready to delete some of those stupid time wasting apps from your phone.

How do you know you are in the right mindset to be on this step?

• You have an app who’s timer has been set at 5 minutes for a while now.

• You are probably no longer spending hours scrolling on your device BUT

• You’re still struggling with the “looking at phone instead of tolerating five minutes of boredom” aspect.

1 - Delete a “junk food” app who’s timer is down to the minimum time.

• Pick the one you’ll miss the least. Make it easy on yourself.

• If a week later you find it’s absence is stressing you out, bring it back.

If you’re only using it five minutes/day anyway it’s not that big a problem, so don’t beat yourself up over it. You will get there eventually.

2 - Don’t delete “whole grain” apps (yet).

Right now, you’re not worrying about trying to quit your addiction, you’re just moving it to from something very unhealthy and difficult to quit, to something healthier and easier to quit. if you need a refresher on the differences between “junk food” and “whole grain” apps, click here:

Stay Grounded

Whole Grain vs. Junk Food Apps

There are two main categories of smartphone apps: tools and entertainment. Tools are the apps that a smartphone is useful for in the real world. Some tools do have addictive elements (email junkies a…

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4 years ago · 8 likes · 4 comments · Justin Hanagan

Unlike real foods, we don’t need to consume anything on our phones at all.

3 - Resist an urge to move too fast.

The big secret to the entire AIR method is to move slowly and thoughtfully. Remember: your brain takes time to adjust to each change. These skills will come in handy when you inevitably find yourself confronted with the addictive parts of smartphones at some time in the future.

It’s important to take your time “going down the mountain” and learn what it’s like to “deescalate”, remember the pool/ladder analogy from the AIR method intro? If you never learn to use a pool ladder you’ll always end up drowning.

You don’t want to live your whole life in fear of smartphones. If you learn what it feels like to download app, get what you need, and delete it again, you’ll never have to worry about becoming fully immersed.

There will probably be a time months or years from now where you accidentally find yourself hooked on some app again, when that time comes remember the skills you learned here. You don’t need to wait for it to become really bad again.

4 - A month later (or whenever you feel comfortable), delete another “junk food” app.

• Again, pick the one you’ll miss the least.

5 - Repeat Phase IV steps 1-4 until all junk food apps are removed

Feeling scrolley? That’s what the “whole grain” apps are for. Don’t overthink it.

It’s important during this phase not to get complacent and feel like the top of the mountain is the end of the journey. Learning how to quit “junk food” is not the same thing as knowing how to cook. Phones are tools, and have positive uses. Being able to use them without getting sucked in is the real goal here.

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AIR Method Overview

This section is not definitive or universal. Depending on your situation, you might not even need this step. You also could probably substitute an old phone or old laptop in lieu of a new purchase. But I bought a tablet. It’s been great.

1. Why I chose a tablet

2. What I bought

3. How to set up a dedicated reading tablet

Why a tablet

I’m the kind of person who likes reading. I enjoy good journalism and short stories. I also like keeping up with the news (but not obsessing over every story of the day). When I started removing apps from my phone I turned to books more often, but when especially tired or burnt-out (ie; the times I normally might turn to the phone) it’s nice to have a dedicated “scrolling device” (that stays at home) I can lean on instead of my phone.

What I got:

I purchased an Amazon Fire HD 8+. It was $100. I also got the wireless charging dock and a fabric cover. The wireless dock is nice because I can just plop the tablet on it next to my books. The cover is nice because I have to open it, so using it feels intentional. It’s about the size and weight of a hardcover.

From a hardware perspective …it’s kind of a crappy tablet. It’s slow and it has Amazon’s awful ad-ridden software (more on that soon). My biggest complaint is that there’s no “night mode” that turns the screen amber1. One advantage of it’s crappiness however, is that I have zero urge to attempt to game, watch videos, or do any kind of multitasking on it.

How to set up your dedicated reading tablet:

Note: if you get an Amazon tablet like I did; make sure you uncheck "Link device to your Amazon account to simplify setup" (screenshot) before adding to cart. When it arrives, do not update the OS; you can’t permanently remove Amazon’s awful software if you do. First use fire toolbox to remove all of the Amazon bloatware apps and install a custom launcher (I like Nova). You may have done something similar to your phone in Phase II.

Wallpaper

Unlike the phone (which should not have any wallpaper and minimal personal touches), give your tablet a background of something that inspires you to read. Remember: Your tablet should be a nice, inviting object that’s more comfortable to hold and spend time with than your phone (which is a tool). But not something you’ll be tempted to mindlessly waste time on. For example, here’s my tablet’s wallpaper.

Apps

Remove all apps from the home screen except for reading. On my home screen I have: a well-curated RSS reader, a separate dedicated news app, Pocket (for short saved articles), Instapaper (for long ones), and an ebook app. Everything else is in the app drawer.

Uninstall all non-whole grain apps, especially if they might tempt you. No video, no shopping, no games2. No junk food! Here's a refresher on what "whole grain" apps are:

Stay Grounded

Whole Grain vs. Junk Food Apps

There are two main categories of smartphone apps: tools and entertainment. Tools are the apps that a smartphone is useful for in the real world. Some tools do have addictive elements (email junkies a…

Read more

4 years ago · 6 likes · Justin Hanagan

The goal of the AIR method is to visualize your phone as a “multitool” used for navigating and interacting with the real world. If you opt to set up a dedicated reading device visualize it as a device purely for reading. Think of it kind of like a magazine. More casual than a book, less stimulating than social media. It won’t fit in a pocket, so you can’t bring it with you just anywhere. Using the tablet is an intentional act (“I am reading now”) but it’s also easy enough to pick up and open during times you might otherwise had be tempted to take out your phone.

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“Many things which cannot be overcome when they are together yield
themselves up when taken little by little.” ― Plutarch

AIR Method Overview

Phase III is the “fat middle” of the AIR method and the part you will spend the most time in by far. As always, don’t focus on how long you’re taking. Live your life and let the river of time carry you.

Now that your device and lifestyle are prepared, you have the best possible footing to begin the process of disassociating your phone as an entertainment device.

The single biggest piece of advice to remember during this step, is to not override your timers or turn them off. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. The timer is the best tool you have. It’s better to simply increase the time allotted than to turn a timer off. Work with your brain, but always stay ahead of it!

1. Slowly decrease the digital wellbeing/screen time timers

2. Learn to recognize your cues

3. Taking mini digital detoxes

4. Periodically remind yourself why you’re doing this

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1 - Slowly decrease the limits on digital wellbeing/screen time timers

At this point you should be used to having the timers around, and have them set at a high enough limit so that you’re only rarely triggering them.

When you are feeling good and grounded, decrease the timers on your “junk food” apps. You can tell when you’re ready by noting which timers you haven’t reached in a while.

• Decrease in small increments, five minutes or so. Short enough that it doesn’t feel shorter. It’s like going into a cold pool inch-by-inch. No shocks to the system here.

• If you have multiple junk food apps, don’t feel you have to shorten all timers at once. A little here… a little there… let it accumulate.

• Don’t put a timer on the “whole grain” apps (yet), they are there for when you run out of time with the junk food apps.

• If you are regularly feeling frustrated at a timer you recently decreased, it’s better to increase the time allotted than to turn the timer off. Strive to always see them as a companion you’re working with, not as an obstacle you are working against. Better to temporarily push back than to remove entirely.

You’ll find that some apps are much easier to reduce. I personally got Instagram down to about ten minutes/day within two months, and with shockingly little FOMO. That surprised me because it was easily my top app screentime-wise. The last ten minutes did take a several more months to get over, but eventually I removed the app entirely and (importantly) I still don’t miss it!

Supplemental Phase III activities:

2 - Identify your cues

Cravings of all kinds rise and fall over time, but it starts with a cue. With smartphones that cue is often as simple as having nothing to immediately entertain you. Recognizing cues is an important part of drug rehab programs, but it works here too:

Craving always starts with a cue—it is triggered by some sight or sound or memory or body sensation associated with the drug or its effects.

3 - Take mini digital detoxes

Next time you find yourself in a moment of of brief, temporary boredom, a moment that would usually trigger you to take out your device- try keeping in your pocket until it ends. Choose a moment you know will end within a few minutes. For example:

• Waiting for the bus/subway.

• When you arrive to a restaurant before a friend does.

• Plain ol’ sittin’ on the toilet.

These little breaks may feel weird and pointless at first, but they are teaching your brain something else it can do in that time. The more often you do it, the less intense the initial boredom feels. You may even come to look forward to these brief periods of quiet as I did.

Take a look around you during these times and notice all the other people staring at their devices. Feel proud you’re not one of them, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

4 - Periodically remind yourself why you’re doing this

Ironically, the closer you get to your goal, the less important it feels, and the easier it becomes to back slide. Surround yourself with material that supports your mission.

• If you’re on Reddit, subscribe to r/nosurf1 to regularly see it in your feed (maybe one day you can leave one of those “Goodbye|[deleted]” posts.)

• Remember that social media companies serve users addictive, toxic material without warning labels.

• And try to automate away the meaningful parts of our relationships.

• And psychologically manipulate content creators into making their art more generic and commercial.

Social media companies are for-profit companies who’s goals don’t fully align with your understanding of reality, or your feelings of stability. Only you can ultimately look out for you.

As you’re slowly chipping away at your timers, it will often feel like you’re not making progress. But part of the point is for this to not to feel like work. Look back at where you started. See that you are not there. If you find yourself frustrated at a lack of progress (and you will sometimes) remind yourself:

It is better to make no progress than to move backwards.

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AIR Method Overview

If you are frequently feeling drained, anhedonic, frazzled, unfocused, etc etc, the first thing you may want to check in on is your sleep quality. Prioritizing sleep is one of the most —if not the most— important thing one can do to maintain mental health.

It’s known that using a smartphone before bed can interfere with your sleep. Most articles will cite the disrupting effect a phone screen’s blue light has on our circadian rhythm, which… is definitely real, but if you ask me- the thing that’s really keeping you up?

The AIR method is comprised of small, incremental steps, that with time, have a cumulative effect. But that said- if I were forced to pick a single step with the largest outsized importance, it is this:

Charge your phone away from your bed, preferably in another room entirely.

There are two benefits to learning how to do this:

1. You’ll fall asleep faster and be less likely to be riddled with anxiety just before entering dreamland.

2. Upon waking, your brain will have a little buffer time to wake up naturally at it’s own pace before getting bombarded with the fire-hose of information from the internet.

If you are used to falling asleep staring at your phone (and grabbing it as soon as you wake up), the whole notion of stopping that may seem insurmountable. But the benefits are very worth it and it is a crucial step on the path to re-learning to see your phone as a tool.

The first few days of no-phone-in-bed can be rough, almost like a drug withdrawal. You’ll likely feel heightened levels of anxiety. Your sleep quality could take a dip for a few days, but the anxiety will pass much faster than you think. Stock up on non-phone forms of entertainment, tell yourself you’re going to try it for a week, and see how it goes.

But… how?

Here are some tips for getting through the first few days:

• Keep a magazine, book, e-reader, comic book, puzzle book, etc. next to your bed. Anything without the internet.

• Pick something that will really interest you. Into visual art/photography? Get a photo book. Whatever might hold your attention enough to resist the phone for those crucial few minutes as you’re getting ready.

• Many people think that when they put the phone down, they should replace it with a challenging book. This is the wrong idea. Get something easy and accessible. Re-read harry Potter, it doesn’t matter!

• Magazines are a good option because contain lots of short articles. It’s kind of like scrolling and easier to transition to if you’re one of those types that prefers “infotainment” apps like Twitter/Reddit.

• Puzzle books are another option for something that can hold attention without feeding into the distraction urge.

• Watching TV before bed isn’t great for sleep either, but because it’s a passive activity it is an improvement over phone use. Try reading material first, but if that doesn’t work, start wherever you can and work your way up.

• If you are getting anxiety even just thinking about going to bed without your phone, try taking some melatonin or a sleeping pill an hour before bed to give you that extra push.

Remember the only permanent solution is un-learning the habit. So do whatever it takes in the short term to build momentum.

It will take some time to get used to, but blocking your device from interfering with your sleep is very important. Good sleep is the single most important factor in having a healthy and clear mind. Don’t beat yourself up if you find it difficult at first, your body and brain will get past it quicker than you might expect.

Going further

See how long you can go in the mornings before checking your phone.

Don’t set a time limit, just see how long you can do it. Try an arbitrary goal, like wait until breakfast, or after your shower. The more time you can give your brain to wake up naturally on it’s own, the better. Those notifications can wait. Nobody is expecting you to get back to them ASAP first thing in the morning. Give your mind some breathing room to find it’s footing for the day before bombarding it with the internet.

If you are able- make your whole bedroom into a “no screens zone”.

Buy an old alarm clock if you need one. Don’t put a TV in there. Keeping a dedicated space in your home for sleep really helps the body shift into it’s own “wind down” mode when you’re in it.

If you live in a dorm, studio apartment, or another situation where you only have one room for everything, take efforts to make the bed itself a no screens zone.

It may seem pointless at first to establish seemingly arbitrary boundaries like this, but it’s important to remember that the companies making apps for your phone are using every teensy little trick they have at their disposal to establish a foothold in your life. Removing physical access to a space you spend about one-third of your life in, is a great starting point to reclaiming your time overall.

Once you re-learn what your bed is for, you’ll get sleepy just being in it. And hopefully you'll still be able to fit in some pre-dream reading time.

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AIR Method Overview

This part of phase II is about preventing your phone and it’s apps from reaching out of the device and into your life. It’s about building and enforcing boundaries.

Give your mind at least the chance to relax and enter it’s creative mode. At this part of the journey it won’t happen often, but it can’t happen at all unless the interruptions into your life are stopped.

1. Turn off/silence notifications

2. Set up “wind down” mode before bed

3. Charge phone away from your bed

4. Set up a “Digital well being” or “App limits” timer

5 - Turn off/silence as many notifications as possible.

The most insidious thing apps do is actively try to distract you and trick you into opening them when you’re doing something else. Let’s be honest- you’re probably checking your phone every 5-10 minutes anyway, you’re not going to miss anything important by turning off notifications.

• For apps you’d like to be notified on eventually (email, etc), make the notifications silent, but still visible in the notifications bar. You’ll see it next time you unlock the device.

• For the most addictive apps, try turning off push notifications altogether. You’re probably going to be opening that app very soon anyway. Do you really need to be instantly notified every time someone reacts to a story?

• Even a desired notification (For example, a call or text) can cause you to see a notification from a “junk food” app and get sucked in.

6 - Set up a “wind down” mode before bed:

Depending on the level of addiction, this step might be harder. But getting good sleep is critical to preventing that burnt-out feeling that causes backsliding and the cyclical anxiety loops.

• Turn the screen amber at sunset (Android: “Night Light”, iOS: “Night Shift”)

  • Studies show that exposure to blue light can prevent your body from inducing sleep.

• Grey scale an hour before you usually go to bed.

  • Grey scale not only makes scrolling apps like Instagram/TikTok more boring, it serves as a subtle reminder that bed time is coming soon.

• Silence all notifications (or turn your phone off) at bedtime.

7 - Charge your phone away from where you sleep

There are two benefits to this: one is re-learning to fall asleep without the distraction, the other is giving your mind a chance to wake up naturally at it’s own pace before it gets bombarded with information from the web.

• Lessons for learning how to sleep without your phone.

It will take some time to get used to, but blocking your device from interfering with your sleep is very important. Good sleep is the single most important factor in having a healthy and clear mind. Don’t beat yourself up if you find it difficult at first, your body will get past it quicker than you might expect.

8 - Set up a timer on your “junk food” apps

Do you have the app times you wrote down in phase one? Here’s where we use them:

• Figure out the average time/day you’re spending on “junk food” apps. (Keep the “whole grain” apps limitless for now)

• Set the “Digital well being” or “App limits” timer to ten minutes ABOVE your average use.

The idea for now is just getting used to having the timer around. It’s extremely important you do not allow yourself to perceive the timer as an obstacle or irritation. It is the single most helpful tool at your disposal and if you come in too aggressively you can ruin it’s benefit.

Give yourself some time (a month at least) to get used to having the timer around. If you find you’re hitting the limit every day, increase the limit until you’re only hitting it about once per week. Remember- not rushing through these steps is important.

When the timer warns you that you’ve reached your daily limit, you want your initial reaction to be gratitude for it’s help, not irritated at the impedance. If you are getting irritated every time, increase the timer a little.

When you’ve gotten used to all the phone changes, and having the timer around, you’re ready for Phase III, where the real changes can begin.

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AIR Method Overview

Phase II is installing some obstacles and removing others. The techniques here are the ones often presented as “the way to cure smartphone addiction”, but in reality they’re just the start.

This phase of the AIR method is the equivalent of filling your fridge with a bunch of vegetables before “getting in shape”. It’s like getting a nice pair of running shoes, or putting some workout equipment in your basement. You are creating the conditions most likely to induce change.

1. Download “whole grain” apps

2. Curate existing “junk food” apps

3. Remove “junk food” apps from home screen

4. Make home screen as minimal as possible

1 - Download some “whole grain” apps

“Whole grain apps” are entertainment apps that are less addictive and more mentally nourishing than your typical “junk food” apps. Apps like educational games, a curated RSS feed, or a (healthy) news app are considered “whole grain”.

• Identifying “whole grain” vs “junk food” apps.

• Set up a curated RSS feed reader to binge on instead.

  ---

2 - Curate your “junk food” apps to make them less enticing.

Even the most addictive apps have a variety of content on them that’s not as bad. Follow the content that nourishes your soul and un-follow the things that make you feel worse. Some examples:

• Turn Instagram into a resource for community connection.

• Turn Reddit into an educational source for niche hobbies and interests

• Make Twitter easier to quit

Remind yourself that social media companies do not get to determine who you are friends with, and that it’s OK to un-follow someone if the content they post upsets you in some way. Unfollowing someone does not mean you don’t care about them. Only that you care about yourself.

• Social Media’s False promise to automate your relationships

  ---

3 - Remove the “junk food” apps from your main phone screen

They can still be accessed from the app drawer, but the extra few taps add a small barrier to entry, but more importantly you are making these apps less likely to remind you they exist every time you unlock your device for some unrelated purpose.

• Identifying “whole grain” vs “junk food” apps.

4 - Make your home screen as minimal as possible

Remember: your device is a multitool used to serve functions. There is no need for it to be attractive to you.

• Set your wallpaper to solid black

• Only have home screen shortcuts for tool-oriented apps (like camera, calculator, phone, maps, music player, etc.) Put all other apps in the app drawer.

• Same goes for widgets, only use widgets with a real-world application like weather, calendar, note-taking, etc.

• (Android only) Install a customizable launcher1 that allows you to remove UI elements like Google’s feed, and change your icon set to something less eye-catching.

  

Before adding something to your home screen, ask yourself: “Is this something that will help me in the real world?” If the answer is “no” or “not in my daily life”, then you don’t need to be presented with it every time you unlock your device.

Some of the steps here take a little time to set up, so don’t feel like you need do everything all at once. Some individual steps might feel basically useless, but it’s the cumulative nature of these actions that’s important.

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Stay Grounded

The AIR method - Phase II (Part II)

This part of phase II is about preventing your phone and it’s apps from reaching out of the device and into your life. It’s about building and enforcing boundaries. Give your mind at least the chance to relax and enter it’s creative mode. At this part of the journey it won’t happen often, but it can’t happen…

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4 years ago · Justin Hanagan

There are two main categories of smartphone apps: tools and entertainment.

Tools are the apps that a smartphone is useful for in the real world. Some tools do have addictive elements (email junkies anyone?), but for an app to be considered a tool it must serve a purpose outside of the internet. A screwdriver, no matter how beautiful, doesn’t just exist purely to be looked at and consumed. Neither should a phone.

Everything else should be recognized as entertainment, but not all entertainment is created equal. And identifying where on the spectrum of entertainment an app lies is a key step on the path to rewiring your brain to visualize your smartphone as a tool.

“Junk Food” apps:

The candy of the smartphone world. The kind of apps that are extremely inviting to just snack on for a few minutes, but then before you know it- an hour (or more!) has passed. And not only do you never feel satisfied after using them, you somehow come out feeling even more depleted.

Examples:

• Instagram

• TikTok

• Facebook

• Snapchat

• Twitter

• Reddit

• Most mobile games

Junk food apps are the most tempting to open, most addictive once opened, and the least nourishing types of apps. Everyone is different, but you probably already know exactly which app(s) are the junkiest for you.

“Whole Grain” apps:

Whole grain apps are still entertainment at their core, but a healthier kind. They are less tempting to open and easier to put down. If you’ve been consuming a majority “junk food” diet, transitioning to a healthier “whole grain” mental diet is an important first step towards re-visualizing you phone as a tool, and regaining a sense of control over your own attention.

Examples of whole grain apps:

• A healthy, non-sensational news app

• Curated RSS Reader

• Pocket/Instapaper

• Educational games

• E-Books (if you can read on a screen)

• Audiobooks/Podcasts

Making Junk food less junky

Junk food apps are designed in a way that they can never be whole grains, but they can be curated to make them a little less junky:

• Curate Instagram into a resource for community connection.

• Curate Reddit to be less high-stress

Nobody will know if you’re scrolling pure junk food or whole grains (it’s still entertainment) but the less addictive nature of these apps makes it easier to put the phone down. It’s not end of the journey, but the whole point of the AIR method is to make “putting your phone down” feel natural.

And in those moments of weakness where you pull out your phone to ease temporary boredom, you can tell yourself “I may not be ‘fully present in this moment’- but at least I’m learning something!”

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Like mobile games, podcasts also exist on a spectrum of “Hot garbage ↔ Academic Term Paper”, but for the purposes of this guide, we’re assuming that even the trashiest of them are going to be less addicting and time-wasting than something like TikTok.

AIR Method Overview

Phase one is finding your footing. It may seem trivial, but knowing is just as important as doing. If you’re reading these words, there is a change you want to make. Understanding and identifying your specific situation is key to later recognizing progress.

Phase I:

1. Acknowledgement of a problem

2. Identification of it

3. Understanding how and why it came to be.

4. Forgive yourself

5. Recording time spent on unwanted apps.

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Step 1: Acknowledging that you have a problem

You have likely completed this step already, or you wouldn’t be here. You’re also probably aware being honest with yourself is not as easy as it sounds. Our brains can really jump through some wild hoops to justify unhealthy behaviors. Getting down to the “brass tacks” is a big, hard step and you should feel good for completing it!

Step 2: Identify your specific problem

Take a moment to double-check that you even have a problem. Smartphones are addictive, but addiction only becomes a problem if it’s interfering with some aspect of how you want to live your life.1

Ask yourself, what is my smartphone taking away from? Ability to focus? Confidence, and a positive self-image? Time spent on more fulfilling activities? Deeper and more meaningful relationships? Self esteem? Take a mental “before pic” of the feelings you have now, because it will help you recognize when you’ve moved past them.

Step 3: Understand this stuff is designed to be addictive and is being pushed on you.

Smartphone apps would already be extremely addictive even if the companies that own them didn’t tweak and enhance their addictive potential to it’s absolute max. Imagine apps without:

• Bright, eye catching, candy-colored icons.

• Frequent push notifications

• Non-chronological algorithmically generated timelines

Many apps are addictive by nature, and then for-profit companies make them even more addictive with AI-powered algorithms. Remember: the goal of these companies is to maximize the time you spend on their apps. Not to educate, not to quell anxiety, not to spread facts or represent reality. Not to help you, but to use you.

Step 4: Forgive yourself for falling into this. It’s not your fault.

As previously stated, addictive smartphone apps are totally legal, designed to be enticing, designed to be addictive, and algorithmically-tweaked to minimize all possible barriers on the path to addiction. Frankly, it would be more surprising if you weren’t hooked at this point. So forgive yourself for being here.

Beating yourself up is not only mentally exhausting, but is likely to increase the negative, anxious feelings that trigger you to get caught up scrolling in the first place. It’s counter productive, so be kind to yourself. Facebook Meta certainly isn’t.

Step 5: Write down how long you are spending on certain apps.

Look at your worst offenders and write the number down somewhere. We’ll need it in phase II. Yes, it might embarrass you, but we’re being honest with ourselves- remember?

iPhone: Settings > Screen Time > See All Activity

Android: Open Settings > Digital wellbeing > Dashboard

That’s it for Phase I. Take some time before going to phase II. Sit with the information and think about how it makes you feel. Throughout this guide, try to resist the urge to leap ahead. Knowing can happen fast, but the processes of understanding and absorbing can’t be forced. So take some days and consider what you thought of today. Keep it simmering on the back-burner while living your life as normal.

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Stay Grounded

The AIR Method - Phase II (Part I)

Phase II is installing some obstacles and removing others. The techniques here are the ones often presented as “the way to cure smartphone addiction”, but in reality they’re just the start. This phase of the AIR method is the equivalent of filling your fridge with a bunch of vegetables before “getting in shape”. It’s like getting a nice pair of running s…

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4 years ago · Justin Hanagan

“You can try having self-control, but there are a thousand engineers on the other side of the screen working against you.” ― Tristan Harris

Begin Here

Outline/roadmap

Much digital ink has been spilled concerning how social media/smartphone addiction is unhealthy for individuals and society, but there exist few tutorials on how to actually quit. What does exist tends to be laughably inadequate clickbait pieces that only provide one small part of the solution.

The AIR method is what I learned from three years of trial-and-error. It is a practical step-by-step method for people with lives (and battered attention spans) to mentally re-associate the smartphone as a tool to be used as needed, not an entertainment device to alleviate boredom. It is a series of low-effort, incremental changes who’s effects accumulate over time.

Philosophy:

Do you ever stare blankly at a screwdriver when you’re tired or bored? Do you get anxiety leaving the house without one or fret about what your friends are using their screwdrivers for? By re-learning to see your phone as a tool, you can break the cycle of emotional dependence and no longer lean on your phone to ease boredom or stress.

FAQ

What does AIR stand for?

A.I.R. stands for:

“Accumulative, Incremental, Rewiring”.

Un-learning a habit takes time. It is one of those things that cannot be automated, sped up, or “optimized”. In fact- an urge to seek immediate satisfaction is the exact habit this guide is meant to help you overcome. By learning to control our learned impatience, we can become less anxious, less depressed and more grounded.

How much time/willpower will this take?

Time: about a year (maybe more). Total willpower: while not being absolutely zero, is statistically insignificant. If done correctly you should not ever feel “deprived”. This isn’t a diet. You won’t need to feel hungry all the time.

Visualize yourself as being carried along a network of rivers. Use your willpower to hang onto the raft and not fall out. With a few well-timed rudder tweaks you can let the river of time do the hard work and still end up where you want to be. Between the adjustments you can live your life as normal.

Why focus on smartphones?

You may find (like I did) that removing addictive content from your phone is enough to significantly reclaim much of your time and feelings of control. Our phones are constantly with us, but also something many of us are unwilling or unable to go without for long periods. Being able to be reached in an emergency is important, many of us need some apps during work hours, etc. Restructuring my life and buying a “dumbphone” was not a viable option.

Why not Cold Turkey?

Some people do find success with simply deleting all accounts or buying a dumbphone. But quitting without learning how to deescalate makes it very easy for one moment of weakness to cause you to fall whole-cloth back into old habits, even after months of abstention. If the only way you learned how to enter a pool is to jump off the diving board, you will always end up completely immersed. The AIR method teaches how to use the metaphorical ladder, so you can go in (and more importantly, out) only to the degree needed.

“One day at a time”

This may take you more time than you’d hoped, but don’t be dissuaded. It is a series of very small, absurdly easy, baby steps forward. It may not feel like you’re making progress sometimes, and that’s the point. There won’t be a grand moment of revelation or a graduation ceremony, but there will come a moment when you realize you’ve arrived where you’ve wanted to be.

Can I skip ahead if I’m feeling good about my progress?

Move ahead cautiously. You may feel confident now, but consider your potential future self who is more bored/tired/anxious/depressed than you are. Your job is to give your subconscious brain time to re-wire itself. That process cannot be sped up.

Willpower only works in short bursts. It can’t be used long-term without exhausting you, which can cause you to seek stress-reducing behavior such as zoning out on your phone, undoing the work put in. Save your energy to prevent backsliding. When you feel discouraged remember this mantra:

Not making progress is still better than moving backwards.

Begin Here

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Introduction

• Philosophy and FAQ

Phase I: Understanding

• Forgiveness, identifying your personal goal, and recording screen time.

Phase II: Preparation

• Making changes to your device to make it less attractive and more tool-like.

• Revoking your phone’s ability to interrupt your life.

Phase III: Incremental cumulative changes

• Slowly decrease the “junk food” timers in small increments

Phase IV: Moving beyond the Phone

• Downloading “whole-grain” apps to a dedicated scrolling device.

• Begin deleting “junk food” apps that have been sitting at the minimum time.

Phase V: Final clean-up

• Back on the phone, repeat phase III but with the “whole grain” apps.

Continuing education

• Keeping your digital sustainable without feeling deprived

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