Reasons to Simplify Your Phone Home Screen

Simplifying your phone screen will help reduce decision fatigue, clear visual clutter, and serve as a visual reminder of how you really want to be using your phone.

1. Reduce Decision Fatigue

Studies have shown that decision fatigue (i.e., the cumulative number of decisions made in a day) decreases mental energy and willpower.

Organizing your home screen reduces decision fatigue by narrowing the total number of apps available, and makes them quickly accessible in clearly labeled folders.

2. Reduce Visual Clutter

By moving only but frequently-used apps—and organizing them into clearly labeled folders—visual clutter is reduced every time you pick up your phone.

3. Visual Reminder of How You Want to Use Your Phone

By removing tempting apps from your home screen—and using a wallpaper photo that reminds you of how you want to feel—simplifying your screen will serve as a visual reminder of how you want to use your phone.

How to Simplify Your Phone Home Screen in 4 Steps

Simplifying your home phone screen couldn’t be easier. Here’s how to do it in four simple steps.

1. Organize Apps Into Folders

Create folders for your most commonly used apps.

The total number of folders is up to you; I like to use four to further reduce visual clutter.

Move all other apps to your second phone screen or beyond.

2. Add Commonly Used Apps to Bottom Bar

Move most commonly used apps to the bottom navigation bar for quick access.

3. Set Wallpaper to Favorite Photo

Set your home screen wallpaper to a photo that evokes a positive emotion.

A calming landscape, a favorite vacation, your pet, partner, or child.

Allow the photo to serve as a daily reminder of how you want to use your phone.

4. Weekend Mode: Only What’s Essential

On the weekend or other times you’d like to reduce the amount of time spend on your phone, move all non-essential or tempting apps off the home screen.

Studies have shown that making a habit more difficult increases the chances you’ll break it.

Moving the apps will make them slightly more difficult to access, and give you a moment to reflect on whether you really want/need to open them.

At the end of the weekend, move the apps back to your home screen, if you wish.

Share Your Simplified Screen

Once you’ve simplified your screen I want to see it!

Tag @realfoodwholelife and use the hashtag #simplfiiedscreen

Here’s to focusing on the essential!

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