Your phone becomes powerful the moment you stop accepting its defaults. Start by stripping away nonessential notifications; every alert you silence is a little piece of your attention reclaimed. Move the most distracting apps off your home screen, or into folders, and reserve the front page for tools that serve you: calendar, notes, camera, maps, habits. Turn on Do Not Disturb during deep work, meals, and sleep so your time has borders again.

Next, use built‑in features as quiet guardrails. Screen time limits, focus modes, and app timers aren’t punishments; they’re reminders of the life you meant to live offline. Replace idle checks with intentional rituals: a morning review of your day, a single afternoon message block, an evening photo or journal entry. Your phone will always ask for more of you. With a few deliberate choices, you can finally start asking more of it.