This $50 Gadget Bricked My Iphone And Altered My Relationship With It (for The Better)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Brick is simply a $55 instrumentality that blocks you from accessing your most-used apps
• It helped maine create a amended narration to my phone
• Its affirmative reinforcements activity amended than competitors aliases Screen Time limits.

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As each facet of our moving and societal life is digitized, surface addiction has go little an objection to our measurement of surviving and much a wide accepted characteristic of it. I spot this astir commonly erstwhile I inquire my friends, family, and coworkers really galore hours a time they walk connected their phones. The answers alteration from 3 to 8 hours. 

I mean astir 4 hours of my time connected my phone, checking emails, responding to texts, scrolling societal media, and checking nan weather. That's 4 hours I could beryllium spending reference a book, penning an article, learning really to foretell nan weather, calling a loved one, and doing thing too checking nan clip suck and encephalon rot that is societal media sites and messaging apps. 

Also: I gave up my iPhone for a dumbphone pinch nary apps. A period later, here's my take

Every October, arsenic mean daylight dwindles and my power levels deplete, this emotion of learned helplessness astatine nan hands of exertion comes to a head. I person nary power to get up from my bed. It takes maine a while to build nan courageousness to transit to nan gym. What do I do instead? I beryllium connected my furniture and I scroll. 

I scroll done financial proposal posts telling maine that I should beryllium investing measurement much successful nan marketplace than I already am, I scroll done engagements and weddings my erstwhile classmates are celebrating, I scroll done reactionary contented strangers station connected nan net for clicks, and I scroll done immoderate of nan astir sinister news my eyes tin spot and my encephalon tin fathom. All this contented is jumbled together, and I fto it lavation complete maine for illustration I'm lying connected nan sands of a pathetic ocean. 

Once I scope this point, I delete my societal media apps. I effort to put my telephone successful different room while I work, eat, and do chores astir nan house. I create a stricter schedule and unit myself to time off nan location more. Then, a week aliases 2 later, erstwhile I've returned to my natural, stable, ripen, not rotten, brain, I redownload each these apps. Perhaps it's conscionable a fewer weeks aliases months, but nan rhythm continues.

Also: 6 mini steps I return to break my telephone addiction - and you tin too 

I person tried nan clip limits, nan app blockers, and utilizing societal media connected a browser alternatively of nan app itself. So this October, I tried thing new. I had seen sum of nan institution Brick and its miracle-working device that efficaciously locks users retired of their high-demand apps. People had claimed nan minimalistic, magnetic cube gave them their clip back. I'll beryllium nan judge of that, I thought to myself. 

The folks astatine Brick sent maine a device, which I instantly began testing upon reception and person been for nan past fewer weeks. TL:DR? This instrumentality has done numbers connected my narration pinch my astir addictive apps. Here's how.

How it works 

Brick is simply a gray, magnetic quadrate pinch a compatible app. Upon downloading nan app, a personification selects nan apps they want to disable erstwhile their telephone is bricked. Brick utilizes NFC technology, which is besides recovered successful contactless payments, integer wallets for illustration Apple Pay, and unafraid entree controls, specified arsenic integer keycards utilized to summation introduction into buildings, to alteration and disable app use. Tapping nan brick, aliases "bricking," blocks nan usage of these apps until nan telephone is tapped erstwhile again and "unbricked."

Also: 6 mini steps I took to break my telephone addiction - and you tin too

You tin group up schedules to artifact apps during circumstantial times of nan time and modes to artifact definite kinds of apps. I began testing nan merchandise by creating a mode that blocks my most-used apps, namely Messages, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 

Brick gives you 5 free "unbricks" you tin usage successful an emergency, erstwhile you aren't adjacent nan beingness Brick. 

My acquisition 'Bricking' my iPhone

I haven't group up a schedule yet, because I'm satisfied bricking my instrumentality upon my ain volition and unbricking erstwhile I request to cheque messages aliases posts from friends. Bricking nan instrumentality erstwhile I admit my ain request for region from my telephone felt for illustration an easy first measurement astatine curbing my telephone addiction. A schedule felt excessively stringent. I tin spot nan scheduling characteristic becoming handier erstwhile I've spent respective weeks bricking my telephone and developed little of a reliance connected regularly checking it, of which I'm still moving on. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

My telephone usage is nan worst (and makes maine consciousness nan worst) while I'm astatine home. Scrolling done societal media betwixt subway stops aliases checking messages occasionally astatine nan agency isn't my issue. It's nan hours I walk wasting erstwhile I get location from a engaged time of work, aliases nan clip I walk wasting distant connected nan weekends that I could beryllium dedicating to hobbies. 

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So that's wherever I chiefly usage nan Brick. My roommates, however, person utilized nan Brick earlier reference astatine nan park, and they reported that it helped them attraction longer. One Monday night, I bricked my telephone and past diary for 90 minutes, wholly and perfectly undisturbed. 

I emotion bricking my telephone earlier bedtime, which, successful nan words of my roommate, feels for illustration "shutting nan location machine down astatine nan extremity of nan night." Every truthful often, I'll beryllium lying successful furniture and remembering I want to cheque an app aliases nonstop a text. 

Doing truthful would unit maine retired of my bed, down a agelong hallway, and into nan room to unbrick my phone. It made maine reconsider my telephone usage decisions. 

In nan morning, aft waking, I'll spell to my kitchen, wherever my Brick is stuck connected nan fridge, and unbrick my phone. This gives maine astir an hr earlier work, during which I tin drawback up connected messages and nan regular happenings. 

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Then, erstwhile I statesman work, I ceramic my telephone again. After astatine slightest an hr of zero distractions, I'll reward myself pinch a speedy unbrick. I cheque my messages aliases scroll for a fewer minutes and rebrick. It's for illustration nan Pomodoro effect, but for telephone addiction. 

Working without nan changeless pings aliases easy entree to societal media reminds maine of nan productivity I would person while doing my homework connected an airplane earlier Wi-Fi became disposable -- that undeterred, distraction-free benignant of productivity and clearheadedness that comes pinch disconnection from nan extracurricular world.  

Why it useful for me

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Brick makes entree to my most-used apps a privilege I consciousness for illustration I must gain done patience, alternatively than thing I tin return for granted whenever I'd like. It besides reminds maine that nan number of times I cheque my telephone to spot if personification has reached retired is disproportionate to nan number of notifications I person per hour. In short, location is nary request for maine to beryllium checking it arsenic often arsenic I am. 

Unlike a surface clip notification aliases limit, which is enabled erstwhile personification reaches their regular app limit, Brick positively reinforces my clip spent without my apps. A widget pops up erstwhile you ceramic your device, displaying a timer showing really agelong you've been offline since bricking. 

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It straight contrasts nan antagonistic reinforcement that is nan "You've reached your regular Instagram limit" notifications I person done Screen Time. In nan app, you tin besides spot really overmuch clip you've spent bricking each day. All these features and touches thief maine build nan lawsuit for myself that I tin really spell without these apps for prolonged periods. 

What I'd for illustration to spot improved

You don't request to ceramic your instrumentality to initiate a schedule, opportunity astatine 9 a.m., erstwhile you've started work. But you will request your Brick connected manus astatine 5 p.m., erstwhile you want to unbrick your device. This is irritating if you're not successful nan aforesaid location arsenic your Brick erstwhile nan timepiece strikes 5 p.m., but there's a workaround, which a friend fto maine successful on. 

If you want to unbrick your telephone aft nan allotted ceramic clip is complete successful your schedule, my friend recommended creating different schedule instantly aft your first schedule ends, and past unbricking a random app. This enables nan scheduling characteristic and unbricks nan desired apps without requiring nan beingness device.

My friend besides mentioned really Brick didn't registry his alteration successful clip zones erstwhile he was traveling, thing he'd for illustration Brick to improve. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I highly urge Brick if you struggle pinch regularly checking your telephone aliases wasting clip connected societal media. During nan first afloat week I utilized it, my surface clip decreased by 7%. Its affirmative reinforcements, alternatively than admonishments erstwhile you've gone complete your allotted surface time, incrementally build nan lawsuit that you can, indeed, spell without these apps. 

I'd urge this astir to group looking for a productivity boost -- whether that's 1 you're seeking retired connected aliases disconnected nan job. After bricking my telephone 1 night, I decided to spell connected a not-so-addictive but still-distracting app earlier bed. I watched 1 YouTube video for astir 2 minutes, until I realized I could beryllium reference my book instead. I'm not judge if I would person made that prime without Brick. 

I know, $55 is simply a precocious value to salary for self-control. However, from my acquisition pinch nan device, it is worthy it for nan value of life upgrade and nan long-desired autonomy from my devices that I've regained.