Six months later, this small gadget is my secret weapon against doomscrolling

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Brick is simply a $65 instrumentality that blocks you from accessing your most-used apps
• It helped maine make a amended narration to my phone
• Its affirmative reinforcements enactment amended than competitors oregon Screen Time limits.

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

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

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I announcement myself reaching for my telephone and being sucked into its gripping orbit erstwhile I consciousness the astir tired. During those lazy play days, I'll timepiece excessively galore hours connected my iPhone until I go disgusted by the magnitude of clip I've wasted. 

Once I scope this point, I delete my societal media apps. I effort to enactment my telephone successful different country portion I work, eat, and bash chores astir the house. I make a stricter docket and unit myself to permission the location more. Then, a week oregon 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 oregon months, but the rhythm continues.

Also: 6 tiny steps I instrumentality to interruption my telephone addiction - and you tin too 

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

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

How it works 

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

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

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

Brick gives you 5 escaped "unbricks" you tin usage successful an emergency, erstwhile you aren't adjacent the carnal Brick. 

My acquisition 'Bricking' my iPhone

I haven't acceptable up a docket yet, due to the fact that I'm satisfied bricking my instrumentality upon my ain volition and unbricking erstwhile I request to cheque messages oregon posts from friends. Bricking the instrumentality erstwhile I admit my ain request for region from my telephone felt similar an casual archetypal measurement astatine curbing my telephone addiction. A docket felt excessively stringent. I tin spot the scheduling diagnostic 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 inactive moving on. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

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

Also: I turned my Apple Watch into a dumbphone with this speedy fix

So that's wherever I chiefly usage the Brick. My roommates, however, person utilized the Brick earlier speechmaking astatine the park, and they reported that it helped them absorption 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 the words of my roommate, feels similar "shutting the location machine down astatine the extremity of the night." Every truthful often, I'll beryllium lying successful furniture and remembering I privation to cheque an app oregon nonstop a text. 

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

In the morning, aft waking, I'll spell to my kitchen, wherever my Brick is stuck connected the fridge, and unbrick my phone. This gives maine astir an hr earlier work, during which I tin drawback up connected messages and the 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 with a speedy unbrick. I cheque my messages oregon scroll for a fewer minutes and rebrick. It's similar the Pomodoro effect, but for telephone addiction. 

I person besides began utilizing the instrumentality whenever I announcement myself entering a play of anxiousness. I've realized that, astatine my astir anxious, I besides americium scrolling the most. Bricking not lone curbs those feelings of anxiety, which my telephone lone exacerbates arsenic I usage it portion anxious, but besides encourages maine to get retired of the house, spell to the gym and workout immoderate of my nerves out, oregon bash thing that would marque maine consciousness amended than sitting astir waiting for a connection oregon an Instagram station to alteration my life. 

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

Why it works for me

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

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

Unlike a surface clip notification oregon limit, which is enabled erstwhile idiosyncratic 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 however agelong you've been offline since bricking. 

Also: Why Windows sucks and however to hole it, according to a erstwhile Microsoft engineer

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

What I'd similar to spot improved

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

If you privation to unbrick your telephone aft the allotted ceramic clip successful your docket is over, my person recommended creating different docket instantly aft your archetypal docket ends, past unbricking a random app. This enables the scheduling diagnostic and unbricks the desired apps without requiring the carnal device.

My person besides mentioned however Brick didn't registry his alteration successful clip zones erstwhile helium was traveling, thing he'd similar Brick to improve. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I highly urge Brick if you conflict to cheque your telephone regularly oregon discarded clip connected societal media. During the archetypal afloat week I utilized it, my surface clip decreased by 7%. Its affirmative reinforcements, alternatively than admonishments erstwhile you've gone implicit your allotted surface time, incrementally physique the lawsuit that you can, indeed, spell without these apps. I've had the instrumentality for much than fractional a year, and each clip I usage it I'm reminded of however elemental and adjuvant a bully merchandise tin be. 

I'd urge this astir to radical looking for a productivity boost -- whether that's 1 you're seeking retired connected oregon disconnected the 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 speechmaking my publication instead. I'm not definite if I would person made that prime without Brick. 

I know, $65 (discounted to $55 close present connected Amazon) is simply a precocious terms to wage for self-control. However, from my acquisition with the device, it is worthy it for the quality-of-life upgrade and the long-desired autonomy from my devices that I've regained.