Most apps on our phones bombard us with notifications and make us unproductive. Fortunately, the Play Store contains excellent apps that limit and monitor the use of the phone on Android devices. These apps allow you to focus on your work and lead a happier and healthier life.
Let's face it, we are all probably guilty of using our smartphones more than we should. However, it can be difficult to simply ignore your phone all day. These apps allow you to clear your mind and focus on the task at hand by keeping your phone from becoming a distraction.
Therefore, let's take a look at these 7 apps that improve your productivity by giving you the tools to limit and monitor your phone usage. You can also check out the 3 best free productivity timers for Android.
ActionDash: Digital well-being
ActionDash is one of the best alternatives to Google's Digital Wellbeing app. Most of the Android phones launched this year are accompanied by Digital Wellbeing. However, there are millions of devices on older versions of Android. Thus, ActionDash is one of the best applications for limiting and monitoring the use of the phone. It helps you to check the time you spend on each application and also allows you to track notifications.
Even more interesting is that you can define application usage limits. This is perfect for those who feel the constant need to check an application such as Instagram. Plus, you can even see the use of your phone all week. You can also use the debug mode feature to block one or more apps.
Check out: Install Google Pixel 3's Digital Wellbeing on any Android device
Unlock the clock
This is not an application that directly limits the use of your phone by blocking notifications or limiting usage. However, it simply displays the number of times that you unlock your phone during a day as a live screen background. There are no fancy colors or variants of the live wallpaper.
The animated background has a gray background color and the text is white. Therefore, each time you unlock your phone, the meter continues to add. Although it may sound like a gadget, it plays a psychological role. You would be constantly able to see the number of times that you unlock your phone, which could discourage you from using the device. Unlock Clock is part of Google's initiative on digital wellness.
We return
Here is an application that has a very interesting concept. We Flip is intended to be used in groups to dissuade participants from using their phones. It's a perfect experience to try with your family or even with your group of friends. Of course, each participant must have the application downloaded. Wait for everyone to connect, then flip the switch.
The phone would be automatically locked and you can put it down and continue your tasks. However, if a participant unlocks their phone, the session ends. You can then check your results and determine which member ended the session using their phone. This is an experimental application of Google's Creative Lab. We Flip is really one of the best apps to monitor and reduce the use of the phone on Android.
Daywise
If you are often distracted by your phone's notifications, you should check Daywise. This productivity-enhancing app blocks these annoying notifications. And it only shows you notifications when you schedule them. So, you can set a time at which you want to extract all the notifications that have arrived.
In addition, to avoid missing important messages, you can select a few contacts and add them to the VIP list. This basically allows the notifications of these contacts to be displayed at any time. You can even customize the notifications. Thus, you have the option to completely block the notifications of certain applications.
Forest: Stay focused
This great app lets you focus on the task at hand and improve your productivity. What sets it apart from other similar apps is how you stay focused. The application allows you to plant a seed in a forest. But if you leave the application to use another application, your tree dies. Thus, it helps you to limit and monitor the use of the phone.
However, if you are really looking forward to reducing your phone usage, you will see your seed become a tree. All you have to do is set a timer for the task you want to perform and put your phone out of service. Encouraging phrases remind you to focus on your task, not the phone. To make everything consistent, you can even download the browser extension for Google Chrome.
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Morph – A digital wellness experience
Morph is another Google digital wellness app that allows you to monitor the use of the phone on Android. The application acts essentially as an application launcher that only shows you the applications you need, depending on the time or place. First of all, you have to configure the application and classify the applications according to their type. For example, you can choose applications for the job such as OneNote, Google Drive, Microsoft Office, and so on. Then you select the time or place where and when the applications should be available.
After configuring the databases, you can seamlessly use the applications you need when you need them, at the specified location. This saves you from opening social media applications or streaming applications while working. Of course, you must enable location services for the geolocation feature to work. This is an interesting concept that you should try if you are distracted by the applications on your phone.
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Digitox: Digital well-being
Digitox is another great alternative to digital wellness that allows you to reduce and monitor the use of the phone on Android. The app is basically the same as ActionDash or Google's digital wellness. So it's a matter of preference over the app you decide to use. Nevertheless, Digitox allows you to see the number of times you unlock your device. And it even tells you the details of the use of the application and the total number of notifications you receive during a day.
With all the detailed information, you can limit and monitor the use of the phone accordingly. The application also gives you access to the usage data of the last 7 days. This lets you know if you are improving or still have the same usage pattern. Digitox is free to download and use. However, you can pay to unlock some extra features.
Here are the 7 apps we recommend you use to improve or even cure your smartphone addiction. However, you can easily replace most of these applications. It is up to you to take the initiative to improve and control the use of your smartphone.
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