Did you know you can turn the iPhone you already own into a "dumb phone" without buying a flip phone, a light phone, or even downloading a single app. And it only takes a few minutes. I dare you to try it!  

The dumb phone trend is having a moment for a reason - We're all addicted to our smart phones! And that's not by accident, they are designed to addict us. The bright lights, notifications, endless scrolls and dozens of unnecessary apps draw in our attention and keep it there for hours on end. We are all craving the freedom and presence of not being connected to our phones but throwing away your iPhone and buying a dumb phone might feel like too big of a commitment.  

Well, I have good news for you: There is a way to turn your iPhone into a dumb phone right in your settings, which means you can get the calm undistracted bliss while still keeping your camera, your maps, and your group chat!

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Here's How to do it. 

My trick for turning your smart phone into a dumb phone? It's called Assistive Access. Apple originally created it to help make it simple for people with cognitive disabilities to use their phone - which is so important! But this tool also acts as the greatest digital detox hack ever! Basically it replaces your Home Screen with large icons of only the apps you choose. And while you're in this mode, they are the only things you can access. You can choose as little or as many as you want, but I would keep it as bare as possible to give you the full dumb phone experience. Then only add apps if you really miss them or find them neccessary. Here's what I was choose: 

• Calls 
• Messages
• Camera
• Music
• Maps 
• Maybe a podcast or audio book app? 
• That's it! 

Make sure your iPhone is on iOS 17 or later, then grab a cozy spot because your phone will walk you through the whole thing: 

1. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then scroll down and tap Assistive Access.
2. Tap Set Up Assistive Access and then Continue, and the setup assistant takes it from there.
3. Choose your layout, either a grid with big icons or rows with large text. I love the row because it honestly calmer and simpler. 
4. Pick your apps, which is the fun part and also the part where you have to be a little honest with yourself.
5. Set your Assistive Access passcode - If you're really committed you can have your spouse or a friend set it for you so you can't just go back to normal whenever you're feeling tempted....
6. Now you're ready to go! You can enter Assistive Access by going back to that same place in settings. Pro tip: Put your phone in greyscale mode before you enter Assistive Access mode so that you get rid of all the distracting colors. 
7. To exit, triple click the button on the right side of your phone and enter your passcode. 
   

Bonus! You can still put your phone in Airplane Mode for no wireless EMF while in this mode by triple clicking the right side button and hitting "Settings". 

Can you imagine your phone looking like this?! 

When you should use this feature?

• When you're fed up with all the scrolling and ready for a more peaceful and balanced relationship with your phone. do this first if you've been thinking of buying a Light shoe or a flip phone.  
• When you realize that your screen time has gotten out of hand and you need a digital detox reset. Challenge yourself to use this for a week or even a month to reset your nervous system and detox from all those mini dopamine hits. 
• Make it part of your daily or weekly rhythms. Phone goes into assistive access mode after work or every Saturday as you rest and unplug. 

Other ways to make your phone a little dumber

If you aren't ready to go all in but want to make your phone a little dumber and a little less enticing to start with:

• Get rid of those apps. The first and most important thing to do is delete all of those unnecessary apps that are taking up space on your phone (and your mental capacity). If it's not making your every day life better - DELETE IT! You'll feel so much better. 

• Go grayscale. This one sounds too simple to work, but it honestly makes such a difference, because so much of what keeps us scrolling is all those bright, candy-colored icons and feeds. Head to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > turn on Grayscale. Then set it as your Accessibility Shortcut so a triple-click flips the color back on when you want to admire your vacation photos.

• Put Screen Time to work. In Settings under Screen Time, you can set App Limits on categories like Social and Entertainment, use Downtime to block everything except your must-have apps during certain hours, and even hide Safari completely under Content & Privacy Restrictions. If you don't have enough self control to not hit "Ignore Screen Time Limit" every time it pops up, try out the Brick that makes you physically tap it on the Brick Device if you want to override your screen time limits. My daughter loves this one! 

• Restrict Access to web browsers altogether. If your Safari app is what really sucks your time, you can fully restrict it in Screen Time Settings.  Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Tap Allowed Apps > Toggle off Safari.
• Clean up your Home Screen. jIf your brain is overwhelmed every time you unlock your phone, you might want to try clearing your homepage. Mine is totally empty with just a calming photo or Bible verse. Then you can scroll to find just your necessary apps.It's so lovely.

• Turn off (almost) all notifications. You don't need every new sale, house listed on Zillow or instagram like taking your attention.  Go through Settings, then Notifications, and switch off everything that isn't a real person trying to reach you.