I want to do this, but my one hangup is the lack of a decent camera. I know that I probably don’t need to document my kid’s life as much as I do, but I do like being able to share moments with my own parents, who live a ways away. How did you handle this aspect of the change? Do you carry a dslr or point and shoot, or do you just go without (or have flip phone cameras improved a ton since my last one)?
Maybe just commit to removing the most attention-grabbing apps from your phone? Seems like a good way to keep the aspects of your phone that you value while getting rid of the ones that you don't.
Yeah a time schedule or a really long and cumbersome unlock password for social media and web browser would really help. But then you need that recipe for dinner and you think "this is stupid, I'm an adult, I can handle this" and you remove it.
This was my experience - after removing apps / block there would be an initial period where I would stick to it, but eventually would fall back to the same old routine. Changing engrained habits is extremely difficult.
Ya the camera is the biggest issue, and I'll admit I do rely on my wife having her smartphone handy for capturing those unexpected moments. I do carry a small point and shoot (older model from 2009), but I am looking at upgrading it to a newer model. I find that because it isn't always handy, my photos of kids, events, etc. are more purposeful (some would say posed I guess), which depending on your point of view could be a plus.