I’m surprised you found Chess addictive. But the more I think about it, the more I start to understand. Ultimately, It’s a game on your phone. And if you wanted to play chess you could find someone in real life to play with. Am I on the right track here?
I am not a chess person, but I mean if you are going to be addicted to a game that is the best one to be addictive to you, at least you are using your brain and learning
I had the same thought initially, but can see why it could still be distracting. At the end of the day you are still staring at a screen and pushing glass for entertainment. I’m actually glad the OP listed it as a negative because I am now rethinking my approach.
It’s easy to sit in a moment of pause for one game, and then try again to win, and then maybe try with increased difficulty… and an hour might be gone in no time!
Yep, very much this. Whilst I’m very happy to use the word “addictive” for smartphones, its use in this particular sentence was probably an exaggeration, however it did feel slightly in the same space as when I used to unlock my smartphone repeatedly and veer towards a game repeatedly. I deliberately hardly kept games on my smartphone for that very reason!
Yeah, my thinking exactly, hence why it took me almost a week to notice some of the same negative qualities as other mobile games. But tend to agree, if I was going to get slightly obsessive about a game, chess is probably the one (hence why I reserve the right to reinstall (re-show?) it once I’m further along my digital detox journey
I ended up with: Camera, Weather, Cx File Explorer*, Gboard*, KOReader*, OsmAnd*, and VLC*. The rest of the stock apps are hidden because I don’t use them.
Map inside Bolt app is not working (nothing is shown, just blank page) but you can write the addresses of start point and destination point manually. You can’t set a pin of the start location because of lack of map. I didn’t order Bolt on Mudita yet and I don’t want to try it now because I’m afraid I will be charged but looks like Bolt app can be used.
13 for me - 9 stock apps, and 4 I’ve side loaded.
Stock apps:
Phone - really happy with this, works well
SMS - works well, although I tend to use whatsapp for most messaging
Alarm - good app, works well
Camera - I would like the gallery app to be separate to the camera app
Chess - I’ve played a few games
E-reader - Have been reading books and really happy with this app, it’s simple and does what I need
Meditation - Haven’t used this yet
Notes - I usually carry a notebook and pen, but this is available in a pinch
Weather - probably my favourite app
Replacements for stock apps (I intend to uninstall these and go back to the stock apps in future updates):
FUTO keyboard - Compared to inbuilt keyboard, I can type a lot faster and with fewer errors
HERE WeGo Maps - Compared to inbuilt maps, this has much faster location (as it uses cell tower and wifi for extra location data), and driving directions
Other:
Railcard (UK) - need this a couple of times a week when I travel by train
WhatsApp - I did use beeper, but couldn’t get notifications to work so now using whatsapp
One small note from me regarding Meditation app - I don’t meditate but I use this app when I read books. I set meditation for 1 hour and I read a book during this “meditation”.
I have a question: what happens when meditation mode is on? Does it reject incoming calls?
For me it works fine, that’s odd it doesn’t for some.
I really hope some of the hackers can check if it’s DuraSpeed shutting down alarm/notifications at the time when it’s needed (which could make sense to back this randomness in timing since battery optimization might be based on workload that varies per user).
LOL, you had one job Today it ringed eight minutes late, for some strange reason!
On-topic: How does one define “minimalist”? As for me I think my setup is more in line with “intentional”, rather than minimalist. I have sideloaded some apps which mainly replace the stock apps: Gboard for keyboard, Fossify Calendar for calendar, and HERE WeGo Maps for maps/navigation. Then I have installed whatsapp, which I use about twice a day - I’m a member of two group chats for family and friends on that platform. I also use a couple of other utilities apps for public transport and banking, which I use a few times per week.
I installed some apps I then decided to delete because I ended up using them too much: Messenger, mail, and spotify. I want my music listening to be intentional and focused - not just listening to playlists in the background, kind of. And messenger and mail are for me kinds of communication which can always wait some hours, until I get back to a computer.
The only apps I’ve sideloaded which I use regularly beyond the basics are language learning apps - for me Duolingo and Pimsleur at the moment. But for me this is about intentionality: Learning languages is something I want to prioritize. So when I use these apps on the Kompakt, I don’t have any other apps or things which distract me. Whereas if I use these apps on my iPad, I immediately get distracted by other things. (next on my journey towards minimalism/intentionality/digital detox is to try to remove distractions from my iPad as well)
So my setup is minimalist in some ways, but not others.
(sorry, couldn’t resist…)
Today it ringed eight minutes late, for some strange reason!