Put friction before the feed
Willpower is a dramatic tool for a repetitive problem. A little friction is often quieter and more reliable: move the app, log out, remove the shortcut, charge the phone across the room, or make the screen less visually inviting.
Written and edited by Blue Bonsai · Updated August 31, 2026
Friction reveals the gesture
The goal is not to make access impossible. It is to create enough of a pause that you can see yourself reaching. Once the gesture becomes visible, it can become a choice again.
Good friction is specific. It belongs at the moment you most often disappear into the feed, not everywhere technology appears in your life.
Pair friction with somewhere to go
Blocking without an alternative can leave an empty hand hovering over the same screen. Put something modest on the other side of the pause: a saved article, a book, a walk to the window, a note to yourself, or three quiet minutes.
Add one extra step
- Choose the app you open most automatically.
- Move it off the first screen or sign out for the rest of today.
- Place one chosen alternative where the app used to be.
Related notes
- How to stop doomscrolling before bed
A practical way to interrupt late-night scrolling by giving the final minutes of the day a small, screen-free threshold.
- Attention is a piece of your life
Time is not the only thing a feed consumes. It also takes the texture of what you notice while the time is passing.