Your Phone Isn’t Weakness; It’s a Distraction Machine. Here’s How to Get Your Focus Back.

The piece centers around creating more focus using a physical product known as Brick. The link is an affiliate link, but I genuinely like the product, and they didn’t pay for this piece. If you don’t have one or don’t want to get one, the tips here can mostly be implemented in software.

If you’ve ever sat down to work (or write, study, clean, or rest) and somehow ended up 40 minutes deep in scrolling, you’re not broken. You’re human in a world of constant interruption. And there’s a real mental health cost to living in an always-on mode: fractured attention, lower concentration, more stress, worse sleep, and the nagging feeling that you can’t be present even when you want to be.

There are many ways to handle this problem. One of them is Brick. It’s based on a surprisingly simple idea: make distraction slightly harder to access, so focus becomes your default.

The Science of Distraction: Why ‘Just Ignore It’ Doesn’t Work

Think distraction isn’t affecting you? Check out the science.

1. Notifications steal attention—even if you don’t pick up your phone

Research has found that receiving a notification alone can disrupt performance on attention-demanding tasks, even when people don’t interact with the phone.

That matters because many of us think distraction only “counts” if we open the app, but this turns out not to be true. Even when not touching your phone, a notification disrupts your focus.

2. Task-switching has real cognitive costs

When you bounce between tasks, your brain pays a switching “tax.” Classic experimental work on task switching shows measurable costs in speed and performance as your brain reorients to a new set of rules/goals.

The American Psychological Association also summarizes this: multitasking and frequent task switching can reduce efficiency and increase errors because attention is limited and switching takes time.

When you’re going through your day, you might experience something like this: starting a task, getting interrupted, returning and rereading, losing your train of thought, and feeling mentally tired faster.

3. Even the presence of your phone can drain mental bandwidth

One widely cited paper tested the brain drain idea: just having your own smartphone nearby (even face down, even silent) can reduce available cognitive capacity on demanding tasks compared to having it farther away.

Translation: if your phone is within reach, part of your mind may stay “on call.”

What Brick Is (and Why It’s Different)

Brick is a physical device that works with an app to temporarily remove distracting apps and their notifications from your phone. You choose which apps (or websites) to block, pick a “mode” (like Work, Study, Family Time), and then tap your phone to the Brick to activate Brick Mode. Then you put the Brick somewhere out of reach so that unblocking requires you to physically go back and tap again.

That one design choice—physical separation—creates friction. And friction is powerful because it interrupts the autopilot loop.

Why Friction Helps Focus (and Why Willpower Alone Is Unreliable)

Yes, you can use software to try and minimize notifications and app use, but a lot of built-in tools (Screen Time, Digital Wellbeing) fail for one reason: the override button is always right there.

Brick’s whole premise is behavioral design:

Make distraction less immediate.
Make the “unlock” moment intentional.
Make the easiest path the one you actually want.

This is not about shame. It’s about recognizing that attention is a finite resource, and modern apps are optimized to capture it.

How Brick Supports Focus, Concentration, and Mental Health

Getting rid of distractions helps you focus, be in the present, and work, which, in turn, supports your mental health.

1. It reduces micro-interruptions (which add up fast)

By blocking chosen apps and their notifications, Brick helps cut the “constant ping” environment that fragments attention.

2. It protects deep work (and makes it easier to start)

Getting started is often the hardest part, not because you’re lazy, but because your brain is trying to dodge discomfort and grab something easier. A small “starter step” gets you over that initiation hump, and a bit of physical friction makes distraction less automatic and more intentional.

3. It makes being present the default

A lot of mental health isn’t about adding more habits; it’s about removing the friction that keeps you from the basics:

Uninterrupted sleep routines (critical with bipolar disorder)
Meals without scrolling
Conversations without half-attention
Finishing a task (which lowers stress and creates a sense of accomplishment; this can fight depression)

Brick isn’t a treatment for any illness, of course, but it can reduce one very common trigger for stress and cognitive overload: nonstop digital interruption.

A Simple Brick Plan You Can Copy Today

Have a Brick? Try using it like this.

Step 1: Create one mode that fits your real life.

Brick lets you choose apps to block (or keep accessible) and create multiple modes (Work, Study, Family Time, etc.).

Start with Focus Mode:

Block social + news + games
Keep: essentials (maps, music, phone, messages if needed)

Step 2: Use a “distance rule.”

After you tap to activate, put the Brick somewhere that requires effort to reach, like:

A coat closet
The kitchen drawer
In the car console
On a shelf you can’t reach from your desk

Brick is designed for exactly this: put it out of reach so unblocking becomes a conscious decision.

Step 3: Schedule your focus blocks.

Try scheduling your Brick:

45–90 minutes focused
10 minutes break (intentionally unbrick if you want)
Repeat

Brick also tracks focus time with a timer once you’re “bricked.” You might find getting this number up motivational.

Step 4: Build in “emergency” flexibility (so you don’t rebel).

Brick includes emergency unbricks in the app for those moments you truly need access. That matters because overly rigid systems tend to snap. Sustainable change usually needs some flexibility.

What to Expect Emotionally (Because It’s Real)

If you’ve been using your phone to cope with stress, loneliness, or overstimulation, removing instant access can feel uncomfortable at first. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It often means you’re finally noticing what the scrolling was helping you avoid.

If you are uncomfortable, try swapping in something small and soothing, like: