How to get unhooked 🪝

Hey friends, it’s been a little while.

I’ve missed a couple of emails while taking some time off:
traveling, focusing on my health, and, most excitingly… launching my new app, unhookd 🎉

But I’m back! And if you’re new here, welcome! You’ve joined 2,400 screen smarty-pants who care about using their screens more intentionally and living with more focus. I’m grateful you’re here.

The ‘Why’ Baby

It’s always a good idea to pause and reflect on why you started something:
a project, a new habit, or a new chapter of life.

After finally launching unhookd, I found myself revisiting the “why” behind this whole mission.

The answer was simple: we’re hooked.

And it’s not our fault.

Our attention is not only being lost, it’s being taken.

The Problem

Social media apps aren’t just tools to connect anymore. They’re digital traps, built to hijack your focus and keep you scrolling.

The more time you spend, the more valuable you become to them - the guys and gals on the other end.

So what’s the way out?

The Solution

The antidote isn’t deleting everything and going off-grid.

It’s taking your attention back: through awareness, intention, and healthy friction (digital mindfulness).

If you’re old enough to remember dial-up internet, you’ll get this:

That half hour a day we spent connecting was incredible.
Every minute online meant something.

Now, we’ve gone from “I’ll go online for a bit” to “I’m always online.”
24/7 access has become a recipe for digital burnout and we’re seeing the health effects everywhere.

The only way to get unhooked is to make access limited and intentional again.

How to Get Unhooked

Instead of trying to resist temptation every minute of the day, flip the default.

Make “no access” your new normal.

Delete apps.
Use airplane mode.
Or - my very unbiased opinion 😅 - use unhookd.

The goal isn’t to eliminate technology. It’s to make discipline effortless.

Instagram isn’t the enemy. Instant access 24/7 is.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how much I love YouTube!
Butttt not at 12 pm, because that’s when I’ll lose hours “learning” new things I don’t really need to aka procrastination.

But YouTube from 7 to 9 p.m.? Totally fine.

And that’s exactly what unhookd helps you systemize.

Final Thoughts

We don’t need more willpower. We need better defaults.

I’m happy to be back here, writing, and sharing. Regular Screen Smarter editions will kick back off next Monday.

See you next week,
George