steady

Focus and work · The phone

Log out every time

The app you scroll most: log out when you're done. Opening it then costs a password instead of a tap.

no timeEvidence: worth trying

Checking the phone is a habit, not a decision: the hand moves before you've thought about it. Field studies logging real use show most checks last seconds and are set off by where you are and what just happened more than by any decision. Evidence: decent

A habit runs on a short path. Make the path longer and the hand often stops halfway. Logging out adds ten seconds and one moment of "do I actually want this?". That's usually enough. Common advice, sensible mechanism, no trial of this exact trick. Evidence: worth trying

Deleting the app and using the browser version does the same job with more friction.

Source: Oulasvirta et al., 2012, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (link)

Same theme: The phone

Arrows to move, Enter to open, Esc to close.