# There have been a number of phone homescreen posts recently but, in sharing his, Manton pointed to a cool trick by David Smith to add "blank" icons to so that you can control app placement.
Having flip-flopped between Android and iOS over the years I appreciate the way the former lets you place icons wherever you like.
With ever increasing screen sizes it seems outdated to fill the screen from the top down when the uppermost icons are hard to reach one handed. Okay, we have Reachability but this is just a workaround for an unnecessarily rigid system.
I prefer leaving a gap between my app icons and the dock - I just don't like the screen being completely full, it feels cluttered and overbearing - but I've long wished they didn't have to start right at the top.
On Android phones I've always started arranging my homescreen icons from the bottom. It just made sense!
Setting the iPhone X up as a new device rather than from backup meant examining the apps I had installed to see if I really used them. I got rid of some from the second screen but it still felt that things were much the same as on the 6S Plus.
Let's face it, you put the apps you use most on the homescreen for ease of access so there wasn't really much scope for change.
Being able to create a "blank" row at the top of the screen, however, instantly differentiates this phone and has forced me to move four apps to accommodate.
It may seem like a gimmick (and it probably is) but mixing things up keeps me interested which reflects on my productivity.
So, here’s my new homescreen:
Stats
I have had the JetPack stats module enabled on the site since it was first introduced, not necessarily to monitor traffic coming to the blog but more to check on people leaving.
That may sound a bit weird or counterintuitive.
Part of the joy of blogging, at least for me, is in helping readers find things or people - that’s why it’s always good to link out. It’s also why I implemented the Directory and, more recently, added the blogroll.
While I’m no good at curating links and lists in a social context I love being able to act as a conduit through the blog, even if only a small one, so seeing the outgoing stats populated with clicks to other people is always good.
But the temptation is always there to look at the incoming, to fret and obsess over it, just as I try to tell myself that I don’t really care. I have deliberately removed myself from online environments that use metrics as a coercive force so it feels a bit hypocritical to still have them here.
Until now!
I know from recent months that visitors to the blog regularly use the directory and blogroll so I don’t really need to keep track of that any more - they work and that is enough for me.
So I have completely disabled the stats module to remove the temptation and the worry. Telling myself I don’t care is one thing, demonstrating it is something else entirely.
Comments
# I've been thinking more about my homescreen and whether I could strip it back further.
I could maybe move the Calendar and Weather apps as I don't use them often and can always get to the weather via its widget.
But, beyond that, I start getting a bit stuck as I like to have quick access to things and jumping into folders too often gets annoying.
Yeah, stats are a double-edged sword. They can be encouraging or they can become an unhealthy focus. It's amazing how much more freely you write (or, I do at least) when there's not the pressure of numbers.
I've been very impressed with my doctor recently. During the past few visits, after speaking about my throat issues, rather than just kicking me out and moving on to the next patient he has taken the time to inquire about my mental health. Going from a very busy, high profile job, plus commuting up to four hours a day, to almost nothing is a big jump. To then stay that way for what will be four months is such a shift in mindset. Not to mention the frustration at being incapacitated in this way for so long. He was pleased and surprised when I said I had been taking a philosophy course and I think this helped to demonstrate that I was largely okay. I’ll admit it’s been a struggle at times and I have felt incredibly down, being unable to do something so natural as speak for so long is tough, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, the transition back to work will be equally as hard, maybe even harder, so a focus on my mental as well as my physical health is of paramount importance. My move away from social networks, combined with a desire to take positive action through meditation, learning and hand written notes, is a direct response to realising that my mental health was in danger were I to carry on the way I was. With no metrics or stats to concern myself with, having also removed them from the blog, I am able to concentrate on creation and discussion without any added pressure. Quality not quantity. There have been numerous studies linking social media use to mental health issues but a new report from the Children’s Commissioner for England illustrates how damaging it can be to children. The report makes recommendations that schools should be more actively involved in preparing children for the emotional impact and demands of social as well as the traditional messages of online safety. Social networks were intended to connect, inform and empower - they still can when used responsibly - but the ever greater imposition of algorithms makes this harder to achieve. That we should even have to consider the need to emotionally prepare our children shows just have far removed from the original vision we have become. Comparing ourselves to our peers is nothing new - I struggled to find my place and identity as a teenager in the 80’s long before the internet - but the modern social infrastructure of the web exposes us to much wider spheres of influence and amplifies these struggles a thousand fold. With the networks themselves apparently unwilling (or unable) to address certain issues we must be responsible for our own welfare and that of our children. For some that has meant leaving entirely, for others it is finding a way to manage their experience. What we must do, however, is find our own path and our own reasons for choosing it. Blindly following the mob serves no purpose. We are all still learning how to live in this environment, with this level of access and exposure. The pace of change has been faster than at any point in history. Perhaps we need to evolve, as individuals and as a society, in order to cope or maybe we need to moderate our progress and slow the headlong rush we have been on. But one thing is for certain: the current climate is unsustainable.