Shut out the crazy world for a bit and get some peace with my favorite Android features

It seems like the craziness of the world never slows down, and our heightened awareness of modern events thanks to social media and the 24/7 news cycle only makes things more difficult to bear at times. When life gets overwhelming, there are some surprisingly simple tools on your smartphone to help cope.

Ever since I switched to the OnePlus 13 back in December, I began my mornings by starting up Zen Mode. This shuts off all distractions and notifications, allowing only the apps I chose to be used at all. My morning study and quiet time was often filled with distractions before — an errant email from overnight, a breaking news story, or just lots of social media posts clawing for my attention — but now I can tap that button and remain worry-free for the first half an hour or so while I drink my morning tea.

Likewise, I began using Android's Downtime feature sometime last year to give me a full day without social media or distracting messaging apps. Downtime is part of the Digital Wellbeing feature built into every Android phone and can be used in conjunction with a feature like Zen Mode to give you a sense of peace that you might be longing for.

Feeling Zen

OnePlus launched Zen Mode back in 2019, building upon Google's Digital Wellbeing intiative. The mode aimed to take Digital Wellbeing seriously by forcing you to take a break from your phone for a set period of time. The idea was to help create mindfulness with a device that had become the cornerstone of a mindless life of doomscrolling and swiping.

While I'm not someone who spends 8+ hours a day on their phone, I have found myself getting wrapped up in social media conversations and then stewing about them for hours at a time. Too often, this started first thing in the morning while I made tea and caught up on overnight notifications. I knew it had to stop, and Zen Mode was the key to my success.

If you don't have a OnePlus phone, don't worry. Many other companies have created similar features since then — Motorola calls its feature Unplugged while Samsung calls it Relax, just to name two examples — and they're all easy enough to configure in just a few seconds to get some peace of mind.

Primarily, I was concerned with shutting out the world while giving me the opportunity to study in the morning, distraction-free. I put Zen Mode on a schedule to be enabled from 6 am-7 am and the only usable app was the You Version Bible app. The notification shade is disabled, there's no home screen, and I can't accidentally see a pop-up text that might sully my quiet time.

Don't worry, you can still make or receive emergency calls if need be, and Zen Mode can be canceled if something comes up or you want to finish quiet time early.

OnePlus also offers a "deep zen" mode that defaults to one minute of complete phone lockdown, ensuring you have a moment to breathe without looking at your phone. If that sounds like an addiction, you're not wrong. The Addiction Center references a 2024 Virgin Mobile research study that shows 6.3% of global smartphone users have a phone addiction. Considering that 6.8 billion people use smartphones worldwide, 6.3% is not a small number.

Places like HelpGuide.org outline ways to identify and get help with phone addiction, but things like Zen Mode, Do Not Disturb, and other phone features can help with this, as well.

Taking action against distraction

I encourage you to look for Zen Mode, Relax Mode, Unplugged, or whatever your phone might call this distraction-busting mode. I also added the Zen Mode button to the quick toggles section when I swipe down on the status bar so I can get to it without having to scroll past a bunch of apps.

You should also schedule a regular quiet time that can help you clear your mind and focus on other things. While it's best for me to do this first thing in the morning, you might find a better time that fits your personal schedule. Take this time to read or even just meditate. Watch the sunrise, or maybe even the sunset. It really does help immensely.

Outside of phone lockdown modes, all Android phones also have Do Not Disturb and Focus Mode built into the Digital Wellbeing section in the settings menu. I use Focus mode to give myself a full sabbath each week away from every social networking app installed on my phone, including my work Slack app and several other chat apps like Discord. This helps me get away from my regular technology distractions for one solid day a week and provides the reset I need to start the week afresh.

Using Do Not Disturb regularly on a manual cadence is also very helpful. This is another button I have added to my quick toggles so I can enable (or disable) it when the time is right. By default, Do Not Disturb mutes notifications from apps and people not on the essential list, helping you keep focus unless something important comes up.

Many Android phones also offer a "visual do not disturb" that can be found in do not disturb settings. Enabling this will shut off all pop-up notifications so you can focus on reading — or even gaming — without things literally popping in your line of sight.

The world has always been and will always be crazy, but taking a small amount of time out of your day to unwind and reset can help you keep it in check.