Working full-time while managing a side hustle for additional income is challenging.

Now layer in:

• 1 spouse,
• 2 dogs,
• 3 kids,
• 4 close friends,
• 5 projects on your honey-do list, and
• 6-10 trips a year traveling…

This is my scenario. It works because I've been doing it for over 15 years. Your scenario will be different. What is the same is the challenge of fitting it all in.

If you can't devise creative ways to handle your schedule, your source for extra loot may suffer.

You have your usual ways to deal with all that you need to do. Most times, it works. Sometimes, though, things fall through the cracks. What must happen over time is a simplification of your life.

We will not solve this problem with a few tips. There are, though, a few "tips" that can help. They work for me, so why not share? Right!?

Some creators suggest turning your phone into a brick to make it less attractive. But many of them are full-time solopreneurs.

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Don't brick your fancy phone -- hack it to suit your life.

You paid good money for that fancy phone. Here are a few hacks to use it best for your needs:

• Consume less news
• Turn off most notifications
• Setup Focus Mode for your personas
• Organize by priority and one-hand reach
• Delete or bury time-sucking apps (Games + Social)

Your phone can give you superpowers or hijack your life. I used to spend way too much time on Facebook. Then, I buried the app using these tactics. I still check in on pop culture and FB news, but I do so less often now.

Let’s take a look at how to tackle these hacks:

These tips are generally phone-agnostic, but a few features may be iPhone-focused.

Let’s get into how to hack by hack:

Hack 01: Consume less news

News Headlines fight extremely hard for our eyeballs. Traditional media and opinion-based news outlets are everywhere.

Your local news is reaching for you. Facebook News is trying to keep you updated. News from your favorite sports team is giving you updates.

One of the best ways to focus your phone is to reduce your media outlets to one or two primary apps on the go. You do not need every news app on your phone. Keep one for personal consumption and another for business-related news.

Delete or bury anything else.

Hack 02: Turn off most notifications

Notifications serve as a tool to help you remember those important reminders.

How can those notifications be helpful if you receive so many of them? Notifications have gotten ridiculous! So now, we need a summary of our notifications because we missed them. Really?

Take this action right now. Take these steps:

1. Turn off all notifications
2. Use your phone as you usually would
3. When you notice that you need that critical notification, flip the on switch.

"Notifications interrupt your focus to 'help you.'" Use notifications for critical items only. Not every app deserves your precious attention.

Hack 03: Setup focus mode for your personas

Focus mode takes a bit of time to set up. Most people need to spend the time to set up focus mode properly, which is a missed opportunity.

Your phone likely comes stocked with a few basic options: Do Not Disturb, Work, Driving.

To fully use this feature, create personas that match your lifestyle. A persona is a fictional character that represents a specific group of people. In this case, I set up personas based on the hats I wear that need focus.

Here are mine: Corporate Executive, Dad, Creator, Athlete, Chill

Determine your life roles first. From there, customize your phone's apps, notifications, and settings to match. The priority should be adjusted based on what is most important to you.

Hack 04: Organize by priority and one-hand reach

The mobile phone homepage is no different from a desktop landing page. There is a golden hotspot that is easy to see and reach with one touch.

As of this writing, I'm using an iPhone 15 Pro Max - Titanium Blue. This is the latest version of the iPhone as of 2023, and the most feature-rich version offered. This also means it's a bit large to maneuver with one hand.

Many popular mobile operating systems have valuable features for larger phones. The operating system allows users to bring the apps from the top closer to their thumb. This one-touch thumb accessibility eliminates the need for stretching your hand.

Make your most essential apps the ones close to your thumb.

Look at my iPhone screen below. (I enjoy Androids as well; all love -- but committed to Apple when iPhone 3G came out)

You will notice the highlighted one-touch area of the natural length of my thumb. This space is a "golden hot zone."

This image should reinforce everything I have stated up to this point. The essential apps that are prioritized highly should be within that one-touch space.

Hack 05: Delete or bury time-sucking apps (Games + Social)

You've made it to the final hack. You have removed the news and reduced those annoying notifications. You get focused mode and put your apps in their place, near your thumb.

What else is there to do?

Let's look at the apps where you spend the most of your time.

Social media and communication apps.

Listen here. This is where the rubber meets the road if you are a driver and driven. If you use a social media app for personal use instead of promoting yourself, delete it.

Yes, I suggest deleting the app first and then adding only those that make sense. Look at this graph on Global Time Spent on Mobile Apps:

Source: Business of Apps

Keep one personal social consumption app like Snapchat. WhatsApp may be your personal app; it's one of mine. I do not use Snapchat or WhatsApp for business.

Delete BeReal, Facebook, IRL, Clubhouse, or whatever is taking up your time. If you find yourself not willing to delete the app, bury it.

Burying an app means moving it within a folder or deleting it from your home screen. On most phones, a concealed app will only be available via an all-app "search and browse."

The goal here is to do a massive app reduction. It's worth your time.

Bonus Hack 0.5: Mobile for Business, Desktop for Personal

Use your mobile phone primarily for business. Use your laptop for personal. With this differentiation, you will be ahead of the pack.

Remember, this advice is for full-time professionals working 40-50+ hours. Phone hack suggestions could be different for full-time entrepreneurs.

Pro Tip: Still need an extra boost? Set up screen time limits on apps that you need to manage your usage.

Your Homework: Explore the features of your phone. Make a few quick changes right now.

The Recap, TL;DR:

• Consume less news
• Turn off most notifications
• Setup Focus Mode for your personas
• Organize by priority and one-hand reach
• Delete or bury time-sucking apps (Games + Social)

See you next Saturday!