I hacked my phone into a distraction-free e-reader (so I’d finally read instead of scroll)

I’ve always wanted to read more books. The problem isn’t that I don’t have time; it’s that every time I reach for my phone to read, I get sucked into notifications, emails, or just mindless scrolling.

My phone is my biggest library and my biggest distraction. So, I decided to flip the script. What if, instead of fighting my phone, I reshaped it into a device built for focus?

I stripped away the clutter, muted the notifications, and rigged it with apps that made reading the path of least resistance.

Why not just use a Kindle?

The case against carrying another device

That’s the obvious question. If I wanted a distraction-free reading experience, why not just use my Kindle or any other e-reader?

I already own one, and yes, it’s good at what it does. The E Ink screen is kinder on my eyes, the battery lasts forever, and most importantly, there are no notifications to tempt me.

But here’s the issue: My Kindle is basically a single-purpose device. It’s fine for novels, but it struggles with anything outside that, whether they’re articles, PDFs, or annotations I might want to sync to my note-taking apps.

On the other hand, I use my phone for almost everything. It can hold e-books, Instapaper articles, PDFs, research papers, and highlights that sync directly to Obsidian or Readwise.

It’s the one device that can bring all of those formats together. And unlike my Kindle, my phone is always with me.

The trade-off is obvious: distraction. My Kindle never interrupts me with Slack pings or other notifications. So instead of lugging both devices around, I wanted to see if I could make my phone behave like a Kindle.

Cutting my phone down to the essentials

Decluttering my digital space

The first thing I did was clean up my home screen. Usually, it’s cluttered with work apps, messaging icons, and shortcuts to social media. For this experiment, I created a single home screen with only three apps:

• Moon+ Reader for e-books
• Instapaper for saved web articles
• Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDFs

Everything else was buried deep in the app drawer. I changed my wallpaper to a plain, calming grey.

By stripping down my phone, I lowered the number of choices I had to make every time I unlocked it.

Avoiding distractions on my phone

Turning down the noise

Cleaning the home screen wasn’t enough. All it takes is a swipe or two, and I’ll find my way back to YouTube or Instagram.

So, I turned to Focus Mode, Android’s built-in distraction killer. I added social media apps to the blocklist. If I tried to open Reddit, Twitter, or anything else, I’d see a pop-up message saying Focus is on.

Building a reading habit that sticks

Tiny tweaks that turned into a routine

After I stripped away the distractions, reading on my phone felt more natural. No endless feeds and autoplay videos were waiting to hijack my attention.

Without notifications buzzing or apps tempting me, I could actually sink into a story.

Meanwhile, Instapaper became my lunchtime companion. Articles I’d saved months ago suddenly got my full attention.

Without the pull of other apps, it felt like flipping through a personal magazine curated by me.

Reading comfortably with Moon+ Reader

Customizing my reading experience

When I decided to turn my phone into an e-reader, the app that made it work for me was Moon+ Reader. Since it is customizable, I made a few tweaks to help reduce eye strain.

I started by switching the background to a warmer tone, which instantly felt gentler than harsh white. At night, I turned on the app’s Night Theme. I also bumped up the font size and line spacing.

Another neat trick in Moon+ Reader is controlling brightness by swiping up and down the left edge of the screen. It means I can fine-tune brightness instantly depending on whether I’m outside in the daylight or sitting in a dim room.

Combine that with the 20-20-20 rule (a glance away from the screen every so often), and I’ve been able to read longer without my eyes feeling too tired.

Where my e-reader setup stumbled

The cracks in the plan

Not everything was perfect. I can quickly turn off Focus Mode with a single tap, and sometimes I convinced myself that a quick scroll through Reddit would not hurt. Old habits do not vanish overnight.

Another problem was eye strain. Unlike a Kindle, my phone’s bright screen is not suitable for long periods of quiet reading. Lengthy reading sessions, especially at night, made my eyes ache.

I tried using Night Mode and warmer tones, which helped, but it was not the same as the paper-like comfort of E Ink.

And temptation never fully went away. The Kindle’s biggest strength is that it cannot do anything else. My phone still had every distraction lurking beneath the surface, and Focus Mode only delayed the inevitable.

From distraction machine to reading companion

Turning my phone into a distraction-free e-reader didn’t make it a perfect Kindle replacement, but it did help me read more often. By stripping away distractions, I gave myself space to read more often and with more focus.

I still reach for my Kindle when I want long, cozy reading sessions without interruptions. But when I forget to carry it with me when I’m out and about, my reading-only phone setup is surprisingly effective.