Phones and apps are addictive. That should come as no surprise to anyone reading this.

The craving for a steady feed of low-quality dopamine lures us back to our phones again and again, even when we really should be doing something else entirely.

I understand that problem, because I live it. I’ve been using smartphones for over 15 years now, and I feel the urge to pull my phone out of my pocket at any moment when there’s even the hint of boredom.

It sucks, and having half a mind on your phone robs you of being completely present in the moment. I’ve tried to rid myself of this many times over the years, but have never really succeeded.

But now, an unexpected app has helped me to cut down on my screen time dramatically — and it’s a birdwatching app.

Incentive is key to putting your phone aside

Rewards are one of the most effective ways to promote good behavior. It works with dogs, it works with children, and it works with me.

The traditional way this works is that you get a treat for completing certain tasks.

So, maybe I get to eat a tasty donut for writing a certain number of words. That works well for me because it’s both an incentive and, thanks to my slow writing pace, an excellent diet plan, too.

I’ve tried apps that touted this sort of incentive for not using your phone, and it’s never really stuck for me.

Take Forest, for instance. Growing trees while my phone is inactive is great, sure, but do I really care how many digital trees I have?

It turns out I don’t, and I struggle to make myself care. It lacks the feeling of a real collection, and so, it’s hard for me to care about it.

And then Merlin came along.

Merlin’s Sound ID turns birding into Pokémon

Merlinis a birdwatching app that lets you log the birds you’ve seen, where you’ve seen them, and how often you’ve seen them.

It’s a great app to use if you’re new to birding, as it lists all the birds you’re likely to see near you, and includes all the sounds and high-quality pictures you need to learn about your local birds.

But the feature that caught my eye was Sound ID. Sound ID records the sounds around you and identifies bird calls as they happen. Leave it running, and it’ll create a list of the surrounding birds it recognizes.

Just seeing the birds pop up on your list is exciting, but nothing compares to an uncommon or rare bird popping up that you can then slot into your Life List.

It’s a bit like playing Pokémon, but with real-life creatures, and without making them fight each other. They’ll even evolve if you leave them for long enough, though that is, admittedly, in a few million years or so.

But how did this help me cut down on my phone use?

Well, Sound ID works best when there are plenty of birds around, and unless you’re a Disney princess, they’re also likely to prefer areas you’re not in.

So I ended up leaving my phone, all alone, out in the garden while I wasn’t there. And it turns out that keeping your phone outside is an excellent way not to use it.

Call me King Arthur, because Merlin just changed my life

Credit: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels

I’ve never been a birdwatcher before. I could identify a seagull if it was actively stealing my sandwich, but apart from that, I couldn’t tell a wren from a sparrow.

But birdwatching has become something of a trend recently. Viral videos made it clear to me that when you get to a certain age, you start to love birds. Then Sean Bean took over a birding podcast and created some of the most soothing content in creation.

I didn’t get it. But hearing Ned Stark talk calmly about his love for birds tipped me over the edge, and I downloaded Merlin. And now, I can see the attraction.

I’m learning more and more about birds. My life list is above 50 entries now, and I’m eager to get more.

I even want to move beyond Sound ID and take a more active role in birding by having Merlin identify them through my snapshots. It often gets them wrong, but that’s just a chance for me to learn more about birds.

And yes, that runs contrary to the app helping me to cut down on my screen time — but it keeps me tuned into the world and present in the moment. Besides, I won’t be stopping my Sound ID sessions out in the garden.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a bird to find. My bird of the day is the Eurasian Blackbird, and it won’t find itself.