The Phone Lock Prototype
One ordinary day, five handwritten entries, and the one time I went over my own limit, with nobody watching but me.
Understory · where quieter things grow
A little less scrolling. A little more living.
A place to explore how we can build a wiser relationship with technology, so it serves what we value instead of competing with it.
No guilt. No streaks. No pressure to give up technology.
You might recognise this
You picked up your phone for one thing. Twenty minutes later, you were somewhere else.
Most of us have been there. Understory is about what pulls us into those moments, and what we can do differently, starting small: a story to recognise yourself in, an experiment to try, and a short note on Sundays.
Stories
Real days, small experiments
Everything here starts with something I've actually tried on my own life, written up honestly, including the parts that didn't go to plan.
Try something
Something you can do today
New · a free pilot
The phone check-in
15 short questions about how you actually use your phone, not how long. Get a personal result, then two next steps aimed at where your choices slip most.
A 2-minute pause
Three questions about the last time you picked up your phone without meaning to. No sign-up, and nothing is saved.
Who's behind this
Hello, I'm Chernyang.
I'm a mathematician who spent over a decade building software. These days I'm asking a different question: as technology becomes smarter, how can we become wiser humans? I test every idea on myself first, and share what I find, including what doesn't work.