Category: Family Life and Systems

Family experiences, parenting, routines, schooling and household systems

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Why Most Productivity Advice Fails in Real Life

Productivity advice is everywhere.
In my experience, productivity advice fails most often when it collides with inconsistent energy, competing priorities, and everyday interruptions.

Productivity tips in books, podcasts, apps, videos – all promising better focus, better habits, better output. Much of it is well-intentioned, thoughtfully designed, and even backed by research.

And yet, for many people, it simply doesn’t stick.

Not because they’re lazy or undisciplined, but because most productivity advice is built for an environment that doesn’t resemble real life.

This post isn’t about rejecting productivity altogether. It’s about understanding why so much advice works in theory but collapses in practice, and what tends to work better instead.

Productivity Advice Assumes Stable, Predictable Conditions

A common assumption underneath most productivity advice is stability.

Stable time.
Stable energy.
Stable motivation.
Stable priorities.

Real life rarely offers this.

Mornings are unpredictable. Workloads fluctuate. Family needs interrupt plans. Energy varies from day to day. Yet much advice assumes you can:

  • wake up at the same time every day
  • follow an ideal routine consistently
  • maintain focus blocks without interruption

When those assumptions don’t hold, the advice feels like a personal failure – even though the real issue is misalignment with reality.

Most Advice Is Built for Peak Performance, Not Real Life

Productivity content tends to highlight what works at your best:

  • perfect mornings
  • uninterrupted focus
  • high motivation
  • clean schedules

But most days are not peak days.

What actually determines long-term progress is how productivity systems perform on average days – or worse, low-energy days.

Advice that only works when conditions are ideal doesn’t fail occasionally. It fails systematically, because ideal conditions are rare.

Sustainable productivity looks boring precisely because it’s designed for imperfect circumstances.

Productivity Advice Overestimates Motivation and Willpower

A recurring theme in productivity advice is the idea that motivation can be generated on demand:

  • “just start”
  • “build discipline”
  • “push through resistance”

While motivation matters, it’s unreliable.

Real life includes:

  • poor sleep
  • stress
  • illness
  • emotional load

Advice that depends heavily on motivation tends to break down exactly when it’s needed most.

Systems that reduce reliance on motivation – by removing decisions or lowering friction – tend to survive far longer.

Why Productivity Advice Focuses on Tools Instead of Behaviour

A lot of productivity advice focuses on tools:

  • apps
  • planners
  • trackers
  • frameworks

Tools are tangible. They’re easy to recommend and easy to sell.

But tools don’t change behaviour by themselves.

Without a clear system – when work happens, what happens next, when to stop – tools simply add complexity. For many people, they become another thing to manage, maintain, or abandon.

The problem usually isn’t a lack of tools. It’s a lack of structure that fits real constraints.

How Productivity Advice Fails and Ignores Cognitive Load and Mental Energy

One of the most overlooked factors in productivity is mental load.

Every decision, interruption, or context switch consumes cognitive energy. Over time, this adds up.

Advice that adds:

  • more tracking
  • more optimisation
  • more self-monitoring

often increases cognitive load instead of reducing it.

Ironically, the attempt to be more productive can make life feel heavier, not lighter.

What helps most people is not more awareness – it’s fewer things to think about.

Why One-Size-Fits-All Productivity Advice Persists

Generic advice spreads because it’s simple to package.

It doesn’t need context.
It doesn’t require knowing your constraints.
It scales easily.

But productivity is deeply contextual:

  • personal energy patterns
  • family structure
  • work demands
  • health
  • environment

Advice that ignores context can still sound convincing – right up until you try to live it.

When it fails, the failure is often internalised as a lack of discipline rather than a mismatch of design.

What Works Better Than Generic Productivity Advice

Across different areas of life, the approaches that tend to hold up share a few traits:

  • They reduce decisions instead of adding them
  • They assume inconsistency, not perfection
  • They prioritise repeatability over optimisation
  • They are simple enough to resume after a break

Rather than asking “How can I be more productive?”, better questions often are:

  • “What can I remove?”
  • “What decision can this system make for me?”
  • “What still works on my worst days?”

These questions lead to systems that are quieter, less impressive, and far more durable.

This is the same reason simple systems tend to outperform complex tools and rigid routines in personal projects.

Productivity Advice Isn’t Useless – It’s Often Misapplied

None of this means productivity advice is worthless.

Much of it is genuinely helpful in the right context:

  • short-term goals
  • controlled environments
  • specific constraints

The problem arises when advice designed for narrow conditions is treated as universal.

The most useful shift is not rejecting advice, but filtering it through reality:

  • Does this assume stable energy?
  • Does this increase or reduce mental load?
  • Does this still work when things go wrong?

If the answer is no, the advice may still be interesting – but it shouldn’t become a standard.

Final Thoughts

Most productivity advice fails in real life because real life is messy, inconsistent, and unpredictable.

The goal isn’t to become maximally productive. It’s to create systems that work without constant effort, even when motivation is low and conditions are imperfect.

Progress doesn’t come from doing more things better.
It comes from doing fewer things more consistently.

And consistency, in real life, is almost always a design problem – not a character flaw.

What to Do Next (Optional, Not a CTA)

If you’ve found yourself cycling through productivity methods without lasting results, it may be worth stepping back from optimisation altogether.

Instead of asking what new habit or tool to adopt, ask:

What can I simplify so this works even on my worst days?

That question tends to lead to quieter answers and better outcomes.

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Why Simple Systems Beat Complex Tools for Personal Projects

When a personal project starts to feel messy or unmanageable, the instinctive response is often to look for a better tool. It becomes a case of simple systems vs complex tools, and how they can be applied properly.

This may include:

A new app.
A more powerful platform.
A more sophisticated workflow.
Managing personal projects.

I’ve done this more times than I can count. And while tools can help, I’ve learned – sometimes the hard way – that most struggling projects don’t fail because the tools are inadequate.

They fail because the system around the tools is missing or unclear.

In my experience, the real difference between stalled and sustainable personal projects is almost always the system – not the tool.

This post explains why simple systems consistently outperform complex tools in personal projects, and how shifting your focus away from optimisation and towards structure can dramatically improve follow-through and create simple workflows.

Simple Systems vs Complex Tools – Why Tools Feel Productive but Systems Create Real Progress

Tools are tangible. They promise leverage, efficiency, and clarity. Installing or configuring one feels like progress, even when nothing meaningful has changed.

Systems are quieter.

A system doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t look impressive. But it defines:

  • when work happens
  • what happens next
  • how decisions are made
  • when a project pauses or ends

Tools assist execution. Systems govern behaviour.

Without a system, even the best tool becomes a distraction.

Why Productivity Tools Are So Tempting in Personal Projects

There’s a psychological reason tools are so appealing.

Choosing a tool:

  • is a finite decision
  • provides immediate feedback
  • avoids confronting deeper problems

It’s far easier to spend an afternoon setting up software than to define:

  • realistic constraints
  • success criteria
  • stopping conditions

Tools let you feel productive without forcing commitment.

Systems do the opposite – they expose ambiguity.

What a System Is (and Why It’s Not Just Another Tool)

A system is not:

  • a checklist
  • a productivity app
  • a rigid schedule

A system is:

  • a repeatable pattern
  • a decision framework
  • a defined flow from start to finish

At its simplest, a system answers three questions:

  1. When does this happen?
  2. What is the next concrete action?
  3. When do I stop or reassess?

Once those are defined, tools become optional.

How Complex Tools Cause Friction in Personal Projects

Complex tools tend to introduce:

  • configuration overhead
  • maintenance requirements
  • cognitive load
  • dependency on motivation

They assume consistent energy, focus, and interest – which personal projects rarely have.

When energy dips, the tool becomes friction instead of leverage. Miss a few days, and the system collapses because there wasn’t one.

This is why people repeatedly abandon:

  • task managers
  • note systems
  • project trackers

Not because they’re bad – but because they demand more structure than the project actually has.

Why Simple Systems Scale Better Than Complex Tools

Personal projects live in unstable environments:

  • changing priorities
  • limited time
  • emotional investment
  • external interruptions

Simple systems survive these conditions because they are:

  • easy to resume
  • forgiving of missed days
  • clear about next steps

A system that works at 50% consistency is more valuable than a tool that only works at 90%.

Build the System First, Choose the Tool Second

Instead of starting with a tool, start by defining the system in plain language.

For example:

  • “I work on this project twice a week.”
  • “Each session has one clearly defined task.”
  • “If I miss a session, I resume at the next scheduled time.”
  • “Every four weeks, I decide whether to continue or stop.”

Only after this exists does it make sense to choose a tool – and often, pen and paper is sufficient.

The system does the heavy lifting. The tool just records it.

This same systems-first thinking has shaped how I approach daily routines and long-running projects elsewhere on this site.

Why Systems Matter in Both Technical and Non-Technical Projects

This pattern shows up everywhere:

  • writing
  • learning
  • side projects
  • technical builds
  • creative work

In technical contexts, the temptation is even stronger because tools feel inherently productive.

But complexity compounds quickly. Without a governing system, tools multiply, workflows fragment, and momentum disappears.

The more complex the tools, the more important the system becomes.

When Tools Actually Matter (After the System Exists)

This isn’t an argument against tools entirely.

Tools matter when:

  • the system is already clear
  • scale demands automation
  • coordination across people is required

At that point, tools amplify a system that already works.

Used prematurely, they only amplify confusion.

The Long-Term Advantage of Boring, Simple Systems

Simple systems don’t generate excitement. They don’t look impressive. They don’t inspire screenshots or tutorials.

What they do is:

  • reduce decision fatigue
  • make progress predictable
  • lower emotional resistance
  • keep projects alive longer

That last point is critical.

Most personal projects don’t fail because they’re impossible. They fail because they slowly dissolve under friction.

Systems slow that decay.

Final Thoughts

If a project feels stuck, the answer is rarely “find a better tool”.

More often, the real question is:

What system is this project actually running on?

When you define the system clearly – even in imperfect, human terms – tools become optional, interchangeable, and far less important.

Progress follows structure, not sophistication. This is truly a case of simple systems vs complex tools, and the roles they play.

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How I Reduced Decision Fatigue in the Morning With Simple Systems

Decision fatigue in the morning used to drain far more energy than they should have.

Nothing was technically “wrong”. There was no single crisis, no dramatic failure. But by the time the day had properly started, I already felt behind – mentally tired, impatient, and strangely scattered.

The issue wasn’t lack of motivation or discipline. It was the sheer number of small decisions stacked tightly together before breakfast.

Over time, I came to understand that what I was experiencing wasn’t laziness or poor planning. It was decision fatigue – and the solution wasn’t trying harder. It was building simple systems that removed decisions entirely.

This post outlines how we have reduced morning decision fatigue by designing predictable, low-friction systems that work even on low-energy days.

What Decision Fatigue in the Morning Actually Looks Like at Home

Decision fatigue at home isn’t dramatic. It’s subtle.

It shows up as:

  • irritation over small things
  • procrastination on simple tasks
  • feeling rushed even when time is available
  • snapping decisions instead of thoughtful ones

In the morning, decisions pile up fast:

  • what to wear
  • what to eat
  • what to pack
  • what order to do things in
  • what can be skipped

Individually, none of these are difficult. Collectively, they consume mental bandwidth before the day has even begun.

The mistake I made for years was assuming the problem was willpower. In reality, the problem was exposure – too many choices, too early, every single day.

Why Motivation Fails and Systems Don’t

Motivation is inconsistent by nature. It fluctuates with sleep, stress, health, and mood.

Systems, on the other hand, are indifferent.

A system doesn’t care whether you feel inspired, tired, or distracted. It simply runs – provided it’s designed simply enough.

Once I stopped trying to “be better in the mornings” and instead focused on designing mornings that required less of me mentally, things changed quickly.

This shift in mindset was the turning point:

Don’t rely on good decisions. Remove the need for decisions.

System One: Remove Repetitive Decisions Entirely

The fastest way to reduce decision fatigue is to eliminate repeat decisions. Simplify the daily routines.

Anything that happens daily is a candidate.

Examples:

  • fixed breakfast options
  • predefined lunch components
  • limited clothing combinations
  • consistent morning order

Instead of asking “What should I do?”, the system answers automatically.

This doesn’t remove flexibility – it contains it. Variety exists across the week, not inside every single morning.

This same approach later became the basis for how we handle school lunches, because the underlying problem was identical: too many small decisions under time pressure.

System Two: Sequence Tasks the Same Way Every Day

Order matters more than speed.

By doing tasks in the same sequence every morning as a routine system, the brain stops negotiating. There’s no debate about what comes next – momentum takes over.

A predictable order:

  • reduces context switching
  • lowers anxiety
  • makes omissions obvious

When something is missing, it stands out immediately because the sequence is broken.

The goal isn’t to optimise for speed. It’s to optimise for flow.

System Three: Batch Similar Actions Together

Batching is a simple concept borrowed from production environments and professional kitchens.

Instead of completing one full task at a time, you:

  • repeat the same action across multiple items
  • then move to the next action

At home, this might mean:

  • preparing all food components together
  • laying out everything before assembling
  • grouping similar tasks instead of jumping between them

Batching reduces mental resets – one of the biggest hidden energy drains in the morning.

System Four: Use Visual Cues Instead of Memory

Memory is unreliable under pressure.

Visual systems are not.

Instead of relying on mental checklists, we started using:

  • physical layouts
  • visible staging areas
  • consistent placement of items

When something is missing, it’s immediately obvious – no mental recall required.

This is especially important when mornings involve other people, interruptions, or changing timelines.

What These Systems Don’t Solve (And That’s Fine)

These systems don’t:

  • eliminate all stress
  • prevent every bad morning
  • guarantee calm children or perfect routines

What they do is reduce the baseline load.

By starting the day with fewer decisions, you preserve mental energy for things that actually require thought, patience, or emotional regulation.

That trade-off is worth it.

Why This Works Beyond Mornings

The biggest surprise was how transferable this thinking became.

Once you learn to spot decision fatigue in one area, you start seeing it everywhere:

  • personal projects
  • technical work
  • planning
  • even rest

The principle is always the same:

Wherever decisions repeat, systems belong.

Final Thoughts

Decision fatigue isn’t a personal failing. It’s a design problem.

When mornings feel harder than they should, the solution isn’t more motivation or stricter discipline. It’s fewer decisions – and systems that quietly carry the load for you.

You don’t need perfect mornings.

You need mornings that work even when you’re not at your best. Reducing the mental load just makes this easier.

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Watch Out For Your Teen Behaviour

A Teen Behaviour Post that all parents should read.

We would like to share a story of knowledge and education, especially for us (D1(myself) and D2) as first time parents for those teenage years, and more specifically, the transition into the first year and beyond of secondary schooling, for our child, J1. This is intended to share knowledge and insight, so that someone else may be able to Watch Out For Your Teen Behaviour.

A Brief Introduction.

For us here in Queensland, Australia, the move into year 7 last year involved handing over an M1 Macbook Air (or a laptop reaching similar abilities), to our child for the purposes of their education. We could have been supplied one by the school at a nominal fee, we however chose to go the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) route instead.
Also for the purposes of their independence, and to allow communication between J1 and Us, and also the friends, we supplied a Samsung mobile phone. This was politely given to us for this purpose from a close relative with a heart of gold.
This was on top of the access to his own ipad which he has been able to use since before he was 2.

We have other rules also for the ipads, etc, such as not during school weeks, only a certain amount of time maximum per day, completed chores, and things like that.

Setting up the Contract and Boundaries.

D2 and myself created up a contract for J1, in relation to the technology. We went through every single line of it with him, and sat there to explain everything, as simply as possible, and to a level understood by J1. We know it was absorbed cleanly, as this kid is a superhero with reading stuff, and being able to spit it back in your face 10 years later, word for word. He can tell you about books that haven’t been touched by him for ages and about conversations had years prior, and this is becoming very apparent as we see his interactions with the twins, J3 and J4.

Back to the unfolding story..
This contract (linked HERE), which I will also post in this story for any future ideas from other parents (without any personally identifiable information of course!), was very clear, with all the added verbal explanations, from Our point of view. We had it on lockdown – or so we thought..

Anyway, J1 had commenced the first year of high school and all was seemingly going great. He had make plenty of new friends, grown stronger with some of his old mates from that awkward year 6 time, and just generally been great at adapting. His grades were good and consistent, and his teachers spoke highly of him at the couple of parent/teacher interviews we attended.

Noticing Change and the checks We started.

We are not certain when it started, but somewhere in the early 2nd half of the year, there was more attention paid to the grumpy morning boy who seemingly couldn’t ever get enough sleep.
On top of that, the devices never seemingly needed to be charged as often. (As a rule, and as part of the contract, they were to be charged in the parents main area, as also applies to the ipads for all of our J clan)

We felt that maybe it was time that we had a look into the matter. After all, we did put it into his contract regarding our ability to do checks of this nature.
So the searches began..
Uncovered during this time, was lots of attempts at downloading Windows based installers for games, vast amounts of late night Youtube videos of bug wars, a large amount of online game histories, and lots of anime porn.
On top of this, were the hidden games disguised (renamed by J1) to resemble innocent sounding files – “School”, and “Stuff”, among others.
Also was the deleted items. Files of various natures simply disposed of into the Trash.

Effectively, nearly all of the contract rules were broken.

..denial – Part 1.

So he was shown what we had found. Initially, there was complete denial. The excuses like, “I don’t know how that got there”, and, “I don’t even know what that is” flooded at us. Finally, after much explanation that searches for specific items yield specific results, and the browser and computer logs showing it had indeed been done whilst the device was in his possession, we were able to obtain the actual truth.

For all of this, we then commenced active blocking of games sites, and anything else we could think of via the modem. I will supply this list in this post (linked HERE). We also put into effect more strict rules. The laptop and phone was to be handed back to us at the end of each school day, and we started to properly implement the services of the Family Link apps.

Now we were back on course.
With a head full of knowledge on how that sort of stuff, including the blatant lying, can affect the lives of not just him, but also us, as parents, and as a family, we settled back into the proper routines of school and home life.

Ears pricked to alertness.

It was around September I think, when we received a call from the deputy principal of the school..
We were informed that our child quite possibly had video footage of a fight that had occurred on the school grounds. A meeting was set up with Us, J1, and the deputy principal present.
It was then, that we were informed, of a much more serious situation that our child had become entangled in.
It seems that him and his girlfriend had been exchanging nudie pix, and her grandma had seen them and called the school. With the texts that we were shown, it was most certainly a two sided event, even though it was only the multiple sentence responses that we were shown. All of the girls texts had been deleted out of the conversation, presumably by herself or her grandmother, presumably to proclaim innocence. She was a grade above J1, but they are both under the age of consent in the eyes of the law, so those pictures exchanged were indeed child porn. With the phone account in D2’s name, needless to say, we were very highly concerned about the matter.

So we confiscated the phone. And we went through it. Sure enough, our boy had sort of saved himself a little by saving a couple of the pictures he was sent. So it wasn’t just him sending explicit images, it was both of them. But at the same time, he had also used his own shovel to dig his own grave by deleting all of the conversations with the girlfriend. And the ones between his mates, most of them were trashed too.

Massive Information Loading.

When he got home from school that day, there was a very big talk about this entire situation, from the initial video recording of the fight (which in reality was just a hug and scuffle between 2 of his mates), right up to the reason for the meeting with the deputy principal. For starters, he had broken our contract again.
Then there was the fact that both of them had been distributing child porn, because essentially, in the eyes of the law, that is what it is.
He was made very aware that there was still a very real possibility of the police coming to talk to him about the matter, and also it would likely affect D2, as she is the owner of the account of the phone. For an adult, these things usually lead to jail time, even if it isn’t physically in the adults possession, it is still in the possession of an account that the adult is responsible for. Then there was the talks of the Sex Offender Registry, where it would likely be that we would each end up on there for something as simple as this. The full consequences of what this would mean for him as he approached young adulthood and beyond was also explained.

Drastic Measures

Then came the punishment. We didn’t want anything like this, so that phone was deleted, scrubbed, deleted, and scrubbed again, and then it was set up as a “dumb phone”. No camera, no access to google searches or anything like that, no ability to save or view images or videos, you name it, we removed it. All it can do, even to this day, is make phone calls. Oh, and the calculator still works. And if necessary, at any moment, we can lock the phone completely via the Family Link app. If he comes to us asking for permission for a specific image or file we are able to approve or deny it with relative ease.
During the remainder of the school term, J1 did not have a phone. Nor for most of the end of year holidays. For such a serious breach of our trust, again, there had to be very firm consequences. In a way, it was his jail time.

As for the outcome, thankfully, neither the grandmother, the police, nor the school took any further action. It was all dealt with in a sensible manner, because as with everything, there is always two sides to the story.

That is the main lesson to learn I guess. Once you get through all the initial lies and explanations, the truth does come out. And it is important that they learn to trust what you as parents do with the truth. Be firm, but be fair. This is especially true for households that contain multiple children.

Preparing For The Future

Going into a new school year, we have had numerous more conversations about things like this, and have also had our sex talk with him. The one that involves respecting people and their bodies, especially your own. We also made it extremely clear, that although we have supplied an entire box of them for him, there really is no need to go out and rush into anything where he will need them, but we have made it known to him that he has a box of condoms available for him. They have a super long expiry date, so like we said, no rush.

Putting our trust in him, is also him putting his trust in Us.

..Watch Out For Your Teen Behaviour..

Uh Oh!

As an update after the first school week, the unimaginable happened..
I was initiating some updates for the macbook on sunday evening after all of the Jays had been put to bed and noticed that there was a game installer (Minecraft Education) still mounted on the device. I know it wasn’t there prior to this, as the previous weekend i had also been performing updates to get it ready for the new school year.
Anyway, J1 was queried as to why it was there, and sure enough, I had left it in the downloads last year. He had just tried installing it, even regardless of the “No Games” policy.
I opened the Safari History in his account, and all these sites were visible in the account. Multiple games sites, numerous ‘Chat with..” AI chatbot pages, and also, you guessed it, porn of varying natures. Oh, and there was also the new email accounts he had created..
This kid was immediately woken up and kicked out of bed, and asked to explain his actions.
He didn’t have access to the laptop on the days in question, as they were the weekend days. He was however, able to use his ipad during these times. And that was what he had been doing.. hiding out in his room looking up all of this garbage.
Fortunately his devices are on the same account, and sync. And he does not have account privileges to delete any of the information from any of the devices.

Small Truths

When asked as to what he was doing, he did admit to doing the wrong thing. When asked why, especially due to all the recent happenings and talks we had just recently had, his answer was that he didn’t know why, but he was disgusted with it. We queried him if that was the case on every occasion, and yes, he apparently was. When asked why he kept on doing it then, his response was that he didn’t know.
So we started asking him about his awareness of the dangers of (ab)using devices and technology as a whole. About how it can endanger our entire family, and things like that.
His demonstrations of his awareness was… unsettling for want of a better word..
Whilst he does know about things that could happen, there seemed to be a little bit of an “I don’t care” or “immunity” response about it. Take for example, Us pointing out that all of his younger siblings are in almost the same area as him when he was doing all of this stuff. His response was that they were not in the same room as him at the time.

More Groundwork and Punishments

Once we were almost done with our conversation with him, the talk was steered towards punishment.
So now he gets to commence, for the foreseeable future, his punishments.
This includes the phone, macbook, and ipad.
He has been completely banned from using ipads for a long time. And when he is finally allowed to use them again, it will only ever be under direct supervision. No more hiding out in his room with it. That will be a permanent thing..
Also, will be only very limited internet access. We understand that it is needed for the purposes of school and hobby research, and that is all that will be allowed. There will be no video sites accessible without permissions being granted, no access to those AI chatbots, and there will be daily checks, whenever it is used.
The phone will need to be handed back to us again at the end of each school day, and of a weekend, it will not be in his possession. He will be allowed to check it and respond a few times a day, but that is all.
The macbook is only for school, and it too will be handed back to us each and every day. It can get packed for school, along with the phone, of a morning as we are walking out the door to take them there.
Also off the table are things like sleepovers with mates and all of that stuff.
And there will be lots more outside time, both during the day and also the evening, each and every single day moving forward.

Parental Guidance Thoughts

D2 and myself had a bit of a chat about it after we sent him back off to bed.
More so, what we could try to get him back on the right track again. We have established some ideas of erotic novels, and maybe even some super softcore adult oriented magazines.
He will even need to read any and all articles we find that involve discussions regarding pornography addictions.
It is completely normal to have desires, and in fact, it is encouraged. When it is of a clean and acceptable nature.
However, when it crosses a line to endanger and potentially expose the younger ones to it, well before their time, something drastic has to be done.
And there is no need at all for a soon to be teenager seeking out porn online of any nature, nor for them to enter into any adult oriented chats or activities.

Its a long way back to the top..
..Watch Out For Your Teen Behaviour..

As a sidenote, here is the extra information we are providing.

THE CONTRACT:

First Mobile Device Contract

I, _(insert child name)_, understand that using these mobile devices (phone, ipad, laptop) is a privilege, not a right. In order to be permitted to enjoy this privilege, I agree to the following:

I Understand..

[_] The devices belong to my parents, they are not mine. And they may take it away or look at it at anytime.
[_] My parents are trusting me to be responsible and look after the devices to the best of my abilities, trying my best not to lose or break any of them.
[_] There are restrictions in place on the devices and lock out times are between 9pm and 6am on school nights.
[_] There may be adjustments made to this agreement as needed, while we all learn and adjust to child device usage.
These will be noted down as new information points under the appropriate section, and all parties will be informed.

I will..

[_] Keep the devices charged.
[_] Share my chosen passwords with my parents.
[_] Use the devices in a responsible manner.
[_] Answer when my parents call or text. If I miss their call, I will call them back as soon as I discover they have tried to contact me.
[_] Ask before downloading apps or games.
[_] Notify my parents IMMEDIATELY if I receive or discover anything inappropriate.

I will not..

[_] Delete, or attempt to delete, anything on the devices.
[_] Use devices during family meals.
[_] Participate in bullying or rude behaviour, or use unkind language. If I wouldn’t say it in person I will not send it.
[_] Use any of the devices to take inappropriate photos or videos of myself or others. This includes anything you’d be embarrassed to show your parents, grandparents, or teachers.
[_] Use the phone during school, unless needing to contact a parent. The phone is to remain in the schoolbag on silent or vibrate mode only.
[_] Complain if my parents ask to see the phone.
[_] Adjust any settings without permission.
[_] Share my number with strangers.
[_] Answer or respond to texts or calls from unknown numbers. And I will let my parents know if any unknown numbers do attempt to contact me.
[_] Bug my parents to put games on the devices.


_______________________________________________
Child’s signature


_______________________________________________
Mum’s signature


_______________________________________________
Dad’s signature


______________________________
Date

Blocked Websites:

Games related sites (more will be added as we research them):

  • addictinggames.com
  • agame.com
  • aiwigame.com
  • arkadium.com
  • asia.wargaming.net
  • craftnite.io
  • crazygames.com
  • fog.com
  • freegames.org
  • freeonlinegames.com
  • gamaverse.com
  • gamearter.com
  • games.aarp.org
  • gamesgames.com
  • kirka.io
  • kizi.com
  • klook.com
  • lagged.com
  • new.gg
  • parade.com
  • playbelline.com
  • poki.com
  • shellshock.io
  • shellshockerss.co
  • twoplayergames.org
  • ufreegames.com
  • wargamer.com
  • warthunder.com
  • wellgames.com
  • worldofwarplanes.com
  • worldofwarships.asia
  • yad.com
  • yandex.com

Other blocked sites (more will be added as we research them):

  • youtube.com (direct supervision only)
  • talkie-ai.com