What does Norma actually do?

Norma blocks the apps you select and their notifications. When you scan the Unit Disc with your iPhone, the apps you chose become inaccessible and their notifications stop — scan again to restore access.

Does it work on Android?

No. Norma currently works with iPhone only.

Does it require a subscription or battery?

No — no subscription and no battery. Nothing to charge, no recurring fee, and no hidden cost.

How does it connect to my phone?

Norma uses NFC. To activate it, place the top of your iPhone — near the camera area — against the disc. Heavy or thick cases can sometimes interfere with the signal and make the connection a little weaker; that's normal.

Will it slow down my phone or drain the battery?

No. Norma works through your iPhone's built-in Screen Time, and nothing runs in the background — so there's no performance hit and no extra battery drain.

Can I customize which apps are blocked?

During setup, you choose which apps Norma will control. You can change it at any time by switching between different Focus modes directly from the app's home screen.

Can I block websites, not just apps?

Yes — you can block distracting websites alongside apps, all grouped into your presets.

What happens if I lose the disc?

Norma includes a limited number of emergency unblocks you can use if you don't have your disc on hand.

When will my order arrive?

We ship within 24–48 hours. From there, delivery usually takes 3–6 business days to reach you, depending on where you are in the world.

Will I pay customs or import fees?

France and the EU: no customs fees. Outside the EU — including the US and the UK — your country may charge import duties and taxes when the parcel arrives. They're set and collected by your customs authority and the carrier, not by us: they aren't included in our prices and we unfortunately can't cover or refund them. If a delivery is refused, duties and return costs may be deducted from the refund.

Can I return my Norma?

Yes. You can return it for a full refund of the price you paid. Return shipping, however, is covered by you (the buyer).

Completely. Checkout runs on Shopify — one of the most trusted commerce platforms in the world. Your payment is encrypted end-to-end, your card details are never seen or stored by us, and you can pay securely by card or Apple Pay. Your information stays yours.

How do I reduce my screen time?

Start with the two apps that eat the most hours instead of trying to fix everything at once. Put a real barrier in front of those two, and move the phone out of reach at the moments it gets picked up by default, like overnight. Two apps and one barrier, given two weeks, is enough to feel the hours come back.

Does Screen Time actually work?

As a report it is genuinely useful: it shows you which two apps are costing you the most. As a brake it is weaker, because app limits and screen-time reminders sit on the same phone as the apps, one tap from being dismissed in the exact moment you are least able to resist. A limit you can extend in two taps is a suggestion rather than a barrier.

How much screen time is too much?

There is no single number that settles it, and picking one is not what makes the difference. What matters is what the hours are made of: for most people two apps take most of them, and those two are the ones worth cutting. If the easy path keeps leading back to the feed when you meant to stop, the default is the problem, not the total.

Why can't I stop using my phone even when I want to?

Most phone use is cued by proximity rather than desire: the phone is simply there, and the easy path stays one tap away. Advice built on willpower leaves that default intact, which is why it holds for about three days and then quietly stops. Friction keeps working even when you don't, so it outlasts resolve.

How do I block apps so I can't just unblock them?

The block has to require an action your tired self won't take, which means the switch cannot live on the phone you are trying to escape. Anything you can undo in two taps will eventually be undone. Norma is one way to do it: you scan a steel disc with your iPhone, the apps you chose stay blocked until you scan again, and leaving the disc in another room keeps the block in place.

How to actually cut your screen time.

Most screen-time advice quietly assumes the problem is you, that if you just wanted it a little more, you'd use your phone a little less. You won't. The change that lasts isn't more discipline. It's more friction, placed where it counts.

You've read the lists. Turn on grayscale. Hide social apps in a folder. Set an app limit. Most of them work for about three days, then quietly stop, not because you failed, but because every one of them leaves the easy path one tap away. This is the principle underneath the ones that actually stick, and a method built on it.

The principle: make it harder to reach than to resist

A habit changes when the easy path stops being the default. That's it. Everything else is detail.

The reason willpower-based advice fails is that it leaves the default intact. App limits and screen-time reminders sit one tap away, on the same phone, ready to be dismissed in the exact moment you're least able to resist: late, tired, bored. Real friction lives off the screen, where a weak moment can't reach it. Researchers call the calm-moment version of this a commitment device: a decision you lock in now to protect you from the choices you'll be tempted to make later.

The University of California, Irvine's Gloria Mark has shown how expensive each lapse really is: an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to refocus after a single interruption. The goal isn't to white-knuckle through those interruptions. It's to stop them from being available in the first place.

Key takeaways

Don't fight the urge; remove the easy yes.
Friction beats willpower because it keeps working even when you don't.
The barrier should live somewhere other than the phone you're escaping.
Decide once, while calm, then let the design hold the line for you.

A method you can start today

1. Name the two apps that cost you most

Don't try to fix everything. Open your phone's screen-time report and find the two apps that eat the most hours; for most people it's a social feed and one more. Those two are the whole game. Cutting them is worth more than fiddling with the other forty.

2. Move the trigger out of reach

Most phone use is cued by proximity, not desire: the phone is simply there. Break the cue. Charge it in another room overnight instead of on the nightstand. The short walk is the friction, and it quietly removes the two worst windows of the day: the last hour before sleep and the first after waking, when more than 80% of people reach for the phone within ten minutes of opening their eyes.

3. Make blocking deliberate, not negotiable

This is the step that holds the rest together. Put a real, physical barrier between you and those two apps, one you set once and can't casually undo. A limit you can extend in two taps isn't a barrier; it's a suggestion. The block has to require an action your tired self won't take.

Image to add: the steel disc resting on a desk beside a phone, the off switch, off the screen.

4. Protect the morning

Keep the feed off until you've started your own day, not someone else's. The first hour sets the tone: begin it inside an algorithm and you spend the morning reacting; begin it in your own head and the focus carries.

Where Norma fits

Norma is step 3, made effortless. Scan a steel disc with your iPhone and the apps you chose disappear until you scan again. The disc lives on your desk or by your bed; reaching for it is a choice, not a reflex, and leaving it in another room keeps the block in place without a shred of willpower. It works the same way on your Mac, so the focus follows you. The mechanism behind it is just a passive NFC tag, the tap-to-pay chip repurposed for focus.

Why this works when the tips don't

Every item above shares one move: it shifts the default so the easy path no longer leads to the feed. You're not trying to want it less in the moment; you're arranging your environment so the moment never gets the chance to decide. That's also why your screen time was never really a discipline problem to begin with.

Start with two apps and one barrier. Give it two weeks. The hours come back faster than you'd expect, and you'll have spent none of the willpower you were sure you lacked.

Questions, answered.

How do I reduce my screen time?: Start with the two apps that eat the most hours instead of trying to fix everything at once. Put a real barrier in front of those two, and move the phone out of reach at the moments it gets picked up by default, like overnight. Two apps and one barrier, given two weeks, is enough to feel the hours come back.
Does Screen Time actually work?: As a report it is genuinely useful: it shows you which two apps are costing you the most. As a brake it is weaker, because app limits and screen-time reminders sit on the same phone as the apps, one tap from being dismissed in the exact moment you are least able to resist. A limit you can extend in two taps is a suggestion rather than a barrier.
How much screen time is too much?: There is no single number that settles it, and picking one is not what makes the difference. What matters is what the hours are made of: for most people two apps take most of them, and those two are the ones worth cutting. If the easy path keeps leading back to the feed when you meant to stop, the default is the problem, not the total.
Why can't I stop using my phone even when I want to?: Most phone use is cued by proximity rather than desire: the phone is simply there, and the easy path stays one tap away. Advice built on willpower leaves that default intact, which is why it holds for about three days and then quietly stops. Friction keeps working even when you don't, so it outlasts resolve.
Where should I keep my phone at night?: In another room, on its charger, rather than on the nightstand. The short walk is the friction, and it removes the two worst windows of the day: the last hour before sleep and the first after waking, when more than 80% of people reach for the phone within ten minutes of opening their eyes.
How do I block apps so I can't just unblock them?: The block has to require an action your tired self won't take, which means the switch cannot live on the phone you are trying to escape. Anything you can undo in two taps will eventually be undone. Norma is one way to do it: you scan a steel disc with your iPhone, the apps you chose stay blocked until you scan again, and leaving the disc in another room keeps the block in place.