How To Use Bagby Phone Holders

Answer Summary

There is nothing to set up - that is the point. Everyone drops their phone into a pocket, and the table or the room is present again. The SOCIAL holder (4 pockets) is made for gatherings and dates; the FAMILY holder (6+1) is for the whole household. No app, no charging, no instructions to lose.

Key Takeaways

Nothing to install or charge - you park phones in the pockets and that is the whole method.

SOCIAL (4 pockets) is built for dinners, parties, and dates; FAMILY (6+1) is for the household.

Make it a small ritual: phones go in at the start of the meal or gathering and stay until it is over.

It works because it is physical - the phone is nearby but out of hand, so staying present is not a willpower fight.

Here is the good news: there is nothing to learn. Your Bagby phone holder does its whole job the moment everyone puts a phone in it - no app, no charging, no manual to lose. We leave those out of the box on purpose.

What makes it work is the small ritual around it. Here is how we use ours.

The Bagby SOCIAL - 4 pockets

Made for the moments you do not want to miss: a dinner out, a house-warming, a date, a table full of friends. As everyone sits down, phones go into the pockets - right there if someone truly needs one, but out of hand, so the conversation has room to happen.

The Bagby FAMILY - 6+1 pockets

Sized for the whole household. Give everyone a pocket and let the holder become where phones live during dinner, homework, or the wind-down before bed. Kids follow the ritual faster when the grown-up phones go in first.

Making it stick

The trick is not discipline - it is the pocket. Because the phone has a place to go that is not your hand, staying present stops being a decision you keep re-making. Pick a moment (the first course, the start of homework), park the phones, and let the holder hold the line.

Step-by-step

1

Pick your moment

Choose when phones go in - as the meal starts, when guests arrive, or at the beginning of homework or wind-down.
2

Everyone parks a phone

Each person slides their phone into a pocket. Grown-ups first - the rest follow faster when you lead.
3

Leave them until it is over

Phones stay in the holder until the meal or gathering ends. They are nearby if genuinely needed, just not in hand.
4

Make it a habit

Use the same cue each time so it becomes automatic - the holder, not willpower, keeps everyone present.

Written by R Blank Founder & CEO of Shield Your Body, author of Empowered, and host of The Healthier Tech Podcast

R Blank is the founder of Shield Your Body and the author of Empowered: A Practical Guide to Protecting Yourself from EMF. He spent years thinking about the devices we keep closest, and what they quietly ask of us in return. Then he put his own phone down, and found clarity, stillness, and the sense of being present in his own life again on the other side. In 2024 he brought Bagby into the Shield Your Body family, to help more people find their way back to the same.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an app or to charge it?

No. Bagby phone holders are completely tech-free - nothing to install, nothing to charge, nothing to update. You use them the moment you unbox them.

What is the difference between the SOCIAL and FAMILY holders?

The SOCIAL has 4 pockets and is built for gatherings, dinners out, and dates. The FAMILY has 6+1 pockets for the whole household - dinner, homework, and the wind-down before bed.

How do I actually get people to use it?

Make it a small, repeatable ritual and go first. When the grown-up phones go in at the start of the meal, everyone else follows - and because the phone has a place to be, no one has to keep deciding to stay off it.

Where should I keep it?

Wherever the moment happens - the dinner table, the entryway for guests, or the kitchen counter for homework and evenings. Somewhere everyone passes and can reach easily.