--- title: "Phone Stacking" description: "Small groups place their mobile phones in a central stack on the table and agree on a light penalty for the first person who picks theirs up. The agreement remains in place during a focused work block until the next scheduled break." last_updated: "2026-09-21" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/phone-stacking/" --- # Phone Stacking Small groups place their mobile phones in a central stack on the table and agree on a light penalty for the first person who picks theirs up. The agreement remains in place during a focused work block until the next scheduled break. **Time:** 5 minutes. Source specifies under 5 minutes; allocated 5 minutes to allow setup and consent. Debrief occurs at the subsequent break. **People:** 4 to 24. Tables of 3 to 6 people; a group of 4 to 6 forms a single table, while 7 splits into tables of 3 and 4 ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Reduce screen interruptions during a meeting through an explicit group agreement. **Use it when:** At the start of an in-person workshop or working session where screens cause unwanted distraction. **Skip it when:** When participants need their phones for two-factor authentication, on-call responsibilities, family emergencies, or workshop tasks. ## Materials and tools - 1 blank index card per table - 1 pen or marker per table ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange seating in small tables of 3 to 6 people. 2. Place one blank index card and one marker in the center of each table. ## Say this to open To help us stay focused together, we have a quick social agreement. If you choose to participate, turn your phone to silent and place it face down in the center stack on your table. As a table, decide on one small, harmless forfeit for the first person who touches their phone, write it on your card, and set it on top of the pile. ## How to run it ### 1. Invite participation and offer choices (1 minutes) Explain the phone stack. Make clear that opting out is completely fine, especially for urgent family, accessibility, or on-call obligations. Those who opt out can keep their phone face down or in their bag without explanation. ### 2. Stack devices (1 minutes) Participants who want to join set their phones to silent and place them face down in one stack in the center of their table. ### 3. Agree and write the forfeit (2 minutes) Each table agrees on a harmless forfeit for the first person to touch their phone. For example, the person refills the water pitcher or acts as primary scribe. Write the agreed forfeit on the index card and place it on top of the stack. ### 4. Share forfeits across tables (1 minutes) Ask one person from up to three tables to read their forfeit aloud. Confirm that the stack remains untouched until the next scheduled break, when the group will reflect briefly on how it worked. ## Debrief questions - When conducted at the next scheduled break: How did having phones stacked out of reach affect your attention during that work block? - What made it easy or hard to leave the stack alone? **Finished output:** A stack of silenced phones at each participating table topped with a written forfeit card. ## Remote This physical stacking mechanic cannot run online without changing into a different method. A related remote alternative is a digital focus pact: invite remote attendees to close extraneous tabs, set phones to silent or Do Not Disturb, and write a light forfeit in the shared meeting chat that they agree to carry out if they break focus during the work block. Those who opt out simply do not post a forfeit. ## Hybrid In-person tables form physical stacks with an index card on top. Remote participants set personal devices to Do Not Disturb and post their individual focus forfeit into a pinned message or a dedicated card on the shared digital whiteboard so both in-person and remote participants can see all active agreements. ## Access and participation choices - Anyone may keep their phone on their person or face down nearby without joining the stack and without giving a reason. - Forfeits must be strictly optional and comfortable for everyone; avoid physical exercise or public embarrassment if any member prefers a simple low-key task like taking workshop notes. ## If the session gets stuck **A participant receives an urgent emergency call or work page.** Acknowledge the need immediately. Let them step away from the room to answer without applying the forfeit. **A table cannot agree on a forfeit.** Suggest a default harmless forfeit, such as refilling the water pitcher or being the first person to share during report-outs. ## Terms used here - Forfeit: A minor, agreed-upon consequence or harmless task performed by someone who breaks the table agreement. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, page 310. Retained the central mechanic from Relationship Makers Handbook: stacking phones face down in the middle of each table and placing an index card with an agreed wager on top. UWT added explicit opt-out provisions for accessibility, on-call workers, and emergencies, along with concrete forfeit examples, clarification that debriefing happens at the next break, and a distinct remote alternative. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/phone-stacking/