Content Creator Mai Pham Tracks Her Phone Habits On A Trip To Bali
The 23-year-old reveals the apps that helped her be more present on vacay.
In Chronically Online, Elite Daily asks people to get real about their phone habits by tracking their screen time over seven days. This week, YouTuber and Alchemai designer Mai Pham shares the apps she used the most while traveling to Bali, Indonesia, for her first trip of 2026.
The beginning of a new year is always a great time for a refresh. For Mai Pham, that involves going to someplace new. The 23-year-old content creator tells Elite Daily, “Traveling is the perfect way to reset, reflect, and reignite my creativity.”
Any vacation is also a great opportunity for Pham to film a vlog for her YouTube channel, which has over 3.5 million subscribers. Between YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, the New York-based designer actually has closer to 4.9 million followers who love not only her travel content, but also her beauty videos and daily life. She says, “As a creator, I rely on these new experiences and being able to wander, because it helps to spark so many ideas that I wouldn’t have in my day-to-day life.”
Taking this into consideration, Pham kicked off 2026 by traveling to Bali, and says, “I wanted to bring my community with me.” In addition to documenting her trip online, Pham also tracked her phone habits throughout the week for Elite Daily. Below, she dishes on things like her most used apps each day and overall screen time, so you can get a better idea of what it’s like being an influencer on the go.
Occupation: Creator and designer.
Age: 23.
Location: New York, New York.
Weekly Average (Jan. 19-25): 6 hours, 1 minute.
Day 1: Editing Vlogs While On The Plane To Bali
Even though this is my eighth time going to Bali, I always forget how long the flight is. The best way to spend the time is to mix a little productivity in with marathon-watching some movies and listening to music on Spotify. I used a majority of the 16-hour flight to edit content using my go-to tool, the Adobe Premiere mobile app.
I ended up getting through two vlogs, which is pretty good for a flight day. The mobile app let me cut footage, add sound, and polish edits without needing to lug my laptop around. The multi-track editing and clean interface keeps my creative flow going without feeling cluttered, even when I'm editing between flights or in random places. By the time we landed late Tuesday night, my best friend — who also works in my clothing brand, Alchemai — and I were pretty ready to just check into our place and sleep.
Most Used Apps: Adobe Premiere, Spotify.
Screen Time: 12 hours, 43 minutes.
Day 2: Working Through The Time Difference
When we got to Bali, we drove two hours from the airport to our place. We listened to so much Olivia Dean on this drive — like she was literally on repeat the entire time. I'll definitely think about her whenever I look back on this trip.
There’s an 11-hour time difference, so when it was night here, it was morning back in NYC. Because of this, I was messaging my team on Slack so much. I couldn't really escape work even though I was on vacation, but that's just what it's like when you run your own company. I started using Slack this year, because it helps keep my work and personal lives balanced and separate. It's nice to have a dedicated space where it's just work stuff and team communication, you know?
I also had the Shopify app open, checking our sales and numbers, while tracking all our projects and deadlines. From across the world, we were planning our next Alchemai collection and also making sure everyone's orders arrived safely.
Most Used Apps: Shopify, Slack, Spotify.
Screen Time: 3 hours, 32 minutes.
Day 3: Chilling At The Beach
On Wednesday, we woke up early because there were dogs barking at our door, and they basically led us straight to the beach. My best friend and I sat there and watched the sun rise. The beach was completely empty and private, which was actually amazing. The only time I was on my phone that day was to edit some reels and clips directly in the Adobe Premiere mobile app, so I could share online in real time. This is the first trip I’ve taken since Premiere has been available on mobile and it has been life-changing.
That day, we just hung out in the house, cooked breakfast, listened to some music (Olivia Dean of course), swam, had a bonfire, and then went to sleep pretty early because we were dealing with jet lag. It was a really peaceful day. I posted some stuff to my Instagram spam account instead of my main, which honestly takes so much pressure off.
Most Used Apps: Instagram, Spotify, Adobe Premiere.
Screen Time: 4 hours, 11 minutes.
Day 4: Chasing Waterfalls
We woke up early and got picked up to see some waterfalls. We had to drive two hours, and we were listening to Olivia Dean again and a lot of Sombr. We even bought tickets to go see Olivia in Amsterdam after this trip, because she was basically the soundtrack of our time there.
I uploaded a video about getting my life together that day and clipped it into YouTube Shorts. My friend recently showed me that you can easily clip long-form YouTube videos into YouTube Shorts using the Adobe Premiere mobile app, so I definitely want to do that more in 2026.
I've been to these waterfalls eight times now, and honestly, it’s my favorite place to be. I even have a waterfall tattooed on me because it's that much of my peaceful spot. I think of it when I think of bliss and happiness.
While we were at the falls, I saw a snake and my life flashed before my eyes. Other than that, it was a wholesome day. We saw so much beautiful nature, and it ended up pouring rain on the way back.
Most Used Apps: Spotify, YouTube.
Screen Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Day 5: Finding New Food In Ubud
The next day, we checked into another Airbnb in Ubud. We went shopping, went to the markets, bought cute clothes, and tried new foods. It was our first day in the city because we were staying somewhere pretty quiet before, so it was nice to see people. I used Google Maps a lot this day to find places to eat and to navigate around the city. Although, I will say, I noticed that everything in Bali is rated way too high — like everything is 4.5 stars and up. It's kind of funny because you'd think every restaurant is amazing, but it's definitely not accurate IMO. I think everyone is in such a good mood here and the servers are always smiling, so people just give them high ratings.
We ate some really yummy food outside that night, and ordered food in and swam in the pool. We marathon-watched the entire Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE series on Netflix. Sometimes, you just need a full day of not following an itinerary and watching TV.
Most Used Apps: Netflix, Google Maps, Airbnb.
Screen Time: 10 hours, 36 minutes.
Day 6: Apartment Hunting Between Water Rafting
We checked into a new Airbnb that had absolutely *stunning* views. This place was next to a water rafting company, so I went rafting for the first time. It was so nice to sit and take in all the views from below. We also went to a class where I got to make my own ring.
Over the course of the whole trip, I was using the Grab app to call motorbikes to get around. You get to ride on the back of a driver's motorbike, which is so popular in Asia and so affordable. You get to places way quicker than a car, which is perfect when you're trying to be efficient with your time. It's also such a vibe, and I love how accessible it is.
I was also scrolling through StreetEasy a lot during this time. I'm currently apartment hunting and don't have a place, so I was looking at listings in between activities. Even on vacation, I couldn't help myself, but it’s nice that mobile apps like these allow me to continue to check things off my to-do list back home while I’m on the other side of the world.
Most Used Apps: Grab, Instagram, StreetEasy.
Screen Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes.
Day 7: Day Tripping To Gili Trawangan
The next day, we took a boat over to this island called Gili Trawangan, where there are no cars and you can only get around by biking or horses. I absolutely love this island because it's so walkable and you can see the sunrise and the sunset easily. The beaches are some of the nicest I've ever seen in my life.
We had some açaí bowls in the morning and then went on a boat to see turtles and corals. I recorded the most beautiful videos on my phone and edited some reels using Adobe Premiere. Since I wasn’t tethered to my computer, I felt like I was able to explore and experience more than I was on past trips without sacrificing my content and business priorities.
I was also using WhatsApp a lot that day to text tour guides. It’s honestly the easiest way to contact people when you're traveling. I was checking in with friends and people from my company, just letting them know what I was up to.
Most Used Apps: WhatsApp, Adobe Premiere.
Screen Time: 5 hours, 8 minutes.
Final Thoughts: I Love Not Feeling The Pressures Of Social Media
When I'm traveling, I love not being glued to my laptop. As a creator, mobile apps come in so handy and allow me to be productive while enjoying all of the beautiful moments on my trip. On this particular vacay, I learned how much I love being present, and having a second account because it means not everything has to be perfect.
