Indistractable, Nir Eyal’s new book focuses on your focus and how not to get distracted from your goals.
Tech Distractions
I get clients asking me frequently about how to turn off notifications on their devices. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are begging for your attention all the time. Smartphones are the worst for distractions. One feminist states that we are in abusive relationship with our phones.
“We are right not to trust our phones” says Maria Farrell. “They serve several masters, the least of whom is us. They constantly collect data about us that is not strictly necessary to do their job. They send data to the phone company, to the manufacturer, to the operating system owner, to the app platform, and to all the apps we use. And then those companies sell or rent that data to thousands of other companies we will never see. Our phones lie to us about what they are doing, they conceal their true intentions, they monitor and manipulate our emotions, social interaction and even our movements. We tell ourselves ‘it’s okay, I chose this’ when we know it really, really isn’t okay, and we can’t conceive of a way out, or even of a world in which our most intimate device isn’t also a spy. ”
Indistractable
Eval’s book tackles the how to get into a healthy relationship with our tech and avoid distractions.
And he doesn’t start with turning off notifications or other tech tactics.
Part One starts with how to create a better to-do list with values next to each item. Adding values helps you reinforce why the item is on your list.
And then he show you how and why to track your distractions. He provides a template for a distraction tacker in the book.
He doesn’t get to managing your tech until part three.
Indistractable by tech
Eyal defines tech distractions as external triggers. Part Three of Indistractable deals with how handle email, group chats, social media, online articles, he helps you hack back your smartphone, tablet and desktop.
Besides the better to-d0 list and the distraction tracker, Eyal provides a pact system to help you stick to your goals.
Parts Five to Seven deal with how to create indistractable relationships.
Eyal’s point is that while it is easy to blame technology for distractions, the real issue is not sticking to our values and goals. Indistractable can be sued to do more that hack back our smartphones.
Eyal provides a list of Indistractable tools on his web site. Be warned some of the items have affiliate links.