Indistractable
Nir Eyal
First published 2019BenBella Books first edition, 10 September 2019, ISBN 9781948836531
What it is.
The trigger-by-trigger mechanics of getting pulled away, and the counter-moves.
Eyal relocates the problem. The trigger that pulls you away is usually not the notification, it is the discomfort you were sitting in just before it arrived, and the phone is the nearest exit rather than the cause. So he works outward. Handle the internal trigger, then strip the external ones, then commit your time in advance so that what to do now is not a question you answer while uncomfortable.
Working summary · based on the book itself
The strongest objection
Eyal also wrote Hooked, the manual for building the products this book helps you resist. He addresses that, and whether one person can write both credibly is a fair thing to weigh.
Working summary · based on the book itself
Why it is here.
Friction is the effort between you and an action. Apps spend billions engineering it away. Add a little back on purpose, and you choose where your hours go instead of the feed choosing for you.
Newport clears the room and Eyal works one trigger at a time, and this shelf needs both. A thirty day declutter is a big move plenty of people will not make, and the friction principle would be thin if all or nothing were the only thing it offered.
Working summary · based on Toward's records
Where it sits.
Goals it serves.
Take this one first if thirty days off anything sounds absurd, and Digital Minimalism first if it sounds like a relief. The disagreement between the two is real and worth reading for.
Working summary · based on Toward's records