Indistractable

Key takeaways

• Distraction starts inside you, as an escape from discomfort, not with your phone
• You cannot call something a distraction until you have decided what traction looks like
• Timeboxing your day turns vague good intentions into specific commitments you can measure
• Hack back external triggers by changing settings, so your devices ask permission to interrupt
• Precommitments such as effort pacts and price pacts make the wrong choice harder to make

Inside this bit

1. The problem is not your phone

   Blame the phone and you will keep losing. Nir Eyal, who earlier wrote about how apps become habit-forming, turns the lens around in Indistractable and asks why we reach for them in the first place.

2. Master the internal trigger

   Every distraction begins with an internal trigger, a small unpleasant feeling you want to get rid of. Eyal's first move is to notice it rather than react.

3. Make time for traction

   You cannot call something a distraction until you know what it distracted you from. Eyal's tool is timeboxing: deciding in advance what you will do and when, then keeping a calendar that reflects those decisions.

4. Hack back external triggers

   External triggers are the pings, badges and people that pull at you from outside. Eyal's question for each one is simple: is this trigger serving me, or am I serving it?

5. Prevent distraction with pacts

   The last line of defence is a precommitment, a choice you make now to limit your future self. Eyal describes three kinds.

6. Put it to work

   This week, keep a small note of each time you reach for a distraction and write down the feeling that came just before it; the pattern will surprise you. Timebox tomorrow, including sleep, a meal with someone you like, and one 90 minute block for your most important task.