I Got My Attention Back (2017)

How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?

If we say distraction is actually caused FOMO, then how do you treat that? I think we are dealing here with emotional management

I believe it is more than the Fear Of Missing Out.

We are very curious creatures.

It can be caused by not liking your job and looking for a way out.

It can be a dopamine addiction.

Most distractions are very easy to process so when you are doing hard work it might be tempting to look for something more easy on the brain.

'Social' is designed to distract us. So unless you turn off all knobs it is hard to ignore.

I believe treatment is done step by step. For most people cold turkey is very hard to do. But the first step is to see for yourself if distractions cause a problem (why change if it is not a problem?).

You know I've had times in my life where I've had this issue as well. I personally think our inability to turn off the deluge of pixels is a real problem. But I want data to back up the thought. In 2017 Youtube users watched a billion hours of video a day. [1] Some rough numbers show that in 2018 Facebook users spent about a billion hours on facebook every day [2].

Multiply these numbers across reddit, tiktok, the various international social media giants. Are the >2 billion hours a day people spend glued to their screen limiting social progress? Is it fear mongering and ignorant to even ask? One thing I know for certain is there will be a growing group of people seeking help to limit their watch time on these services. The algorithms are simply too addictive.

[1]: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-b...

[2]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend...

I'd actually appreciate anyone's opinion or advice on this...

I grew up on computers and the internet (absent, technophile parents made that very easy) and by the age of 13 or 14 my computer really just felt like an extension of myself. When I was in undergrad, I realized that the only way I'd ever actually properly study is if I had someone on my dorm floor take my computer from me and refuse to give it back for some designated period of time.

After undergrad, I "relapsed" a bit in the sense that I would be on my laptop for 14+ hours a day every day, constantly context switching and never really getting any good work done. I'd still accomplish my work but would never really get to the things I wanted to get done, like practicing piano or reading a book.

I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions. Unfortunately, after COVID hit, the office closed, and now I've had the least amount of separation between my physical life and digital life, between work and leisure (as I'm sure is the same for all of you).

Do any of you have any systems that work for you in terms of a path towards self-control? I have very little self-control and a very addictive personality and I really don't like the way I spend my time at the moment. At this point I'm even considering finding Adderall or something similar as I don't feel capable of accomplishing this on my own.