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I Got My Attention Back (2017)

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131–140 of 188 posts

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#131

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

[deleted]

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#132
post #10

Another way to look at it is: stop context switching (all the time). Personally a lot of context swithing is giving me stress and is draining my energy. It also makes me less productive. So I believe the article is spot on.

In broader strokes: Verify your assumptions, especially about yourself.

Self-discovery was an important part of becoming an independent young adult. What am I good at, what am I bad at, what do I want/need to be good at? But your brain will continue to change through your life, for better and for worse. Just because you were good at multitasking at 24 doesn't mean you still are at 34. And coping mechanisms you used to deal with other limitations might not be helping you anymore.

I've heard a lot of adults say that they still see themselves as 30, and so it's a shock when someone calls them sir, defers to their experience in a tough situation, or when they see how much grey is looking at them in the mirror. If our sense of self gets set in stone, we start to miss things.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#133

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

Is it so difficult to practice self-control?

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#134

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

Try using the LessPhone[0] launcher. I have used it off and on and had some success with it. It locks you down to a slim set of apps (configurable), in a plain black and white interface. It's not perfect, but it's helpful. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan....

Thank you! This is close to what I am looking for. I'll give it a shot and see if it addresses my problem.

update1: Hmm. So it doesn't exactly address the core problem, which is I can still easily access those other apps that I wish to uninstall. So in a way, this app helps by making the UI less enticing to click on, but it doesn't address the core problem, which is to fully uninstall.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#135

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

Is it so difficult to practice self-control?

He did mention he's addicted, so yes.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#136

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

It seems that the american/OP mindset is all about throwing dollars to the problems. No, you don't need to buy another phone so you reduce phone usage.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#137

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

It seems that the american/OP mindset is all about throwing dollars to the problems. No, you don't need to buy another phone so you reduce phone usage.

You say that but can't provide any alternate solutions/suggestions/strategies?

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#138
post #114
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Others have given good replies about how to fill the void, and I encourage you to explore those. I’ll stick to commenting on blocking. It sounds like you went completely cold turkey, and it worked fairly well. You truly had no electronic use outside of work? If you can manage that, and you live alone, there is a simple solution: unplug your router and modem after work. Plug it back in before work. Then put your devic…

I think the issue here is that it's so easy to make excuses to plug it back in, and it's so easy to walk over to the router to do so. When I left my devices at work, whenever I had the urge to go on the internet at home, I would realize it would take me another hour commute to get there and back, and that wasn't worth it.

Right. That sounds fairly severe. Addiction level.

And yet, some people do manage to go cold turkey. And cold turkey is generally easier than a approach based on limitation.

Your one strength here is you know you don’t really need the access, as you already did it. If you want to google something or message someone you can write it down on paper, and handle it in the morning.

Perhaps this truly won’t work. In which case, would any software/hardware restriction work? They can all be circumvented, and fairly easily for someone technical. If you can find one will hard time based limits, that might work. Freedom, or Cold Turkey may be that, I’ve never looked into circumvention difficulties.

But then again, if you really want to try, could you treat yourself as an addict, say there are no real excuses, and force yourself to call someone if you desire to plug it in? Or even say you will plug it in for 10 min for a true emergency but unplug and tell them you did?

I don’t know. All of us have different psychologies. You’ll have to consider what has a chance of working for you. But I’ll end by saying that with a conscious choice it is possible to make a change, and it is often perversely easier to do this at a low point.

Edit: actually, the other commentor’s suggestion of a timer box seems extremely promising. You may want a dumb phone or a landline for emergencies if you do that though. But it has two elements: 1. Impossibility to circumvent 2. Physical separation

Edit 2: one thing that might work is Beeminder. You pay if you fail to meet the goal. And they have a weasel mode.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#139

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the int…

It seems that the american/OP mindset is all about throwing dollars to the problems. No, you don't need to buy another phone so you reduce phone usage.

Why do you assume that OP is American? Consumerism is a worldwide problem.

Re: I Got My Attention Back (2017)

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that the american/OP mindset is all about throwing dollars to the problems. No, you don't need to buy another phone so you reduce phone usage.

You say that but can't provide any alternate solutions/suggestions/strategies?

Not spend money in yet another phone and try to limit the usage of the current one?
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