Somewhat ironic that the author who wrote a book about how to create addictive digital products now brings us a guide to help get back control. That aside, this is a helpful guide that will help you reduce distractions and gain traction.
Nir Eyal spent five years writing this book and that time has ensured a well-researched, practical approach to dealing with something we all face. He proposes a four-step model to increase focus – mastering internal triggers, making time for traction, hacking back external triggers, and preventing distraction with pacts.
The first two elements help to build awareness and understanding of what your triggers are, while the latter two are much more specific, with examples to deal with the main distraction areas in life. One of the approaches is called ‘surfing the urges’, recognising when you want to pick up your phone or do one of the things that makes you lose focus. Capturing the emotions you feel as well as tracking how often this is happening is a good first step to tackling the problem.
The third section of the book was the most practical and powerful for me, with lots of good tips and advice to tackle some of the most distracting digital apps and tools we use. From social media services to YouTube and general web surfing, the advice in this part of the book is really valuable and worth buying the book for.
I listened to the book on audible, which was enjoyable, not too long, and read by the author. A detailed free workbook is available from the indistractable.com website that walks you through the entire process from start to finish. This is definitely worth checking out. Overall, a good read and recommended if you struggle with digital distractions.
