Author- Nir Eyal
Understanding the meaning of the book
This book is all about how you can regain your focus from the constantly changing world. This book highlights ideas about how you can filter out distractions and solely focus on your life. Nir starts realizing he is losing his attention from the most important things because he was totally surrounded by the devices and endless distractions. He wasn't even giving proper attention to his daughter. Then he came up with the idea of being indistractable. Indistractable means thriving to do what you say you will do. The book consists of various tactics to overcome distraction and make focus your inevitable goal. It's just like another productivity book like "Make time" and "Deep Work".
Master internal triggers. Distractions are hidden like the proximate causes which stay hidden. We always think that some minor thing causes distractions but we ignore the major things. Distractions are the unhealthy stuff to get rid of the reality. Only by understanding our pain, we can get rid of them with some healthy ways to beat them. Separate the proximate causes of distractions from the root cause. Anything which avoids discomfort is prominently addictive. If we want to master distractions we should learn to deal with discomfort. When we try to suppress the distractions it keeps on popping more in your mind. The more you try to run from the distractions the more they will catch you in your mind. The use of devices can make you feel miserable when you are too much glued to them. Being Indistractable doesn't mean getting rid of the distractions but not doing the wrong things which we would regret. Distractions will always exist managing them is our responsibility.
Nir's Time-boxing method. Nir says that values play an important role because if we neglect our values we become something we aren't proud of. This feeling makes us most likely seek distractions. Keeping a timeboxed schedule can help you to be on track. This schedule should include things that you want to do throughout the day. If you aren't doing the tasks which you have planned to do then you are off track. Timeboxing can help you to manage your time for a particular task. Schedule time for yourself first because you are the centre of your life domains like work, relationships, and society. Improve our time for what matters. Reclaim your time and manage it properly using time boxing. Timeboxing ensures that you are using only that much amount of time you have allotted for a certain task. So if you want to watch TV you would allot time for it, let's say from 8 to 9pm. This is time-boxing for a certain task.
Hack back your devices Devices hack our behaviour. We get easily distracted by our devices. Nowadays external triggers are the most distracting. Notification buzzes and you are distracted. Digital devices conditions our natural behaviour. Once we start going through the devices we would have lost time. When we are out of reach from the devices we can focus more on the task. These mental triggers can be the changing point from becoming a procrastinator to a productive person. You need to ask yourself- is the trigger serving me or I am serving the trigger. Any behaviour requires 3 things motivation, ability, and a trigger. When you can analyse your triggers you can definitely make a change in your behaviour. Devices should be serving us and not the other way around. Nir Eyal's four steps to get rid of distraction from the phone.
1 Remove- Uninstall the apps you no longer need.
2 Replace- Switch your favourite apps including social media apps to your desktop.
3 Rearrange- move the apps which require mindless check-in from your home screen.
4 Reclaim- change the notification settings for each app.
Raising Indistractable children As Nir was facing the whole distraction thing in his life he didn't want his daughter to face the same. He came up with some techniques about how people can raise Indistractable children. Teenagers are the ones who are most glued to their screens. Parents should understand their child's internal struggle. The root cause of the problem should be curated so that they won't face these issues. Internal struggles drive distractions. According to a theory of human motivation, people need 3 things to thrive.
1 Autonomy
2 Competence
3 Relatedness
Distractions satisfy the deficiency. When the psychological needs aren't met in the real world they go looking for satisfaction often in virtual environments. The way parents can fix the higher-tech use of their children is by adapting the three things in the offline world. Also, parents should have a conversation with their children regarding their tech usage. Make time for a healthy conversation so that you can spend time with your children. Because everyone needs interaction.
Conclusion Technologies aren't the root cause of distraction it's more than that. Technology isn't harmful but the way you use it makes it one. Tech devices are created for our benefit. Make sure that they aren't becoming an unavoidable part of your life. Make sure you give your attention to the most important things of your life like work, relationships, and society. The next time you feel that you are getting distracted by the external triggers then ask yourself "Is the trigger serving me or I am serving the trigger".
If you liked this post then subscribe to our mailing list below for more book summaries like this one.
Cheers ✌️
Comments