Indistractable
by Nir Eyal
If you want to make the best out of your time, you need to master how to control your attention. Distraction is a major issue for many people chasing their goals at different stages of life, so the need for this book cannot be overemphasized.
Indistractable author Nir Eyal, has made this book so easy to understand. He has clearly stated the ways you can overcome even the most stubborn sources of distraction. From poor organization to a lack of focus, this book goes a long way in exposing the various ways your productivity can get shortened when you are not in control of your attention.
If you use the lessons in this book, you will be able to discover the reasons you get distracted and also understand the most effective ways to put an end to it.
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Distraction is an unhealthy escape from reality
Many people don’t want to accept this truth, but you have to, because it is the first step you need to take if you want to be in control of your attention. You need to be honest with yourself about why distractions are so hard to overcome.
Indistractable by Nir Eyal reveals the uncomfortable truth, distractions are usually in the form of things we enjoy, that’s why it is such a struggle to focus when these things come up. To get over such distractions, you need to stop using them as an escape from reality.
Face the day, the task, the stress, and whatever challenge your work might give you and do it with discipline. Once you have mastered how to face reality when you are pushed to the wall, you will not fall into the temptation of using distractions to escape.
The role of technology
Indistractable by Nir Eyal states that people have been getting distracted before mobile phones and social media became popular, but things are much worse now due to these new big tech inventions. Sometimes, you don’t even look for these distractions, they come to you.
You could be going through an email on your phone and a notification pops up, showing you some celebrity gossip that’s so juicy, you click on it and spend working hours getting entertained by the story. This is an example of how technology has empowered distraction in our lives.
Even if you don’t click on that notification, you could spend your entire working hours thinking about it, which will negatively affect your output of the day. So what can you do about this?
You need to have control over your attention but you can’t switch off your phone because of emergencies, so go ahead and review your notification settings. Disallow social media, shopping sites, Netflix, and even instant messaging notifications during working hours. As long as you don’t need an application for work, block the notifications.
This is an effective way to stop getting distracted by your phone. As for your thoughts, you just need to tell yourself you are going to check out all the trends after working hours or during your lunch break. This should keep you focused.
Time management is pain management
Since the things that distract people today are connected to technology and fun, it is worthy to mention that it will cause discomfort and pain to stay away from them if you need to focus on work. What will you do when you start missing those juicy notifications you get during working hours?
The urge to enable those notifications will come, but you need to manage that pain. If you can control that pain you feel when you miss the fun part of distractions, you have won the battle of attention control. At this stage, you can say you have become indistactable because you are now free from the attachment you have to distractions. In fact, instead of getting distracted by them, you will even find yourself turning off all the sources of entertainment that may come on during your working hours.
You can teach your children
In a world already full of distractions, our kids need to learn how to be indistractable before they even grow up and start facing real life challenges. The lessons of this book are not for you alone, they are also for your children, especially if they are getting glued to phones and tablets.
When you have helped your kids to master how to control their attention, you will see improvement in their grades and general attitude to life and the common challenges young people face.
If a child can master how to avoid or manage distractions, imagine how successful such a child will be as an adult. So, go ahead and help your children to not get consumed by the distractions of this world.
Indistractable
by Nir Eyal
