Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
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- Create Date：2021-04-20 11:55:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nir Eyal
- ISBN：194883653X
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Summary
You sit down at your desk to work on an important project， but a notification on your phone interrupts your morning。 Later， as you're about to get back to work， a colleague taps you on the shoulder to chat。 At home， screens get in the way of quality time with your family。 Another day goes by， and once again， your most important personal and professional goals are put on hold。
What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions？ What could you accomplish if you could stay focused and overcome distractions？ What if you had the power to become "indistractable"？
International best-selling author， former Stanford lecturer， and behavioral design expert， Nir Eyal， wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming。 Five years after publishing Hooked， Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book。
In Indistractable， Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction。 He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more。
Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step， research-backed model。 Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology， without letting it get the best of us。
Inside， Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals:
Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture - and how to fix it
What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management"
Why your relationships （and your sex life） depend on you becoming indistractable
How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world
Empowering and optimistic， Indistractable provides practical， novel techniques to control your time and attention - helping you live the life you really want。
What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions？ What could you accomplish if you could stay focused and overcome distractions？ What if you had the power to become "indistractable"？
International best-selling author， former Stanford lecturer， and behavioral design expert， Nir Eyal， wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming。 Five years after publishing Hooked， Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book。
In Indistractable， Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction。 He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more。
Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step， research-backed model。 Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology， without letting it get the best of us。
Inside， Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals:
Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture - and how to fix it
What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management"
Why your relationships （and your sex life） depend on you becoming indistractable
How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world
Empowering and optimistic， Indistractable provides practical， novel techniques to control your time and attention - helping you live the life you really want。
Reviews
Jessica Manginelli
，
Pretty good read。 Definitely informative and science based which I liked。 Has insensitive comments about diet and weight loss in some metaphors which lack nuance but overall I think that it is useful and has great information and resources
Peter Arnstein
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Well organized， crisply written。 Chapter summaries allow for easy key word searches。 Eyal does a good job of drawing his points using qualified research and other authoritative sources without bogging down the reading or cluttering the pages with excessive references and citings。 There are other good books and resources on this general topic - for example， Cal Newport。 I find it helpful to read one of these “focus / productivity hack” books every once in a while。 Rather than them being directly Well organized， crisply written。 Chapter summaries allow for easy key word searches。 Eyal does a good job of drawing his points using qualified research and other authoritative sources without bogging down the reading or cluttering the pages with excessive references and citings。 There are other good books and resources on this general topic - for example， Cal Newport。 I find it helpful to read one of these “focus / productivity hack” books every once in a while。 Rather than them being directly repetitive， the practice of reading a few of the better ones creates some reinforcement， refinement and reminding。 。。。more
Beckyjmcc She|her
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Eh。The first half of the book was a good review of some ACT theory stuff。 I actually enjoyed the first half。 The second half was all about applying it in an office setting and for raising kids。 It wasn't relevent to me at all， but I guess it would be good as an introduction to ACT thinking for some people。This book was way better than I thought it would be。 The author seemed to have done a lot of research and referenced a few studies， which impressed me。 I just assumed the book would be the auth Eh。The first half of the book was a good review of some ACT theory stuff。 I actually enjoyed the first half。 The second half was all about applying it in an office setting and for raising kids。 It wasn't relevent to me at all， but I guess it would be good as an introduction to ACT thinking for some people。This book was way better than I thought it would be。 The author seemed to have done a lot of research and referenced a few studies， which impressed me。 I just assumed the book would be the authors own opinions。 That reminds me not to judge a book by its cover。 。。。more
Larka Fenrir
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“When you invent the ship， you also invent the shipwreck。”- Paul VirilioIn this second book the author Nir Eyal teaches us that distractions， although embedded in our lives， don't necessarily have to control us。Eyal divides his book in seven sections， plus introduction， in which he gives us an overview not only of the book， explaining how nowadays our lives are full of triggers， but also that the solution to accomplish our goals is to learn how to focus despite （or thanks） to them。The author “When you invent the ship， you also invent the shipwreck。”- Paul VirilioIn this second book the author Nir Eyal teaches us that distractions， although embedded in our lives， don't necessarily have to control us。Eyal divides his book in seven sections， plus introduction， in which he gives us an overview not only of the book， explaining how nowadays our lives are full of triggers， but also that the solution to accomplish our goals is to learn how to focus despite （or thanks） to them。The author goes then on explaining to us that there are internal triggers and external triggers， and how to master them， other than making time and schedule our goals。 Closes the book a chapter in which he suggest parents to teach their kids the value of having a schedule， and to make them understand the risks of losing oneself in activities that bring us further from our values; and a chapter that uses the author and his wife's experience to apply the same concepts to relationships。I really liked the book: it was colloquial but exhaustive， bite sized but not reductive， and it gives good insights triggers savvy。 Maybe on the scheduling part I will re-direct you towards other books， but all in all it was a worth read。 Is this trigger serving me， or am I serving it？Table of contentsIntroductionFrom Hooked to Indistractable1。 What's Your Superpower？2。 Being IndistractableI。 Master Internal Triggers3。 What Motivates Us， Really？4。 Time Management Is Pain management5。 Deal with Distraction from Within6。 Reimagine the Internal Trigger7。 Reimagine the Task8。 Reimagine Your TemperamentII。 Make Time for Traction9。 Turn Your Values into Time10。 Control the Inputs， Not the Outcomes11。 Schedule Important Relationships12。 Sync with Stakeholders at WorkIII。 Hack Back External Triggers13。 Ask the Critical Question14。 Hack Back Work Interruptions15。 Hack Back Emai16。 Hack Back Group Chat17。 Hack Back Meetings18。 Hack Back Your Smarthphone19。 Hack Back Your Desktop20。 Hack Back Online Articles21。 Hack Back FeedsIV。 Prevent Distraction with Pacts22。 The Power of Precommitments23。 Prevent Distractions with Effort Pacts24。 Prevent Distractions with Price Pacts25。 Prevent Distractions with Identity PactsV。 How to Make Your Workplace Indistractable26。 Distraction is a sign of Dysfunction27。 Fixing Distractions Is a Test of Company Culture28。 The Indistactable WorkplaceVI。 How to Raise Indistractable Children （And Why We All Need Psychological Nutrients）29。 Avoid Convenient Excuses30。 Understand Their Internal Triggers31。 Make Time for Traction Together32。 Help Them with External Triggers33。 Teach Them to Make Their Own PactsVII。 How to Have Indistractable Relationships34。 Spread Social Antibodies Among Friends35。 Be an Indistractable Lover Rating: ★★★½ Other books by the author• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming ProductsTop 3 lists on GoodReads on productivity• Productivity Porn！• Practical Productivity Books• Best Productivity Books 。。。more
Neerajpant
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Good book。。。few practical ideas。。not that great
Mary Ladrick
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This book was narrated in a really engaging way。 A great exploration of themes and suggestions that can be easily implemented。 This is well worth going back to as a refresher。
JP Mena
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Excellent Source for Dealing with Distractions Great tips for using technology without going full on Luddite。 I found myself constantly engaged with the book。 I will apply almost every recommendation in my life。
The V Man
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Ok， but nothing beyond the obvious。This book was ok and there were a few tips that I’ll use going forward， but overall there is little new here。It could have been a 1000 word article。
David Smith
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I rate this book at an 85%There were many things I enjoyed and used in this book。 Some of the simple life hacks Nir Eyal gives （he calls them hack backs） have helped declutter my life。 Eyal lays the book out in 7 parts: 1）Master Internal Triggers 2） Make time for traction 3） Hack back external triggers 4）Prevent distraction with pacts 5） How to make your workplace indistractable 6） How to raise indistractable children 7） How to have indistractable relationships。 I'm not a big fan of his time box I rate this book at an 85%There were many things I enjoyed and used in this book。 Some of the simple life hacks Nir Eyal gives （he calls them hack backs） have helped declutter my life。 Eyal lays the book out in 7 parts: 1）Master Internal Triggers 2） Make time for traction 3） Hack back external triggers 4）Prevent distraction with pacts 5） How to make your workplace indistractable 6） How to raise indistractable children 7） How to have indistractable relationships。 I'm not a big fan of his time boxing method laid out in Part 2， and I felt part 7 was very shallowly written。 But golly， when it comes to hacking back external triggers I learned a ton！！ I felt like sections 1， 3， 5 and 6 were very helpful and practical。 I also liked the "Remember This" section he includes at the end of every chapter。 In the opening chapter Eyal writes about the "why" behind distraction。 He says， "Boredom， negativity bias and rumination can each drive us to distraction。 But a fourth factor may be the cruelest of all。 Hedonic adaptation - The tendency to return quickly to a baseline level of satisfaction no matter what happens to us in life。" （Pg。 32） "Our ancestors worked hard and strove further because they evolved to be perpetually perturbed， and so we remain today。" （Pg。 30） As I read this I found myself arguing with him in that humans are creatives designed by a Creator to do just that， create。 Our desire to make something beautiful or something better isn't only driven from discomfort。 That factor is in there， sure， but we ALSO see beauty and design and want to respond in like fashion by creating something that is beautiful， powerful， new， simple， elegant。 Eyal goes so far as to say， "Even selfless acts， like helping someone， are motivated by our need to escape feelings of guilt and injustice。" Simply put， there is no pure form of love。 My rebuttal is that God IS love。 And when we choose to follow God he puts in us a new nature - His nature。 With this nature we can indeed love， and love selflessly。 We take on the nature of the one we're following and thus don't look to change simply because of a negativity bias but because a desire to become like the one we're looking at。 Eyal continued on writing about internal and external triggers that bring distraction。 The lion'shsare of the book is to recognize and manage these triggers。 Nir writes， "Distraction starts from within。。。you can't call something a distraction unless you know what it is distracting you from。" That's a powerful truth。 Sometimes we don't realize that our phone has become a numbing device that we are using to actually cover a pain we are feeling internally。 We sort of realize there's a problem and we chide ourselves thinking the problem is social media and how addicting it is。 That's a proximate issue。 The deeper issue is the internal trigger that we don't want to look at: the divorce our parents had， the friend who backstabbed， or the loss of a loved one。 I'm so grateful Eyal took time to write about the importance of recognizing internal triggers。 The book does give a lot of hacks about how to manage the things in our lives that can cause distractions （phones， laptops， media， news etc。）， but it does little good to hack these things and leave our internal world bleeding。 Until the thing inside of us is dealt with we will always look to medicated with something。 All of that being said， by the time he got to how to hack back your work environment， phone and laptop I was ready to get to work， and his practical content did not disappoint！ I literally read with my phone and laptop in front of me and as I was reading began to make changes。 I downloaded extensions， cleaned up icons， got rid of apps， and turned off notifications。 It was incredible。 Even as I write this I'm using a suggestion he gave: www。focusmate。com - A virtual coworker。 50 minute sessions that provide accountability to help increase productivity。 I love it！ The book is full of great hacks。 Even f you skip the first few chapters it's worth reading all the ways you can become streamlined and set yourself up for success SO THAT when you sit down to work you actually get the work done you want instead of falling into a news feed time drain。 Lastly， if you are a parent who know you need to have a conversation with your kids about screen time part 6 is for you。 How many talks have failed and turned into shouting matches， slammed doors and punishment？ In part 6 he talks about raising indistractable children。 Much of what he says allows for children to feel powerful in the conversation and helps you reach a place that is mutually beneficial。 It's worth the read。 All in all I recommend the book as a great tool to help manage and eliminate external triggers。 If you are looking for a book on how to start new habits， I would recommend Atomic Habit。 Thanks so much， and happy reading！David 。。。more
Amy
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Some useful tips but ultimately a bit preachy。 Think Rachel Hollis but with productivity as the key drive。
Luke
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Probably more like 2。5 stars IMO。 Had a couple of good takeaways but would recommend The power of habit or atomic habits instead。
Natarajan Mahalingam
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Coming from the author who gave us the "Hooked" model， this book is based on the perspective from the other side of the river bank - how to "unhook" or get "Indistractable"！ A simple， breezy read on how to apply a 4-part framework to isolate， identify， understand， & overcome our distractionsNir Eyal has expressed his simplicity， humility， and vulnerability while writing the book， as the chapters can easily relate to what every human is experiencing in her/is life today。 Many of the situations de Coming from the author who gave us the "Hooked" model， this book is based on the perspective from the other side of the river bank - how to "unhook" or get "Indistractable"！ A simple， breezy read on how to apply a 4-part framework to isolate， identify， understand， & overcome our distractionsNir Eyal has expressed his simplicity， humility， and vulnerability while writing the book， as the chapters can easily relate to what every human is experiencing in her/is life today。 Many of the situations described with how we get distracted is nothing unheard or inexperienced for many of us。 However， the approach to gain traction on these and how to overcome the distractions to gain focus in anything that we do， has been powerfully brought out with examples by NirWhat I liked the most about this book are 3 things， 1。 The "Remember this"， a short summary on each chapter， 2。 Chapter takeaways at the end of the book， and 3。 The Templates & reference material， available both at the end of the book as well as at nirandfar。comOnce again， thanks to Nir & Julie for creating a wonderful reading experience！ 。。。more
Ramon Girona
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Too much focused on technology and its distraction effects。 Anyway， in this field the book provides good hacks
Andrew O。
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The author finds a way to package many concepts we are aware of， but maybe don't realize the importance。 If you someone that catches yourself "wasting" too much time and not accomplishing the things you want to accomplish， this is the book for you。 The author finds a way to package many concepts we are aware of， but maybe don't realize the importance。 If you someone that catches yourself "wasting" too much time and not accomplishing the things you want to accomplish， this is the book for you。 。。。more
Gemma Nugent
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I read this book last year and enjoyed it so much I was keen to listen to it when it came up as an Editor's Pick on audible。 There are some really good reminders in here about using technology rather than allowing it to use us。 Eyal's style is personal enough to make it an engaging and fairly easy read as well rather than a dry business or self-help book。 I read this book last year and enjoyed it so much I was keen to listen to it when it came up as an Editor's Pick on audible。 There are some really good reminders in here about using technology rather than allowing it to use us。 Eyal's style is personal enough to make it an engaging and fairly easy read as well rather than a dry business or self-help book。 。。。more
Paul Schwartzmeyer
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At first glance this book seems ground breaking， but like many books written by college professors， it's a pamphlet written as a book。 Eyal's other book is called Hooked。 It's along the same lines。 Eyal has written this along with his incessant emails and endless twitter messages believing he's "hooking" the reader。 Maybe。 But this genre is really just brain candy for narcissists。 You could sum the entire book up by saying "Make a to do list。" Most of what he recommends is a bunch of Anthony Rob At first glance this book seems ground breaking， but like many books written by college professors， it's a pamphlet written as a book。 Eyal's other book is called Hooked。 It's along the same lines。 Eyal has written this along with his incessant emails and endless twitter messages believing he's "hooking" the reader。 Maybe。 But this genre is really just brain candy for narcissists。 You could sum the entire book up by saying "Make a to do list。" Most of what he recommends is a bunch of Anthony Robbins NLP clap trap。 The part about writing down your liminal moments is absurd。 There have been dozens of NLP studies and they've all concluded that it doesn't work。 The best you can say about this book is that if you read it and follow it， you will be less distracted。 But no less so then if you make out a do to list 。。。more
Amy
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A thoughtful， kind book that can teach you how to manage your discomfort to keep yourself on task to reach your goals。 Filled novel ideas and techniques relevant to the challenges and distractions we have today。
Yangzi Jiang
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My biggest takeaway is that indistractability is a skill that one can practice to get better at， just like happiness （Naval） and grit （Duckworth） Overall， the book has some key principles and relevant hacks useful for my quarantine days， but the key to become indistractable is the motivation not techniques。 With enough why one will figure the how。 Techniques are subjective， situational， and not evergreen。 He briefly discussed the greater impact of thinking oneself as a indistractable person - wh My biggest takeaway is that indistractability is a skill that one can practice to get better at， just like happiness （Naval） and grit （Duckworth） Overall， the book has some key principles and relevant hacks useful for my quarantine days， but the key to become indistractable is the motivation not techniques。 With enough why one will figure the how。 Techniques are subjective， situational， and not evergreen。 He briefly discussed the greater impact of thinking oneself as a indistractable person - who you are rather than what you do。 This is something I will adopt and extrapolate。 。。。more
Nic Ryan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Nir reminds us that our problems are caused by us。 Removing distractions from your life is not about blaming technology or the distractions individually。 Rather， he tells us it is as simple as just fixing yourself。 It’s apparently that easy。 Oh， and it’s going to cost you a bit of time and money also - you must invest in a a lot of apps to manage your time。 Nir is a smart guy and a lot of the resources he uses and expand upon here are worth your time。 I just do not like conclusions。 To suffer le Nir reminds us that our problems are caused by us。 Removing distractions from your life is not about blaming technology or the distractions individually。 Rather， he tells us it is as simple as just fixing yourself。 It’s apparently that easy。 Oh， and it’s going to cost you a bit of time and money also - you must invest in a a lot of apps to manage your time。 Nir is a smart guy and a lot of the resources he uses and expand upon here are worth your time。 I just do not like conclusions。 To suffer less， suffer more first or something like that。 I may have missed the point。 I am tired。 Really like Nir’s other stuff。 。。。more
Alicia
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The author is known for his earlier book on how to build addictive products and I kind of resent him for that a little， to be honest。 This is a good read with good deal of no-nonsense， solid advice and I'd recommend it。 But the main takeaway， at the end of the day， is that the process of getting untangled from bad habits， replacing them with better ones is a lot more move involved and is more work than getting hooked in the first place （see what I did there？）。 The author is known for his earlier book on how to build addictive products and I kind of resent him for that a little， to be honest。 This is a good read with good deal of no-nonsense， solid advice and I'd recommend it。 But the main takeaway， at the end of the day， is that the process of getting untangled from bad habits， replacing them with better ones is a lot more move involved and is more work than getting hooked in the first place （see what I did there？）。 。。。more
Sam Ranson
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Key takeaways from the book were:1。 Become aware & claim responsibility for Internal Triggers;Distractions are caused by internal triggers of sensations of emotional discomfort （boredom， uncertainty， fatigue etc）。 Tech is not an internal trigger， rather an External Trigger。 External Triggers can not be blamed for distractions。 Nir refers to these individuals， who blame Internal Triggers with External Triggers as 'Blamers'。 He says we should be 'Claimers' in that whilst we may not be able to cont Key takeaways from the book were:1。 Become aware & claim responsibility for Internal Triggers;Distractions are caused by internal triggers of sensations of emotional discomfort （boredom， uncertainty， fatigue etc）。 Tech is not an internal trigger， rather an External Trigger。 External Triggers can not be blamed for distractions。 Nir refers to these individuals， who blame Internal Triggers with External Triggers as 'Blamers'。 He says we should be 'Claimers' in that whilst we may not be able to control our innate feelings， we ought to control our response to those feelings of discomfort。 He suggests that when we become distracted we write down the emotion （boredom， axnxiety & fear） & explore the senstation。（similar to Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning - 'between stimulus & response is man's greatest power to choose）。2。 Plan time for 'Traction' waste。Traction = Action 'pulls' you towards a particular direction with intent。 It pulls you towards your values or the type of person you want to be or the things you said you were going to do。 Distraction = Actions that pushes you away from these values or the person you want to becomeAny action can be Traction or Distraction。 Distraction tricks you into prioritising the urgent from important （Quadrant 2 - See 7 Habits of Highy Effective People by Stephen Covey）3。 Build Systems around External Triggers Hacking back tech （switching off notifications on mobile devices etc）。 We can implement 3 types of Pacts with ourselves;Effort Pacts - adding friction into accessing the device e。g。 not being automatically signed in to Twitter （He talks of a 10 minute rule， claiming that we aren't actually addicted to the actual activity， rather the context of the activity。 If we wait 10 minutes， it is likely the craving with subside）Price Pacts - creating a monetary discincentive to getting distractedIdentity Pacts - Using a noun to describe yourself as the person who behaves in a desired way。 Ultimately this is a thought provoking and insightful read around productivity。 。。。more
Lori Sullivan
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This was a really good， easy to read book about keeping focus。 The sections were short and easy to break a small amount to read each day。 I got a lot of great tips and ideas that I will use to better keep my attention and focus。
Ben Claymier
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Next time I read this I'm going to go through it with a notebook， but， this was an excellent title overall。I only rated it three stars， because it felt like it threw a lot of branded third party solutions at me， which I bristled at a bit。 Not the apps themselves， just the idea of using apps and software， to save me from being distracted constantly， felt a bit like fighting a fire with a box of matches ; I could end up with a good controlled burn， or end up with a bigger problem。Analogies aside， Next time I read this I'm going to go through it with a notebook， but， this was an excellent title overall。I only rated it three stars， because it felt like it threw a lot of branded third party solutions at me， which I bristled at a bit。 Not the apps themselves， just the idea of using apps and software， to save me from being distracted constantly， felt a bit like fighting a fire with a box of matches ; I could end up with a good controlled burn， or end up with a bigger problem。Analogies aside， I do like the fact that it didn't demonize technology， or its ubiquitous presence in our lives。 Screens happen， tech happens， it's when we lose control of our time as a structured space that our screens become a problem， and our times controls us。 。。。more
Muhamed
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Very benefical and practical。
Raz
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Technology is not the problem， it's our relationship with it。 I have struggled quite a bit with technology use， got distracted more than I would like to admit。Nir Eyal presents an inside-out approach to tackle distractions in order to take back charge of our precious time。Mastering your internal triggers as well as reducing as much as possible external ones， Making a distinction between traction and distraction by scheduling and deciding beforehand how one wants to spend his time here on earth， Technology is not the problem， it's our relationship with it。 I have struggled quite a bit with technology use， got distracted more than I would like to admit。Nir Eyal presents an inside-out approach to tackle distractions in order to take back charge of our precious time。Mastering your internal triggers as well as reducing as much as possible external ones， Making a distinction between traction and distraction by scheduling and deciding beforehand how one wants to spend his time here on earth， adding on top of that taking advantage of precommitmentsmakes you truly indistractable ensuring that you spend your time on activities you actually value and to make the most of your limited time that we all have here。 Decide to be indistractable！ 。。。more
Nikola Brežnjak
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More like 4。3。 GoodReads could really add 1-10 rating 🙂
Sam Sarma
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Mostly boring and obvious but it was pretty short so 🤷🏻♀️
Stas
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First part about nature and management of distractions is golden。
Augustine Celmina
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The first half of the book was quite informative， but it could all in all have been much shorter， includes a lot of useless information
Bram
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