cultivating a distraction-free environment
I find modern distractions not just a time sink, but ultimately I feel quite hollow having spent time on something that doesn't further my goals. However, a fundamental part of being human is spending time on stuff that doesn't further any goals, it's called rest. I (and I assume you as well) never feel "rested" after scrolling on X or reading hacker news for the 5th time in one day. I decided to fix this by using the best method I know: modifying my digital and physical environment.
Modifying my digital environment
This was the big one. I had a personal laptop which I ultimately ended up doing way too much work on, and thought it was "just convenient" that I could do work/personal stuff on the same machine. I decided to use my work-issued laptop properly and reset it, and set it up like so:
- No 1Password
- Only transfer work related passwords and store in Apple Passwords
- Install Cold Turkey Blocker and set a block on X, Hacker news etc. It's set to only be modifiable between 5am and 6am, so not likely I'll edit it anytime soon (even if I'm awake, I won't be in any state to remember to edit it).
- As part of the setup process, only login to services useful for work: google account, slack etc.
This way I have literally no way to access distractions, and even if I could, I can't login, so the algorithms can't get me!
I have kept my work laptop super clean and only with the things I need, and it has been refreshing.
When I'm at work, I'm on my work laptop. Done. Easy to understand.
Modifying my physical environment
The only real change here has been using one of the phone lockboxes (I have one at home, and a more portable one as well that goes in my bag if I'm working from somewhere else). I lock my phone away and that's pretty much that. At home, I also lock away my PC power cable in case I'm so distracted that I boot up Steam on there, though I don't do that everyday, only in periods where I know distraction can be very tempting.
How has this helped?
This combination of strategies has massively improved my focus and clarity. I spend a lot less time outside of work online (seemingly a trend here on Bearblog). This means I am calmer, more focussed and have more time to do things I am genuinely interested in, like writing more here :) It's quite clear that I am not genuinely interested in being served algorithmic drama as a pastime.
Any annoyances?
Yes, I do find myself hankering, after a few hours of work, to shift gears a bit and read something interesting and think about it. I recently started using Instapaper for just this purpose and it fills me with joy to read interesting articles. The only problem now is discovery, how do I find them if X/Hacker News are blocked? It's definitely been harder, so far I just save things to Instapaper in my personal time so that I can read something as a break during work. It's been working surprisingly well, and it's preventing my instapaper feed from being a graveyard of articles to never read.
Onwards and upwards! Less is more, especially when it comes to the modern internet.