Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir EyalMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The subject of this book - how to maintain your traction in life without continually getting distracted by the electronic pings and pulls - is obvious. Most of what Eyal has to say is common sense and much of it you've heard before.
He walks the reader through time-boxing and owning the day by filling the white space in your planner responsibly, before you get trapped in front of a screen. A good reminder. Many proposed solutions to managing smart phone rabbit holes were actually apps on the smart phone itself, which was a bit disconcerting. On the other hand, yes I did check out all those apps (!)
The most powerful chapter in this book is #30. I read and reread this chapter. He talks about the importance of self-determination. He talks about the undernourished psyche and pins this as the reason so many continually turn to electronic escape. When something is missing in your life, you might overdo screen time. It is a symptom of a bigger issue. I think this is the most important take away.
This author actually connected distractibility itself in young people to Western schooling where kids do not have the autonomy to make their own choices. He explains that children give up control of their attention when it is always managed by an adult and that it is this conditioning which contributes to the chronic surrender to distraction. Without a life that supports and nourishes autonomy and intrinsic motivation in a child, that child is growing a predisposition to distraction.
The research cited in chapter 30 was compelling and the most interesting thing I've read in a long time on the roots of attention deficit issues in modern times.
A useful book!
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