Edition #19: The Distraction Detox

 Here's What's Up:

• Why your brain feels like it's running Windows 95

• 3 ways to build a quieter morning (without going full monk mode)

• How Nir Eyal tricks his brain into focusing

• How To Digital Declutter

• Your 24-hour attention rescue plan

 Your Brain on Notifications

Here's what's happening: your attention isn't broken, it's just being pulled in 47 different directions at once.

Every ping, buzz, and red dot is designed by very smart people to grab your focus and never give it back. It's not a fair fight.

The solution isn't perfect discipline. It's removing the things that are fighting for your attention in the first place.

How to Build a Quieter Morning

Go no-input for the first 30-60 minutes. No news, no inbox, no social media. Let your brain boot up before you plug it into the chaos.

Remove one loud app from your home screen. If you have to hunt for it, you're less likely to mindlessly tap it. Make distraction slightly more inconvenient.

Start with pen and paper. Your first task of the day shouldn't involve a screen. Write your priorities, sketch your plan, whatever. Just give your brain something analog to chew on first.

Bonus move: Turn off notifications the night before. Don't wait until morning when your willpower is already running low.

How Nir Eyal Builds Friction Against Distraction

The guy who wrote "Indistractable" doesn't aim for perfect focus. He just makes distraction harder to access.

His system:

• Plans his first hour the night before (no morning decisions required)

• Starts with 10 minutes reviewing his time blocks, not jumping into tasks

• Keeps all alerts off until mid-morning

• Uses a "distraction tracker" sticky note to catch himself wandering

The insight: He's not fighting distraction with willpower. He's engineering his environment to make focus the path of least resistance.

Your Digital Declutter Hits

Clean up your digital mess. Those 47 browser tabs, the desktop covered in random files, the bookmarks from 2019 you'll "definitely read later" – they're all tiny attention leaks.

Mute the noise. You don't need to be in every Slack channel or Teams thread. If you're just "monitoring" something, you're probably not adding value anyway.

Schedule shallow work. Instead of letting emails and admin tasks bleed into your focus time, give them their own designated window.

Keep your workspace boring. The more visual clutter around you, the more your brain has to process. Boring = less competition for your attention.

Your 24-Hour Attention Rescue Plan

Today:

• Delete one app from your phone (or at least move it off the home screen)

• Clear your desk, browser tabs, or inbox

• Set up tomorrow's first hour tonight

Tomorrow:

• Block all inputs for your first 30 minutes

• Start with pen and paper for your first task

• Notice when your attention wanders (without judging yourself for it)