The distracted mindPhoto by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

The Distracted Mind

Instagram and Twitter’s endless scroll sicken me.

The infiniteness of it. The fact that it’s a bottomless pit with little meaning.

Social media was once a tool that we could use just like anything else. Now it’s the other way around. We have no control over these apps and their algorithms batter us around badly.

Algorithms are drugs. Their job is to keep us addicted by showing the things we’d most be entertained by.

Good algorithm = More addiction.

There’s always a new flashy object to dangle in your face. It’s hypersexualized commercialism, unhealthy fast food, mindless mobile video games, and funny nihilistic memes.

It’s time to take your life back from the algorithms. This is every tool and philosophical trick in the book that I use to maintain my focus.

Distraction Free YouTube

YouTube is my kryptonite.

I can spend hours going down a rabbit hole of recommended videos especially if they’re Stark Trek or It’s Always Sunny related.

Sometimes I’ll even get a video recommendation for something I talked about with a friend in real life. Google = Big Brother. Tell me I’m wrong.

Distraction Free YouTube is a browser extension that eliminates the possibility of ever losing focus on the site. It makes my homepage blank, deletes my sidebar of recommended videos, and even gives me the possibility to hide the comments. It helps immensely.

‘Discipline Equals Freedom.’

Those are words uttered by Navy Seal, and my hero, Jocko Willink. He’s right. As an adult you’re awarded freedom based on your level of discipline. The best thing to maintain in adulthood then is a form of self-slavery, not slavery to materialism and algorithms.

Not many know this, but Jocko and another Seal named David Goggins inspired me to join the army last year. It’s easy to see why.

Every morning, without fail, Jocko posts a picture of his Timex watch showing him wake up at 4 a.m., sometimes 3 a.m. I know without fail he’ll always have a picture up every morning. It’s truly amazing. Some would say impossible.

Jocko preaches that hard work equals meaning. He reminds me of Sisyphus, the ancient Greek myth of the man who rolls a boulder up a hill for all eternity. It was the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who concluded Sisyphus must be happy.

Newsfeed Eradicator

Gamechanger right here.

Newsfeed Eradicator is a browser extension that vanishes the newsfeed of all your social media replacing them with an inspirational quote.

Today, for instance, I had to look something up on Facebook and my entire homepage scroll was replaced by a Mayou Angelou quote.

“I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.” — Mayou Angelou

The only newsfeed I keep on is Twitter because sometimes I’ll reference tweets in articles. But Facebook is a cesspool I no longer need in my life. Au revoir!

Willpower is For Losers

Willpower is finite. It’s a deeper resource for some, but our overreliance on it gets us into serious trouble.

Notice all these tools and browser extensions eliminate entirely what’s distracting you. They don’t even give you the option. No willpower necessary.

Structure your life so that you only need to use willpower when there are absolutely no other options.

The internet shouldn’t test your willpower every time you use it.

Reconfigure Your Phone Like This

Coach Tony changed the lives of millions when he explained how to optimize your iPhone for productivity. [Check out his guide here]

I have an Android — which is better of course — and took everything he did and created a few productivity hacks myself.

Nothing on my phone sends me notifications besides text messages. I’ve deleted social media and have to go out of my way on the browser versions to post anything. This barrier to entry makes getting addicted much harder.

Lastly, I created a folder called “non-essential” and have all distraction-prone apps in there like Spotify, Meetup, and YouTube. I used to call the folder “useless.” Maybe I should change it back.

Brave Browser and Blocking Websites

Brave is my favorite internet browser and helps me maintain my focus.

It comes with a built-in ad blocker, doesn’t track or store your data, is lightning fast, and even pays you in cryptocurrency (Basic Attention Tokens) for using it.

It’s more efficient and less Orwellian than Chrome or Internet Explorer.

But that wasn’t enough, I decided to block certain websites through Brave as well using BlockSite. For me, the most pervasive was Tinder.

I sometimes had five Tinder conversations going that usually ended with nothing coming of it. Yet I always come back with hope — and a propensity of being distracted more. You know the sites you need to block. Do it. Rip off the bandaid

Use This When Nothing Else Works

I said it once and I’ll say it again. Willpower is for losers.

If you absolutely cannot separate from your phone and its destructive algorithms then I’d consider a timed lockbox.

This enables you to lock away your phone for a set time while you’re in your flow state. It might sound silly, but I implore you, treat yourself like you’re taking care of another person.

Relying on willpower is not advice you’d give someone you’re trying to help. You’d find a concrete solution to provide help. Treat yourself as such.

The Takeaway

Every day you have to wake up and make a few key decisions that can change your life. And your greatest determining factor of these changes is your ability to focus.

Think about the impact your work has.
Think about how it impacts your life.
Think about how it impacts your family

This is all determined by how much you can focus and cut through the B.S. algorithms.

Keep in mind that focus isn’t something you have to maintain for 16-hours of the day.

Start with one hour. Eliminate distractions and do the most important work in your day. Then work your way up. Right now I try to do a burst of four to five hours of distraction-free work.

Then it’s time to reward myself with some hot fudge sundae pop tarts or a banana protein shake. A reward after work is better than an unearned one.

Live up to your potential, or face the consequences for not doing so.

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