Random Stuff - Chapter 316

In Everything is F.u.c.k.i.e.d: A Book About Hope, I redefine freedom as self-limitation. Freedom in the 21st century isn’t about having more, it’s about choosing your commitments to less.

(To see an excerpt related to this idea, read this: #FakeFreedom)

To help us limit ourselves, we need to set boundaries around ourselves. Our minds are too flawed and selfish to be allowed to pursue what they want. Instead, like training a dog, we must train our attention with the help of various tools to make sure we’re focusing on the right things.

I’ll talk about three types of tools in this section: website blockers, app blockers, and power outlet timers.

Key to implementing the attention diet is downloading and installing site blockers on your devices. There are dozens of apps, but here I’ll review a few of the best ones that I’ve used.

Cold Turkey (MacOS/Windows) – My favorite app. Probably the most robust with the most features. You can block websites, specific pages, applications, and even specific Google searches.

I love it because it has a scheduler. So you can modify what gets blocked on which days. Let’s say you want Friday afternoon to be your “email” afternoon, you can program that in. Or you can open up everything on Sundays. It’s highly customizable. It also keeps stats!

Also, unlike some blocking software, it’s a one-time payment. So while the price may appear high, it’s not that bad (and it’s in Canadian dollars… which is like, not even real money).

Focus (MacOS) – More user friendly than Cold Turkey but without as many features. Focus saved my ass when I was writing my latest book. When I was on deadline, I got so desperate that I downloaded it and basically blocked everything in my life six days a week for about a month.

A screenshot of part of my blacklist. I have about 50 websites and apps blocked on my work computer. It’s arguably the only thing that let me finish my book on time.

It blocks websites and apps, and you can customize what you block by day or even hours. It’s not quite as intuitive or simple as Cold Turkey, but it’s still great. My only complaint is that when you update the app, it shuts down, thus allowing you to f.u.c.k around again. I know that sounds minor, but each time I updated the app, I’d go on a 3-4 day binge of unproductivity before I finally forced myself to turn it back on.

Freedom (MacOS/Windows) – Beautifully designed and easy to use. Also works on your mobile devices.

This is probably the most popular app in this category. I haven’t used it in a year or so and the reason I stopped is that it’s too easy to get around. Hate to say it, but I can’t be trusted with weak ass apps that let you close them or turn them off in a bunch of sneaky ways, I need an app that leaves me handcuffed with my work.

Self Control (MacOS) – Free and probably the most hardcore app on the list. You load up a list of sites, turn it on, and then you’re stuck. Nothing you do can turn it off until the time runs out. You can restart your computer, uninstall the app, do anything, and it won’t unblock you. It’s evil…in the best way possible.

First, before we get into blocking specific apps or the entire phone, you should go into your settings and disable most/all of your notifications. I don’t care who you are or what you do or what f.u.c.k.i.n.g horse you rode in on, notifications are like the second-hand smoke of attention—they give everyone a coughing fit.

Disable both the sound/vibration and the little red circles. You know those circles are red for a reason, right? We unconsciously see them as being urgent and they encourage compulsive clicking to get rid of them.

Those little red dots are Satan, in case you were wondering.

(Optional: I also turn off my ringer and all sound from my phone. My philosophy is: unless we scheduled a call, or I’m expecting to hear from you, I don’t want to hear from you. Nothing personal.)

Once you’ve done that, let’s talk about limiting our app use.

iPhone users have it the easiest, as Apple has started implementing features to let you temporarily block apps from yourself. You can find a guide for how to do it here.

Google’s Digital Wellbeing app for Android accomplishes the same thing, although without as many options as Apple. One thing I do like about Digital Wellbeing is you can set a bedtime for yourself. So, at that time every night, your phone becomes unusable.

Google’s Digital Wellbeing app is a good start, but still leaves some features to be desired.

But, if you want to customize how and when you can use certain apps, you have to download a third party app. There are a lot of options, but the best one from what I can tell is aptly called “Help Me Focus.” It has the flexibility to block some apps and not others, and lets you customize when you block throughout the week.

OK, this tip is only if you want to get hardcore (and also if you have kids). This idea comes courtesy of my buddy Nir Eyal. When I heard him describe it, I was like “damn dude… that’s some next level shit.”

For about $12 each, you can buy timers for your power outlets. You can then program them to cut off power to whatever is plugged into them at certain times of the day or week. Buy a few of them and put them around the house and you can customize what hours of the day or week your wifi router works, when your television is usable, when your video game systems will function, and so on.

Ideally, you’ll be so occupied with work and productive stuff during the day that in the evenings, you won’t have to resort to controlling yourself this way. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I have a tendency to get sucked into video games. I’ve been pretty good about it the past year. But the next time I find myself playing until four in the morning every night, I know this is exactly what I’m going to be using.