16 ms·

I Got My Attention Back (2017)

310 points by joubert 6y ago

dang 6y ago
If curious see also from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580
bpizzi 6y ago
The text starts with "there are a thousand beautiful ways to start the day that don’t begin with looking at a phone. And yet so few of us choose to do so.". Is it really so? I'm only a single datapoint, but checking my phone is the last thing I do in the morning. Getting children up, coffee, shower, planning some today's work in my head - if the phone isn't ringing then I may well not fiddle with it until later in the morning or even the day.
- kthartic 6y ago
  Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue.
  - bpizzi 6y ago
    While I just had to check if there was such a "time tracker" on my iPhone. Yes there is and I had not activated it.
  - DEADBEEFC0FFEE 6y ago
    > Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue. What are you scrolling, which app has that hold?
    - Fiveplus 6y ago
      I'm not the person you replied to. However, when I used to browse reddit - my phone logged an unhealthy amount of time spent on that app (in roughly the same ballpark).
      - eklin 6y ago
        I don't use an app to browse reddit, so it usually went like this: close reddit tab. Open new tab. Automatically type in reddit.com. And I'm sure, 100% sure, that I'm not the only one with that problem...
        awake 6y ago
        You know I've had times in my life where I've had this issue as well. I personally think our inability to turn off the deluge of pixels is a real problem. But I want data to back up the thought. In 2017 Youtube users watched a billion hours of video a day. [1] Some rough numbers show that in 2018 Facebook users spent about a billion hours on facebook every day [2]. Multiply these numbers across reddit, tiktok, the various international social media giants. Are the >2 billion hours a day people spend glued to their screen limiting social progress? Is it fear mongering and ignorant to even ask? One thing I know for certain is there will be a growing group of people seeking help to limit their watch time on these services. The algorithms are simply too addictive. [1]: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-billion-hours.html https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-b... [2]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend-an-absurd-amount-of-time-on-fac.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend...
        kace91 6y ago
        Same here. I've found many tricks that help. For example, erasing some urls from autocompletion (fn mayus backspace for chrome in mac) helps fight against the muscle memory, when you have to type the whole thing. There are also extensions like stayfocusd that help. In a smartphone, switching the icons (for example putting ibooks or spottify in place of the broweser) helps. It's basically a reverse UX problem: you try to create as much friction as possible. My problem is that it works for a few weeks or so. Then for whatever reason I get to a point where reddit is super useful (like buying a specialized products, where the communities can help get somewhat unbiased opinions and reviews) and I'm back to square one. This site produces the same effect btw. It's just that the content is at least somewhat limited to a point where checking more than once or twice a day isn't worth it.
  - q-base 6y ago
    The time in itself is not bad. It could have been 10 hours of important reading for your study or whatever. So do not get hung up on numbers, that will only lead to negative double-bashing of yourself. I observed myself trying to avoid using the phone for obvious things like navigation and weather forecasts because I wanted by all means to reduce the screen time. That is as irrational as anything. Focus on what you want to do instead and use the time on that. Start reading books, go for walks, dance, play an instrument whatever it is. Focus on that instead of narrow focus on screen time.
  - zerr 6y ago
    Why do you keep scrolling on the phone instead of a proper PC with a bigger monitor? (or at least a laptop)
  - forgot_user1234 6y ago
    I am in a similar boat. I am a software engineer and I can't ditch it.
- Tade0 6y ago
  I use it effectively to wake up - the flash of blue light and notifications often work better than a cup coffee.
- baxtr 6y ago
  Yeah. Seems like you are a big exception. Good for you. Tell us how we can learn from you
- ejolto 6y ago
  Do you use a dedicated alarm clock? I use the alarm on my phone, so the first thing I do in the morning is look at my phone to turn off the alarm.
  - bpizzi 6y ago
    Yes, dedicated alarm clock indeed. However I wouldn't count "swiping the alarm off" as a valid case of "looking at my phone first thing in the morning" if you just stick to turn off the alarm.
    - ejolto 6y ago
      That's the way to do it. It's easier said than done to stick to just the alarm when the phone is already in your hand with an active display. Especially if you have new notifications.
- thordenmark 6y ago
  You're one of the few. I try to avoid it so much, but too often find myself checking emails and the news on my phone when the alarm goes off.
- Mekantis 6y ago
  Well, you have external constraints that prevent you from doing so. The suggestion is that, without such external constraints, it's fairly likely that you would be waking up with looking at your phone. But even if you didn't, it wouldn't be particularly relevant. Looking broadly across everybody I know, and that I know of, the use of electronic screens is ubiquitous throughout their lives. Your statement basically amounts to "Well, I don't look at my phone in the morning, so clearly most other people also don't look at their phone in the morning". Which is obviously false (at least in the sense that one doesn't follow from the other).
- Bedon292 6y ago
  Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up, and last thing at night. Is sometimes an hour on the phone before actually getting out of bed. I had to quit Reddit years ago because of the addiction. Don't really use Facebook. But Twitter currently has its hooks in me. It is a news source to me, about the pandemic, election, protests. But it manages to suck me in to reading extra comments and stuffs. I have been realizing it more lately, and don't want to give it up because I do think it helps me stay informed, but I need to find a way to change my usage habits because its not good.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - synlatexc 6y ago
    I'm with you wrt Twitter. It is an amazing source of information, but much of it is daily drama that is a form of entertainment -- a modern Jerry Springer. These tweets and videos serve as a conversational currency of sorts. Not sure it's worth it.
    - carti 6y ago
      I feel this way too. I think you can still get access to a lot of the "conversational currency" by just checking it less frequently. Making highly curated lists helps a lot too, since you can isolate a lot of the more drama/entertainment-focused users to particular feeds.
  - halfcat 6y ago
    > Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up If this is true, like if you use your phone as an alarm clock, you’re screwing yourself. BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits walks through this exact example, and spoiler: it’s hopeless unless you physically separate from your phone. The only levers you have to manipulate your behavior are prompt, ability, and motivation. Your phone prompts you reliably, it’s easy to stay in bed and easy to look at social because your notifications are right there, just move one finger, and you’re motivated at a visceral level to look at social because of that dopamine hit. The only solution he provides is removing the prompt. Get an old style alarm clock and put your phone in the other room at night.
thdrdt 6y ago
Another way to look at it is: stop context switching (all the time). Personally a lot of context swithing is giving me stress and is draining my energy. It also makes me less productive. So I believe the article is spot on.
- coffeefirst 6y ago
  This is absolutely true and shocking difficult. You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help. But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.
  - xyzal 6y ago
    How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?
    - synlatexc 6y ago
      Yes. This worked well for me.
  - noir_lord 6y ago
    I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours. No one has shouted at me yet.
    - mrslave 6y ago
      Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down. Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another. Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.
nicbou 6y ago
This is a great-looking website. It made reading this article a delight. It's a great choice of fonts and spacing that's very pleasing to the eye.
RickJWagner 6y ago
"That was the first thought I had the morning after the election." Which election? Is this set in 2020? Edit: N/M, I see it's from 2017.
Quequau 6y ago
I have not yet gotten my attention back. Did this piece ever get to the point?
- chadlavi 6y ago
  the author's advice boils down to "timebox your internet access, and especially avoid mindless internet use in the morning"
muonic 6y ago
I'd actually appreciate anyone's opinion or advice on this... I grew up on computers and the internet (absent, technophile parents made that very easy) and by the age of 13 or 14 my computer really just felt like an extension of myself. When I was in undergrad, I realized that the only way I'd ever actually properly study is if I had someone on my dorm floor take my computer from me and refuse to give it back for some designated period of time. After undergrad, I "relapsed" a bit in the sense that I would be on my laptop for 14+ hours a day every day, constantly context switching and never really getting any good work done. I'd still accomplish my work but would never really get to the things I wanted to get done, like practicing piano or reading a book. I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions. Unfortunately, after COVID hit, the office closed, and now I've had the least amount of separation between my physical life and digital life, between work and leisure (as I'm sure is the same for all of you). Do any of you have any systems that work for you in terms of a path towards self-control? I have very little self-control and a very addictive personality and I really don't like the way I spend my time at the moment. At this point I'm even considering finding Adderall or something similar as I don't feel capable of accomplishing this on my own.
- gdubs 6y ago
  It’s not a “quick fix” but meditation really does help build focus, attention, and awareness. If that sounds like it would be impossibly hard, you can definitely start small with something like 10 breaths where you really just pay attention to breathing in and out, and then gradually work up to longer stretches. I find that meditation has a spillover effect into my life — I’m less likely to be tempted by junk food, let’s say, on the days where I meditate.
  - muonic 6y ago
    Interesting... I've read that but perhaps chose not to believe it. Would you mind sharing how often you meditate and for how long?
omreaderhn 6y ago
I built this service to help deal with this problem: https://omreader.co https://omreader.co It allows you to read blogs (RSS feeds) and email newsletters on your Kindle. I originally started working on this to help me read financial news without needing my phone which I find to be a really distracting environment. I would find myself mindlessly opening up and scrolling through reddit or HN and in my experience, repeatedly doing that has a tendency to destroy ones ability to concentrate. It's super nice to be able to wake up without your phone near you and still be able to read long form content. I just launched it out of beta but any feedback would be great. Edit: HN is currently hugging the database to death. The site is still working fine but I apologize for any slowness. I will upgrade the database tonight.
- staticvoidmaine 6y ago
  This is very cool! I’ve recently started using my wife’s old Kindle for reading the pfSense book and the Google SRE Handbook and have been loving the fact that it isn’t a bright screen or filled with distractions. This is a great idea that I’ll be trying out with a couple technical blogs.
  - omreaderhn 6y ago
    Awesome! Yeah I tested this out on my mom's old kindle (one with a keyboard) and it renders really well. Not the same as how it looks on the newer Kindles but they still have special support for the newspaper format on the old Kindles and it looks great.
- corytheboyd 6y ago
  I love the idea, will have to try it out. Not so thrilled about yet another service that wants to collect a monthly rent, but maybe the free tier will suite my needs
  - omreaderhn 6y ago
    Ha no worries. I've tried to find a good balance with the free tier. It's actually a bit more generous than what the copy on the marketing site says so I'll go ahead and update that today. Would love to hear any feedback that you have.
ricardo81 6y ago
I'm constantly amazed how often I step outside to smoke and a problem I've been grappling with is immediately answered without even much thought, the answer arrives. Perhaps many of us don't realise how much attention is stolen from looking at the screen.
- youareostriches 6y ago
  Nicotine also has nootropic properties
scottndecker 6y ago
I installed a small switch from Home Depot in line with the power to my router so I can turn it off at any point and it takes a few minutes to power back on (which is good that it takes a bit). No signal in the house at night. Easy way to control access for all parties in the house. I like his idea of no internet till after lunch.
vinceguidry 6y ago
> Nintendo recently released their first iPhone game, Mario Run. > The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales. Nintendo didn't make Super Mario Run, nor is it the first game with their name on phones. Their first two games, Pokemon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, are both very much unbounded and, especially Fire Emblem, there are certainly whales and in-app purchases and all that. I burned well over a thousand dollars on it before I decided enough was enough.
- fredoliveira 6y ago
  I was pretty sure this was wrong, because there was a lot of hubbub about it being the first Nintendo-made game on phones, so I checked. From Wikipedia: > Super Mario Run is a 2016 side-scrolling platform mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game is one of Nintendo's first games developed for mobile devices, and one of the few instances that a game in the Mario series was officially released on non-Nintendo hardware. Pokemon Go was developed (and published) by Niantic, and Fire Emblem Heroes came out over a year later than Super Mario Run did (and is also not a Nintendo game).
Shermanium 6y ago
"Attention must be paid" - Arthur Miller
grativo 6y ago
The book Walden by Henry David Thoreau would be a nice read for anyone interested in additional experiences from this article. I wanted to start gardening at a local club, but due to the situation it has been hard to do so. I encourage anyone who might not want to travel to participate in community organizations that involve gardening or related activities. Or alternatively, taking long walks also helps! Thank you for sharing!
- digitalsushi 6y ago
  At age eight I was persuaded into taking a job as a newspaper carrier, which I kept until I was 16. I regularly wonder how much those few hours, six days per week, to let my mind wander during those formative years, gave me, me.
  - grativo 6y ago
    Exactly! Before the virus hit I would walk long distances just wandering, mostly because I liked to move from place to place. I think of a lot of things while walking, but even more, it's a great and easy way to benefit the body and mind.
Nimitz14 6y ago
Great read thanks for posting.
asdfman123 6y ago
I'm the worst about this, but I found a trick: bike to the park with a book. Leave your cell phone at home. In order to get my hit of internet I have to bike all the way home again, so I'm forced to focus.
burlesona 6y ago
> I walked Brooklyn. At best, everyone was funereal. At worst, in tears, inconsolable. It’s impossible to overstate just how dour the world felt at that moment. > The entire city — country? world? — had been infected by a terminal disease, the prime vector of which was memes. > Simone Weil writes, “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” Then is the lack of attention the opposite? Does it presuppose fear and hate? - - - I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree. And I sometimes wonder: if we just turned it all off, shut down the internet, radio, and TV... would we be happier? I’ve lived through a few long power outages as well, (1 day or longer), and on those days, rather than things feeling dire, things felt light and playful. The neighbors all came out and chatted, the kids all played up and down the street. It was nice. I realize that our world would not function very well without the mass communication systems that link us together. But I also wonder if something like a scheduled, controlled, power outage every Saturday would be really good for us all.
- volkk 6y ago
  man, growing up in brooklyn during certain long power outages. i loved it. no tv's. playing cards with my family or going outside to sit on a porch alongside everyone else. candles lit up everywhere. beautiful times
- kace91 6y ago
  > I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree. That daily trivia is mostly useless, because news cycles aren't capable (of willing) of sustaining attention for long. I think the current coronavirus situation in the US is a great example, where the news switched focus to the BLM protests and relaxed the covid coverage despite the issue not being fixed. now they are already moving away from blm even though the issues that sparked the protests are obviously not solved either, and covid isn't any less of a threat than it was before. The same has happened countless times: the focus is not a reflection of important issues because each issue gets only it's 15 minutes of fame.
ralphc 6y ago
Here's the problem I see with unplugging to work; maybe it's an actual problem, maybe I'm just fooling myself. I work on software. I want the finished product, to build something useful for myself or others. I don't necessarily want the "journey". When I work, my concern, or fear, is that I'm going to work on some library or method, multiple days, then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import. As I work I also look for these libraries, and look at questions on StackOverflow. I don't consider that time wasted. Between that, and docs that are all online nowadays, I don't see how I can work while disconnected.
- cgag 6y ago
  Scrape the doc sites with httrack or something. Don't turn the internet on unless you actually hit that library problem, I think it's generally pretty clear when a significant problem has already been solved. Or move on and solve that problem tomorrow, and go do deliberate research on it and download everything at night, and then work on it again offline the next day.
  - j4ah4n 6y ago
    FWIW I've used offline docs via Dash[0] when working away from network access before. It works great! MacOS only though. [0] https://kapeli.com/dash https://kapeli.com/dash
- bogwog 6y ago
  > then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import If it involves working with some common standard or protocol, chances are it's been done before and you probably shouldn't attempt to do it yourself unless the existing implementations don't work for you. But otherwise, why stress over it? The amount of "great" programmers in the world is tiny, so while the chances that someone did something already are high, the chances that it will be significantly better than anything you can make yourself are low. Unless it's impractical because of the sheer size of it, the time investment involved, or some other reason, building something yourself gives many long-term benefits for the upfront investment. Owning the code, not having to deal with the community/politics, developing at your own pace, not having to worry about maintaining a fork, minimizing external dependencies and the associated risks, avoiding licensing concerns, etc. Saying that you should use an existing library because "someone probably did it better" is F.U.D. If you're not confident in your abilities to do something better than an imaginary programmer you've never met, then you probably need to write more code and gain more confidence; and a great way to do that is to reinvent the wheel from time to time.
Press2forEN 6y ago
> That was the first thought I had the morning after the election. I woke. The crushing weight of a new reality reimposed itself on my mind. And then: I want my attention back. Articles that begin like this always sadden me. I find myself unable to to continue from this point.
siraben 6y ago
Choosing "dumber" technology has drastically helped my ability to stay focused when reading longform articles (including this one!) while retaining more useful information. I wrote an iOS Shortcut that converts a web page to PDF and sends it to my reMarkable tablet. It works very well.
- whytaka 6y ago
  I'd love instructions on how to set this up for myself. I've ordered the reMarkable 2 and this is definitely the use-case I have in mind.
  - siraben 6y ago
    Sure! The Shortcut goes like this: Accepts: URLs - Set variable input to Shortcut input - Get contents of webpage at input - Make PDF from Contents of Webpage - Set variable file to PDF - Open file in reMarkable (toggle Show Open In Menu to off)
    - whytaka 6y ago
      Saved this for later. Many thanks!
perlpimp 6y ago
Everyone has their hacks, heres mine: I imagine all the interfering as an itch. Once can practice not minding an itch, that skill can be transferred over for example for not springing for some food. So the idea is to take stock of current state of mind and whatever "itches", tag it and apply skill. This goes for those dopamine related "itches" as well. Of course everyone is different and everyone's situation is different.
chadlavi 6y ago
I wish there were an actually-good newspaper that was actually just news, without dozens of pages of opinion and ads, that I could subscribe to/read IRL.
- jjtheblunt 6y ago
  axios.com is the most similar that I have seen
codr7 6y ago
Keep in mind that this is not mainly a technological problem, it's a problem caused by technology; which means that technological solutions will only go so far. I've spent several months in similar or more extreme forms [0] of isolation, and I'd recommend anyone to consider trying it out just to get a taste of what's possible. These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of it's effects to be negative. [0] https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-retreat/ https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-...
- coldpie 6y ago
  > These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of its effects to be negative. I'm pretty close to this point myself. The big thing that keeps me from just ditching the phone entirely is Google Maps. I guess I could just chuck the thing in a drawer until I need to use it to go someplace.
  - mathieuh 6y ago
    You could buy a standalone GPS device, I know Garmin make ones for hiking, I'm sure there are other probably cheaper options out there.
    - freehunter 6y ago
      For all the people up and down this thread saying “just buy a dedicated GPS”, realize that Google Maps is not a GPS device. It has restaurant reviews and information about parks and bike paths and parking lots and busy hours and traffic data and street closures and pictures/menus and so much more. If the question is “what restaurant do we want to go to after we leave the theater, within walking distance or public transport, that’s open right now and accepts credit cards but also has vegetarian options”, a simple GPS isn’t going to answer that question in a way even remotely similar to Google Maps.
      - codr7 6y ago
        Did you consider simply asking a local on the street? From my experience you'll get better information that way, and as an added bonus you get to interact with a real live human being. I traveled through most of Italy by bus last autumn, with an ancient Nokia phone. As a result I was completely dependent on real humans, which turned out to be a blessing. The thing is, most people are more than happy to help once they get over the hump of suspecting you for whatever. A friendly smile goes a long way.
f00zz 6y ago
What stuck out for me was the bit about farmers in Myanmar playing Clash of Clans. This is something I noticed when I was in South Korea for work a few years ago, everyone was constantly playing CoC and similar games. Of course these are very different countries, but I wonder if there's a cultural factor at play that makes these games popular in East Asia? I live in a developing country but I never see people playing games on public transportation, usually people browse Facebook or Instagram or whatever. As for the rest of the article, `echo "0.0.0.0 twitter.com" >> /etc/hosts` works for me.
- bobobob420 6y ago
  Families I know in India 10-ish years ago used to be against the whole technology wave and were concerned with the effects of electronics. Now that they have gotten their hands on smartphones and other devices: oh man they will put the American stereotype of being obsessed with the screen to shame. 24/7 Whatsapp, Instagram, and mobile games. They will come to the same realization as we are though. Just a matter of time.
  - rchaud 6y ago
    It isn't just the phone. We as a species seem to be mesmerized by visual screen-based media of any kind. For example, here's an article about a Russian family that retreated deep into uninhabited parts of Siberia during the Stalin years and lived a Middle Ages lifestyle until they were discovered in 1978: >> "Karp Lykov fought a long and losing battle with himself to keep all this modernity at bay. When they first got to know the geologists, the family would accept only a single gift—salt. Over time, however, they began to take more. They took knives, forks, handles, grain and eventually even pen and paper and an electric torch. Most of these innovations were only grudgingly acknowledged, but the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists’ camp,proved irresistible for them…. On their rare appearances, they would invariably sit down and watch. Karp sat directly in front of the screen. Agafia watched poking her head from behind a door. She tried to pray away her transgression immediately—whispering, crossing herself…." << https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-russian-family-was-cut-off-from-all-human-contact-unaware-of-world-war-ii-7354256/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-rus...
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
eezurr 6y ago
From the article: >Returning to those (mythical?) halcyon minimalist information days: You could read all of the news in a single day. Grab the two or three papers and read. The information had edges; it could be understood by a single human over one cup of first-wave coffee. Were you insatiable, the library was available to dig deep on the topics of the day. I wrote this comment in 2018, I think it's relevant here: >I think we've tipped over to the other side of the "convenience/humanity" pyramid. We climbed to the top some years ago where the lack of excess convenience gave us the opportunity to make things our selves and interact with other people face to face (which I think are very important human qualities) while being comfortable. Now we are sliding down the convenience side of the pyramid, unable to grasp what is important and fundamental. We are literally snowballing (e.g. obesity epidemic).
foofoo4u 6y ago
I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the internet, but Android won't let me. Does anyone here know how I can bypass this? I am close to purchasing the Light Phone 2 as a means to address my addiction, but again, it is missing Google Maps which I am heavily dependent on.
- cristicismas 6y ago
  You could block internet access for your browser. There are a lot of apps that let you do that (and in some cases I think you can also manage internet access in your settings).
- misev 6y ago
  There are dedicated GPS devices (by TomTom, Garmin, etc) which are much cheaper than smart phones. In the past they provided a far better experience too, I'm not sure how they compare to Google Maps nowadays though.
  - kmnns 6y ago
    I got myself a Garmin device for exactly this purpose. Put your own OpenStreetMaps on it and you‘re good to go. Perfect GPS reception and much longer battery life included. But note that it‘s not the same als Google Maps/Apple Maps. If you want to test it out first, use an OSM-based app for a while, like OSMand, and see if it fits your bill. You get better hiking maps, but you might miss the integration of business opening hours, Yelp, traffic, etc. But for me it‘s worth it, for GP‘s reasons. People used to live without all these features before, after all.
- vollmond 6y ago
  Try using the LessPhone[0] launcher. I have used it off and on and had some success with it. It locks you down to a slim set of apps (configurable), in a plain black and white interface. It's not perfect, but it's helpful. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan.nophone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan....
hinkley 6y ago
Meatspace hobbies help a lot with this. If you're knitting or gardening or painting or planing a piece of hardwood it's a heck of a lot easier to keep going than to switch back to your Skinner Box devices. I get properly irritated when I'm doing yardwork and my phone blows up, because I have to stop what I'm doing, pull off the gloves, check for how much dirt got through/into the gloves, then pull out the device and deal with the glare to see that... nobody is dying, they just wanted to show me something funny. God. Damnit.
grillvogel 6y ago
I've started instituting a new rule of no internet on Sunday. in practice this means i dont look at anything that requires a web browser. I still make use of internet based service such as tv streaming apps etc. I usually start out the day feeling anxious about not looking at my phone, and then end the day feeling a lot more relaxed than usual and I usually did something fun because i wasnt just reading crap on my phone all day to fill the void.
powersnail 6y ago
I've found that the most effective way of regaining focus, is to find something real to do or think about, and write them down as a list. When a time of idleness comes, check the list and occupy the mind with it. My phone easily distracted me when I'm idling in the middle of some task, for example, waiting for a compilation to finish. But when I'm practicing music, despite my phone being always on as the metronome, I don't get tempted at all. There's no need to fight an urge of browsing the internet. I have found that the addiction to internet is not really that strong; it cannot compete with what I really want to do. So, as long as I don't let the idleness creep in, I can keep my modern smartphone with me.
- coolspot 6y ago
  This idea is expanded in “Bullet Journal”, which I highly recommend to try. https://bulletjournal.com https://bulletjournal.com
hybridtupel 6y ago
The ironie of reading this on HN. Just think about it. And think about reading this comment too.
- FearNotDaniel 6y ago
  Not really; it's exactly where people who need to read it are most likely to be found. Reminds me of an old British TV series called "Why Don't You...?" that was made for kids during the school holidays and was all about doing something other than watching TV. The full title, which was sung over the opening titles, was "Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set And Go Out And Do Something Less Boring Instead?"
anthk 6y ago
- Ditch social media - Forget tabbed browsing, try Surf/Vimb + Unbound under Linux/BSD - Try Gopher, visit HN thru gopher://hngopher.com - If you do Reddit, don't comment, check it under gopher://gopherddit.com - Avoid multitasking
alexpetralia 6y ago
One trick that worked for me: * Don't keep my phone in my bedroom. I keep it several rooms away and now wake up to an analog alarm clock. Out of sight, out of mind, for me at least. I've seen my phone screen time drop from several hours a day to generally < 1 hour (of course some of this has been diverted to more computer time, but on net, it's less screen time overall).
filchermcurr 6y ago
I've been living in a beige box for so long that I honestly don't even know what to do without a computer in front of me. How do you occupy the time? Take a walk, cook, read a book, talk to a friend, build a birdhouse... all options, I guess, but it seems really easy to find yourself with large chunks of time with nothing to do. Just ate, it's too hot outside, eyes are tired, friends are busy-- now what? I know this is a failure of imagination on my part. Has anybody made a database of offline activities? (See, I need my beige box to even figure out what to do without it...) It makes me feel sad and pathetic that I don't know how to actually live life outside of the internet.
- CodeGlitch 6y ago
  Buy/acquire a whole load of books and have a large bookshelf in your house/apartment. These books should be on a range of subjects that interest you. When you find yourself with spare time, pick up one of the books that takes your fancy. I find just reading will improve my world-view, feed my imagination, and provide inspiration. Of course without access to a library of book store, you might have to use the internet to buy the books in the first place! Good luck!

310 points by joubert 6y ago

dang 6y ago

If curious see also from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13457580

bpizzi 6y ago

The text starts with "there are a thousand beautiful ways to start the day that don’t begin with looking at a phone. And yet so few of us choose to do so.". Is it really so? I'm only a single datapoint, but checking my phone is the last thing I do in the morning. Getting children up, coffee, shower, planning some today's work in my head - if the phone isn't ringing then I may well not fiddle with it until later in the morning or even the day.

kthartic 6y ago
Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue.
- bpizzi 6y ago
  While I just had to check if there was such a "time tracker" on my iPhone. Yes there is and I had not activated it.
- DEADBEEFC0FFEE 6y ago
  > Yesterday I spent 9h 31m on my phone (according to the built-in screen time tracker on my iPhone). It doesn't make me happy, but I can't stop scrolling. I think I have an issue. What are you scrolling, which app has that hold?
  - Fiveplus 6y ago
    I'm not the person you replied to. However, when I used to browse reddit - my phone logged an unhealthy amount of time spent on that app (in roughly the same ballpark).
    - eklin 6y ago
      I don't use an app to browse reddit, so it usually went like this: close reddit tab. Open new tab. Automatically type in reddit.com. And I'm sure, 100% sure, that I'm not the only one with that problem...
      - awake 6y ago
        You know I've had times in my life where I've had this issue as well. I personally think our inability to turn off the deluge of pixels is a real problem. But I want data to back up the thought. In 2017 Youtube users watched a billion hours of video a day. [1] Some rough numbers show that in 2018 Facebook users spent about a billion hours on facebook every day [2]. Multiply these numbers across reddit, tiktok, the various international social media giants. Are the >2 billion hours a day people spend glued to their screen limiting social progress? Is it fear mongering and ignorant to even ask? One thing I know for certain is there will be a growing group of people seeking help to limit their watch time on these services. The algorithms are simply too addictive. [1]: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-billion-hours.html https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/you-know-whats-cool-b... [2]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend-an-absurd-amount-of-time-on-fac.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/people-still-spend...
      - kace91 6y ago
        Same here. I've found many tricks that help. For example, erasing some urls from autocompletion (fn mayus backspace for chrome in mac) helps fight against the muscle memory, when you have to type the whole thing. There are also extensions like stayfocusd that help. In a smartphone, switching the icons (for example putting ibooks or spottify in place of the broweser) helps. It's basically a reverse UX problem: you try to create as much friction as possible. My problem is that it works for a few weeks or so. Then for whatever reason I get to a point where reddit is super useful (like buying a specialized products, where the communities can help get somewhat unbiased opinions and reviews) and I'm back to square one. This site produces the same effect btw. It's just that the content is at least somewhat limited to a point where checking more than once or twice a day isn't worth it.
- q-base 6y ago
  The time in itself is not bad. It could have been 10 hours of important reading for your study or whatever. So do not get hung up on numbers, that will only lead to negative double-bashing of yourself. I observed myself trying to avoid using the phone for obvious things like navigation and weather forecasts because I wanted by all means to reduce the screen time. That is as irrational as anything. Focus on what you want to do instead and use the time on that. Start reading books, go for walks, dance, play an instrument whatever it is. Focus on that instead of narrow focus on screen time.
- zerr 6y ago
  Why do you keep scrolling on the phone instead of a proper PC with a bigger monitor? (or at least a laptop)
- forgot_user1234 6y ago
  I am in a similar boat. I am a software engineer and I can't ditch it.
Tade0 6y ago
I use it effectively to wake up - the flash of blue light and notifications often work better than a cup coffee.
baxtr 6y ago
Yeah. Seems like you are a big exception. Good for you. Tell us how we can learn from you
ejolto 6y ago
Do you use a dedicated alarm clock? I use the alarm on my phone, so the first thing I do in the morning is look at my phone to turn off the alarm.
- bpizzi 6y ago
  Yes, dedicated alarm clock indeed. However I wouldn't count "swiping the alarm off" as a valid case of "looking at my phone first thing in the morning" if you just stick to turn off the alarm.
  - ejolto 6y ago
    That's the way to do it. It's easier said than done to stick to just the alarm when the phone is already in your hand with an active display. Especially if you have new notifications.
thordenmark 6y ago
You're one of the few. I try to avoid it so much, but too often find myself checking emails and the news on my phone when the alarm goes off.
Mekantis 6y ago
Well, you have external constraints that prevent you from doing so. The suggestion is that, without such external constraints, it's fairly likely that you would be waking up with looking at your phone. But even if you didn't, it wouldn't be particularly relevant. Looking broadly across everybody I know, and that I know of, the use of electronic screens is ubiquitous throughout their lives. Your statement basically amounts to "Well, I don't look at my phone in the morning, so clearly most other people also don't look at their phone in the morning". Which is obviously false (at least in the sense that one doesn't follow from the other).
Bedon292 6y ago
Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up, and last thing at night. Is sometimes an hour on the phone before actually getting out of bed. I had to quit Reddit years ago because of the addiction. Don't really use Facebook. But Twitter currently has its hooks in me. It is a news source to me, about the pandemic, election, protests. But it manages to suck me in to reading extra comments and stuffs. I have been realizing it more lately, and don't want to give it up because I do think it helps me stay informed, but I need to find a way to change my usage habits because its not good.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- synlatexc 6y ago
  I'm with you wrt Twitter. It is an amazing source of information, but much of it is daily drama that is a form of entertainment -- a modern Jerry Springer. These tweets and videos serve as a conversational currency of sorts. Not sure it's worth it.
  - carti 6y ago
    I feel this way too. I think you can still get access to a lot of the "conversational currency" by just checking it less frequently. Making highly curated lists helps a lot too, since you can isolate a lot of the more drama/entertainment-focused users to particular feeds.
- halfcat 6y ago
  > Unfortunately my phone is literally the first thing I do when I wake up If this is true, like if you use your phone as an alarm clock, you’re screwing yourself. BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits walks through this exact example, and spoiler: it’s hopeless unless you physically separate from your phone. The only levers you have to manipulate your behavior are prompt, ability, and motivation. Your phone prompts you reliably, it’s easy to stay in bed and easy to look at social because your notifications are right there, just move one finger, and you’re motivated at a visceral level to look at social because of that dopamine hit. The only solution he provides is removing the prompt. Get an old style alarm clock and put your phone in the other room at night.

thdrdt 6y ago

Another way to look at it is: stop context switching (all the time). Personally a lot of context swithing is giving me stress and is draining my energy. It also makes me less productive. So I believe the article is spot on.

coffeefirst 6y ago
This is absolutely true and shocking difficult. You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help. But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.
- xyzal 6y ago
  How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?
  - synlatexc 6y ago
    Yes. This worked well for me.
- noir_lord 6y ago
  I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours. No one has shouted at me yet.
  - mrslave 6y ago
    Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down. Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another. Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.

nicbou 6y ago

This is a great-looking website. It made reading this article a delight. It's a great choice of fonts and spacing that's very pleasing to the eye.

RickJWagner 6y ago

"That was the first thought I had the morning after the election." Which election? Is this set in 2020? Edit: N/M, I see it's from 2017.

Quequau 6y ago

I have not yet gotten my attention back. Did this piece ever get to the point?

chadlavi 6y ago
the author's advice boils down to "timebox your internet access, and especially avoid mindless internet use in the morning"

muonic 6y ago

I'd actually appreciate anyone's opinion or advice on this... I grew up on computers and the internet (absent, technophile parents made that very easy) and by the age of 13 or 14 my computer really just felt like an extension of myself. When I was in undergrad, I realized that the only way I'd ever actually properly study is if I had someone on my dorm floor take my computer from me and refuse to give it back for some designated period of time. After undergrad, I "relapsed" a bit in the sense that I would be on my laptop for 14+ hours a day every day, constantly context switching and never really getting any good work done. I'd still accomplish my work but would never really get to the things I wanted to get done, like practicing piano or reading a book. I started a new job in October and was able to start 'fixing' myself a bit by leaving all my electronics at the office after work, and by December I could actually feel a tangible difference in how I was thinking and making decisions. Unfortunately, after COVID hit, the office closed, and now I've had the least amount of separation between my physical life and digital life, between work and leisure (as I'm sure is the same for all of you). Do any of you have any systems that work for you in terms of a path towards self-control? I have very little self-control and a very addictive personality and I really don't like the way I spend my time at the moment. At this point I'm even considering finding Adderall or something similar as I don't feel capable of accomplishing this on my own.

gdubs 6y ago
It’s not a “quick fix” but meditation really does help build focus, attention, and awareness. If that sounds like it would be impossibly hard, you can definitely start small with something like 10 breaths where you really just pay attention to breathing in and out, and then gradually work up to longer stretches. I find that meditation has a spillover effect into my life — I’m less likely to be tempted by junk food, let’s say, on the days where I meditate.
- muonic 6y ago
  Interesting... I've read that but perhaps chose not to believe it. Would you mind sharing how often you meditate and for how long?

omreaderhn 6y ago

I built this service to help deal with this problem: https://omreader.co https://omreader.co It allows you to read blogs (RSS feeds) and email newsletters on your Kindle. I originally started working on this to help me read financial news without needing my phone which I find to be a really distracting environment. I would find myself mindlessly opening up and scrolling through reddit or HN and in my experience, repeatedly doing that has a tendency to destroy ones ability to concentrate. It's super nice to be able to wake up without your phone near you and still be able to read long form content. I just launched it out of beta but any feedback would be great. Edit: HN is currently hugging the database to death. The site is still working fine but I apologize for any slowness. I will upgrade the database tonight.

staticvoidmaine 6y ago
This is very cool! I’ve recently started using my wife’s old Kindle for reading the pfSense book and the Google SRE Handbook and have been loving the fact that it isn’t a bright screen or filled with distractions. This is a great idea that I’ll be trying out with a couple technical blogs.
- omreaderhn 6y ago
  Awesome! Yeah I tested this out on my mom's old kindle (one with a keyboard) and it renders really well. Not the same as how it looks on the newer Kindles but they still have special support for the newspaper format on the old Kindles and it looks great.
corytheboyd 6y ago
I love the idea, will have to try it out. Not so thrilled about yet another service that wants to collect a monthly rent, but maybe the free tier will suite my needs
- omreaderhn 6y ago
  Ha no worries. I've tried to find a good balance with the free tier. It's actually a bit more generous than what the copy on the marketing site says so I'll go ahead and update that today. Would love to hear any feedback that you have.

ricardo81 6y ago

I'm constantly amazed how often I step outside to smoke and a problem I've been grappling with is immediately answered without even much thought, the answer arrives. Perhaps many of us don't realise how much attention is stolen from looking at the screen.

youareostriches 6y ago
Nicotine also has nootropic properties

scottndecker 6y ago

I installed a small switch from Home Depot in line with the power to my router so I can turn it off at any point and it takes a few minutes to power back on (which is good that it takes a bit). No signal in the house at night. Easy way to control access for all parties in the house. I like his idea of no internet till after lunch.

vinceguidry 6y ago

> Nintendo recently released their first iPhone game, Mario Run. > The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales. Nintendo didn't make Super Mario Run, nor is it the first game with their name on phones. Their first two games, Pokemon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes, are both very much unbounded and, especially Fire Emblem, there are certainly whales and in-app purchases and all that. I burned well over a thousand dollars on it before I decided enough was enough.

fredoliveira 6y ago
I was pretty sure this was wrong, because there was a lot of hubbub about it being the first Nintendo-made game on phones, so I checked. From Wikipedia: > Super Mario Run is a 2016 side-scrolling platform mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game is one of Nintendo's first games developed for mobile devices, and one of the few instances that a game in the Mario series was officially released on non-Nintendo hardware. Pokemon Go was developed (and published) by Niantic, and Fire Emblem Heroes came out over a year later than Super Mario Run did (and is also not a Nintendo game).

Shermanium 6y ago

"Attention must be paid" - Arthur Miller

grativo 6y ago

The book Walden by Henry David Thoreau would be a nice read for anyone interested in additional experiences from this article. I wanted to start gardening at a local club, but due to the situation it has been hard to do so. I encourage anyone who might not want to travel to participate in community organizations that involve gardening or related activities. Or alternatively, taking long walks also helps! Thank you for sharing!

digitalsushi 6y ago
At age eight I was persuaded into taking a job as a newspaper carrier, which I kept until I was 16. I regularly wonder how much those few hours, six days per week, to let my mind wander during those formative years, gave me, me.
- grativo 6y ago
  Exactly! Before the virus hit I would walk long distances just wandering, mostly because I liked to move from place to place. I think of a lot of things while walking, but even more, it's a great and easy way to benefit the body and mind.

Nimitz14 6y ago

Great read thanks for posting.

asdfman123 6y ago

I'm the worst about this, but I found a trick: bike to the park with a book. Leave your cell phone at home. In order to get my hit of internet I have to bike all the way home again, so I'm forced to focus.

burlesona 6y ago

> I walked Brooklyn. At best, everyone was funereal. At worst, in tears, inconsolable. It’s impossible to overstate just how dour the world felt at that moment. > The entire city — country? world? — had been infected by a terminal disease, the prime vector of which was memes. > Simone Weil writes, “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” Then is the lack of attention the opposite? Does it presuppose fear and hate? - - - I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree. And I sometimes wonder: if we just turned it all off, shut down the internet, radio, and TV... would we be happier? I’ve lived through a few long power outages as well, (1 day or longer), and on those days, rather than things feeling dire, things felt light and playful. The neighbors all came out and chatted, the kids all played up and down the street. It was nice. I realize that our world would not function very well without the mass communication systems that link us together. But I also wonder if something like a scheduled, controlled, power outage every Saturday would be really good for us all.

volkk 6y ago
man, growing up in brooklyn during certain long power outages. i loved it. no tv's. playing cards with my family or going outside to sit on a porch alongside everyone else. candles lit up everywhere. beautiful times
kace91 6y ago
> I think there’s really something to this. I have to admit there have been a number of times I’ve been caught up in something “tragic” on the internet, generally some political battle, and felt like the world was falling apart. But then if I step away from the computer and go for a walk in the nearby park, I see hundreds of people just relaxing and enjoying life, not caught up in the daily trivia. I often bring my kids along and watch them just run and play, carefree. That daily trivia is mostly useless, because news cycles aren't capable (of willing) of sustaining attention for long. I think the current coronavirus situation in the US is a great example, where the news switched focus to the BLM protests and relaxed the covid coverage despite the issue not being fixed. now they are already moving away from blm even though the issues that sparked the protests are obviously not solved either, and covid isn't any less of a threat than it was before. The same has happened countless times: the focus is not a reflection of important issues because each issue gets only it's 15 minutes of fame.

ralphc 6y ago

Here's the problem I see with unplugging to work; maybe it's an actual problem, maybe I'm just fooling myself. I work on software. I want the finished product, to build something useful for myself or others. I don't necessarily want the "journey". When I work, my concern, or fear, is that I'm going to work on some library or method, multiple days, then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import. As I work I also look for these libraries, and look at questions on StackOverflow. I don't consider that time wasted. Between that, and docs that are all online nowadays, I don't see how I can work while disconnected.

cgag 6y ago
Scrape the doc sites with httrack or something. Don't turn the internet on unless you actually hit that library problem, I think it's generally pretty clear when a significant problem has already been solved. Or move on and solve that problem tomorrow, and go do deliberate research on it and download everything at night, and then work on it again offline the next day.
- j4ah4n 6y ago
  FWIW I've used offline docs via Dash[0] when working away from network access before. It works great! MacOS only though. [0] https://kapeli.com/dash https://kapeli.com/dash
bogwog 6y ago
> then find that someone else did it better in a library I can just import If it involves working with some common standard or protocol, chances are it's been done before and you probably shouldn't attempt to do it yourself unless the existing implementations don't work for you. But otherwise, why stress over it? The amount of "great" programmers in the world is tiny, so while the chances that someone did something already are high, the chances that it will be significantly better than anything you can make yourself are low. Unless it's impractical because of the sheer size of it, the time investment involved, or some other reason, building something yourself gives many long-term benefits for the upfront investment. Owning the code, not having to deal with the community/politics, developing at your own pace, not having to worry about maintaining a fork, minimizing external dependencies and the associated risks, avoiding licensing concerns, etc. Saying that you should use an existing library because "someone probably did it better" is F.U.D. If you're not confident in your abilities to do something better than an imaginary programmer you've never met, then you probably need to write more code and gain more confidence; and a great way to do that is to reinvent the wheel from time to time.

Press2forEN 6y ago

> That was the first thought I had the morning after the election. I woke. The crushing weight of a new reality reimposed itself on my mind. And then: I want my attention back. Articles that begin like this always sadden me. I find myself unable to to continue from this point.

siraben 6y ago

Choosing "dumber" technology has drastically helped my ability to stay focused when reading longform articles (including this one!) while retaining more useful information. I wrote an iOS Shortcut that converts a web page to PDF and sends it to my reMarkable tablet. It works very well.

whytaka 6y ago
I'd love instructions on how to set this up for myself. I've ordered the reMarkable 2 and this is definitely the use-case I have in mind.
- siraben 6y ago
  Sure! The Shortcut goes like this: Accepts: URLs - Set variable input to Shortcut input - Get contents of webpage at input - Make PDF from Contents of Webpage - Set variable file to PDF - Open file in reMarkable (toggle Show Open In Menu to off)
  - whytaka 6y ago
    Saved this for later. Many thanks!

perlpimp 6y ago

Everyone has their hacks, heres mine: I imagine all the interfering as an itch. Once can practice not minding an itch, that skill can be transferred over for example for not springing for some food. So the idea is to take stock of current state of mind and whatever "itches", tag it and apply skill. This goes for those dopamine related "itches" as well. Of course everyone is different and everyone's situation is different.

chadlavi 6y ago

I wish there were an actually-good newspaper that was actually just news, without dozens of pages of opinion and ads, that I could subscribe to/read IRL.

jjtheblunt 6y ago
axios.com is the most similar that I have seen

codr7 6y ago

Keep in mind that this is not mainly a technological problem, it's a problem caused by technology; which means that technological solutions will only go so far. I've spent several months in similar or more extreme forms [0] of isolation, and I'd recommend anyone to consider trying it out just to get a taste of what's possible. These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of it's effects to be negative. [0] https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-retreat/ https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-...

coldpie 6y ago
> These days I don't even carry a smartphone anymore, as I've found the sum of its effects to be negative. I'm pretty close to this point myself. The big thing that keeps me from just ditching the phone entirely is Google Maps. I guess I could just chuck the thing in a drawer until I need to use it to go someplace.
- mathieuh 6y ago
  You could buy a standalone GPS device, I know Garmin make ones for hiking, I'm sure there are other probably cheaper options out there.
  - freehunter 6y ago
    For all the people up and down this thread saying “just buy a dedicated GPS”, realize that Google Maps is not a GPS device. It has restaurant reviews and information about parks and bike paths and parking lots and busy hours and traffic data and street closures and pictures/menus and so much more. If the question is “what restaurant do we want to go to after we leave the theater, within walking distance or public transport, that’s open right now and accepts credit cards but also has vegetarian options”, a simple GPS isn’t going to answer that question in a way even remotely similar to Google Maps.
    - codr7 6y ago
      Did you consider simply asking a local on the street? From my experience you'll get better information that way, and as an added bonus you get to interact with a real live human being. I traveled through most of Italy by bus last autumn, with an ancient Nokia phone. As a result I was completely dependent on real humans, which turned out to be a blessing. The thing is, most people are more than happy to help once they get over the hump of suspecting you for whatever. A friendly smile goes a long way.

f00zz 6y ago

What stuck out for me was the bit about farmers in Myanmar playing Clash of Clans. This is something I noticed when I was in South Korea for work a few years ago, everyone was constantly playing CoC and similar games. Of course these are very different countries, but I wonder if there's a cultural factor at play that makes these games popular in East Asia? I live in a developing country but I never see people playing games on public transportation, usually people browse Facebook or Instagram or whatever. As for the rest of the article, `echo "0.0.0.0 twitter.com" >> /etc/hosts` works for me.

bobobob420 6y ago
Families I know in India 10-ish years ago used to be against the whole technology wave and were concerned with the effects of electronics. Now that they have gotten their hands on smartphones and other devices: oh man they will put the American stereotype of being obsessed with the screen to shame. 24/7 Whatsapp, Instagram, and mobile games. They will come to the same realization as we are though. Just a matter of time.
- rchaud 6y ago
  It isn't just the phone. We as a species seem to be mesmerized by visual screen-based media of any kind. For example, here's an article about a Russian family that retreated deep into uninhabited parts of Siberia during the Stalin years and lived a Middle Ages lifestyle until they were discovered in 1978: >> "Karp Lykov fought a long and losing battle with himself to keep all this modernity at bay. When they first got to know the geologists, the family would accept only a single gift—salt. Over time, however, they began to take more. They took knives, forks, handles, grain and eventually even pen and paper and an electric torch. Most of these innovations were only grudgingly acknowledged, but the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists’ camp,proved irresistible for them…. On their rare appearances, they would invariably sit down and watch. Karp sat directly in front of the screen. Agafia watched poking her head from behind a door. She tried to pray away her transgression immediately—whispering, crossing herself…." << https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-russian-family-was-cut-off-from-all-human-contact-unaware-of-world-war-ii-7354256/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-rus...

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eezurr 6y ago

From the article: >Returning to those (mythical?) halcyon minimalist information days: You could read all of the news in a single day. Grab the two or three papers and read. The information had edges; it could be understood by a single human over one cup of first-wave coffee. Were you insatiable, the library was available to dig deep on the topics of the day. I wrote this comment in 2018, I think it's relevant here: >I think we've tipped over to the other side of the "convenience/humanity" pyramid. We climbed to the top some years ago where the lack of excess convenience gave us the opportunity to make things our selves and interact with other people face to face (which I think are very important human qualities) while being comfortable. Now we are sliding down the convenience side of the pyramid, unable to grasp what is important and fundamental. We are literally snowballing (e.g. obesity epidemic).

foofoo4u 6y ago

I want to throw my phone away and switch to a "dumb" phone so I can rid my addiction to it, but I have become dependent on several core apps such as Google Maps. I wish Android would allow me full control to delete every app on there but the ones I most need. But unfortunately, its restrictions prevent me from doing so. For example, I want to delete all web browser apps so I am not tempted to the addiction of the internet, but Android won't let me. Does anyone here know how I can bypass this? I am close to purchasing the Light Phone 2 as a means to address my addiction, but again, it is missing Google Maps which I am heavily dependent on.

cristicismas 6y ago
You could block internet access for your browser. There are a lot of apps that let you do that (and in some cases I think you can also manage internet access in your settings).
misev 6y ago
There are dedicated GPS devices (by TomTom, Garmin, etc) which are much cheaper than smart phones. In the past they provided a far better experience too, I'm not sure how they compare to Google Maps nowadays though.
- kmnns 6y ago
  I got myself a Garmin device for exactly this purpose. Put your own OpenStreetMaps on it and you‘re good to go. Perfect GPS reception and much longer battery life included. But note that it‘s not the same als Google Maps/Apple Maps. If you want to test it out first, use an OSM-based app for a while, like OSMand, and see if it fits your bill. You get better hiking maps, but you might miss the integration of business opening hours, Yelp, traffic, etc. But for me it‘s worth it, for GP‘s reasons. People used to live without all these features before, after all.
vollmond 6y ago
Try using the LessPhone[0] launcher. I have used it off and on and had some success with it. It locks you down to a slim set of apps (configurable), in a plain black and white interface. It's not perfect, but it's helpful. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan.nophone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.aswinmohan....

hinkley 6y ago

Meatspace hobbies help a lot with this. If you're knitting or gardening or painting or planing a piece of hardwood it's a heck of a lot easier to keep going than to switch back to your Skinner Box devices. I get properly irritated when I'm doing yardwork and my phone blows up, because I have to stop what I'm doing, pull off the gloves, check for how much dirt got through/into the gloves, then pull out the device and deal with the glare to see that... nobody is dying, they just wanted to show me something funny. God. Damnit.

grillvogel 6y ago

I've started instituting a new rule of no internet on Sunday. in practice this means i dont look at anything that requires a web browser. I still make use of internet based service such as tv streaming apps etc. I usually start out the day feeling anxious about not looking at my phone, and then end the day feeling a lot more relaxed than usual and I usually did something fun because i wasnt just reading crap on my phone all day to fill the void.

powersnail 6y ago

I've found that the most effective way of regaining focus, is to find something real to do or think about, and write them down as a list. When a time of idleness comes, check the list and occupy the mind with it. My phone easily distracted me when I'm idling in the middle of some task, for example, waiting for a compilation to finish. But when I'm practicing music, despite my phone being always on as the metronome, I don't get tempted at all. There's no need to fight an urge of browsing the internet. I have found that the addiction to internet is not really that strong; it cannot compete with what I really want to do. So, as long as I don't let the idleness creep in, I can keep my modern smartphone with me.

coolspot 6y ago
This idea is expanded in “Bullet Journal”, which I highly recommend to try. https://bulletjournal.com https://bulletjournal.com

hybridtupel 6y ago

The ironie of reading this on HN. Just think about it. And think about reading this comment too.

FearNotDaniel 6y ago
Not really; it's exactly where people who need to read it are most likely to be found. Reminds me of an old British TV series called "Why Don't You...?" that was made for kids during the school holidays and was all about doing something other than watching TV. The full title, which was sung over the opening titles, was "Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set And Go Out And Do Something Less Boring Instead?"

anthk 6y ago

- Ditch social media - Forget tabbed browsing, try Surf/Vimb + Unbound under Linux/BSD - Try Gopher, visit HN thru gopher://hngopher.com - If you do Reddit, don't comment, check it under gopher://gopherddit.com - Avoid multitasking

alexpetralia 6y ago

One trick that worked for me: * Don't keep my phone in my bedroom. I keep it several rooms away and now wake up to an analog alarm clock. Out of sight, out of mind, for me at least. I've seen my phone screen time drop from several hours a day to generally < 1 hour (of course some of this has been diverted to more computer time, but on net, it's less screen time overall).

filchermcurr 6y ago

I've been living in a beige box for so long that I honestly don't even know what to do without a computer in front of me. How do you occupy the time? Take a walk, cook, read a book, talk to a friend, build a birdhouse... all options, I guess, but it seems really easy to find yourself with large chunks of time with nothing to do. Just ate, it's too hot outside, eyes are tired, friends are busy-- now what? I know this is a failure of imagination on my part. Has anybody made a database of offline activities? (See, I need my beige box to even figure out what to do without it...) It makes me feel sad and pathetic that I don't know how to actually live life outside of the internet.

CodeGlitch 6y ago
Buy/acquire a whole load of books and have a large bookshelf in your house/apartment. These books should be on a range of subjects that interest you. When you find yourself with spare time, pick up one of the books that takes your fancy. I find just reading will improve my world-view, feed my imagination, and provide inspiration. Of course without access to a library of book store, you might have to use the internet to buy the books in the first place! Good luck!