Traction and distraction
Traction is anything that pulls you towards what you planned to do. Distraction pulls you away, even when it looks like work. Answering emails in the hour you set aside for the report counts as distraction.
Productivity
Indistractable
by Nir Eyal
What are you running from?
Nir Eyal made his name teaching companies to build habit-forming products. Then he noticed he couldn't put his own phone down. In Indistractable he argues the phone is rarely the real culprit. Most distraction, he says, is an escape from a feeling we'd rather not sit with.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
What you'll learn
- Traction and distraction
- Time management is pain management
- Turn your values into time
- Decide while you're calm
The key ideas in Indistractable
Time management is pain management
Boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty. Eyal calls these internal triggers, and he says they sit behind most distraction. When one strikes, notice it and write it down. Then try his ten-minute rule, and hold off that long before giving in. Often the urge passes on its own.
Turn your values into time
Eyal would swap your to-do list for a timeboxed calendar. Decide what you'll do and when, across three areas of life: you, your relationships and your work. Then judge the day by whether you did what you said you'd do, for as long as you said you'd do it.
Decide while you're calm
Eyal's last line of defence is a pact, made in advance. An effort pact makes distraction harder, like locking your phone away. A price pact costs you money if you slip. An identity pact means seeing yourself as someone who is indistractable, and acting the part.
Lines worth underlining
Traction
Anything that pulls you toward what you planned is traction. Anything that pulls you away is distraction.
Inner triggers
Most distraction starts inside you, as a way to escape an uncomfortable feeling.
Timeboxing
Plan your day in blocks of time. Without a plan, you can't tell what counts as a distraction.
Hack back
For each ping and alert, ask whether it serves you. If it doesn't, turn it off.
Pacts
Make promises in advance, like a price you'll pay if you slip, to hold yourself to a plan.
A story from the book
The superpower question
Eyal was working through an activity book with his young daughter. One page asked which superpower she would choose. He was looking at something on his phone as she answered, and he missed it. By the time he looked up, she had gone off to play.
One thing to try
Wait ten minutes
Next time you reach for your phone in the middle of a task, stop and write down what you were feeling just before: bored, stuck, anxious. Then set a timer for ten minutes and carry on. If you still want to check when it rings, go ahead.
There's more to Indistractable
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Indistractable comes with a Spot the Trap case to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appQuestions about Indistractable
What is Indistractable about?
What are you running from? Nir Eyal made his name teaching companies to build habit-forming products. Then he noticed he couldn't put his own phone down. In Indistractable he argues the phone is rarely the real culprit. Most distraction, he says, is an escape from a feeling we'd rather not sit with.
What are the key ideas in Indistractable?
Traction and distraction; Time management is pain management; Turn your values into time; Decide while you're calm.
What's one thing to try from Indistractable?
Next time you reach for your phone in the middle of a task, stop and write down what you were feeling just before: bored, stuck, anxious. Then set a timer for ten minutes and carry on. If you still want to check when it rings, go ahead.
Is Indistractable on Knotd?
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Indistractable in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Spot the Trap case to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
