
Regaining control of your attention - cmod
https://backchannel.com/how-i-got-my-attention-back-c7fc9297d347#.3j04ooh2p
======
michaelchisari
_Mario is finite, bounded. 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. In Mario you can not only see the end but get there._

My favorite games to play on my phone are those made by Square Enix. Final
fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, lots of classic remakes.

They range from $6.99 to $20.99, which made people balk when Square Enix first
starting publishing on mobile, but you pay once, and you get a full game to
play, no bullshit.

Once again, cheap is better than free. Pay a few dollars and never get
bothered again by ads or pay-to-play, but most importantly, you don't feel
like you're being manipulated by a never-ending game that starts to feel much
more like work than play.

~~~
johnchristopher
> Once again, cheap is better than free. Pay a few dollars and never get
> bothered again by ads or pay-to-play, but most importantly, you don't feel
> like you're being manipulated by a never-ending game that starts to feel
> much more like work than play.

But old school/classical ff games always have that grinding and levelling part
where it also feels more like work than play. Games from before were also
designed to be addictive (whether it was intentional or not).

~~~
michaelchisari
Sure, there's points where you grind experience, but it's towards the goal of
finishing the game. Grinding experience and leveling up aren't the game
itself.

~~~
abakker
That is true, kind of, but grinding efficiently was probably the very first
time I learned the lesson "work smart, not hard". There is a microcosm of
reality in grinding which I think is why some of those games ultimately felt
more rewarding than ones that omit it. I don't want the time I spent playing
Diablo II back, it was worth it. I can't say the same for some other titles
I've played.

------
canadian_voter
_“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information '. That there has been an
information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain
narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is
true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that
humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond
our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of missing information.”_ \-- Bill
McKibben, _The Age of Missing Information_ , 1992

McKibben's book, just like Neil Postman's _Amusing Ourselves to Death_ , is
even more relevant to the internet age than the television age.

There is something insidious about "information" that's doled out like slot
tokens at a casino. Something dangerous about "facts" that are carefully
designed to fit with what we _want_ to believe. Something manipulative about
"teaching" that is designed to fit through the gaps in our mental defenses for
the benefit of the "teacher".

This week I've met otherwise "normal" people who are flat-earthers, anti-
vaccers, and who believe Hillary is a Satanist and Trump is the "Bringer of
Light".

But ultimately who cares if your hairdresser is an anti-vaccer, or your tennis
partner is a flat-earther? Does it really matter if that cute girl at the
check-out is an anti-Semite? Does it harm anyone if the guy building your deck
believes in zero-point energy?

So long as people fulfill their economic roles quietly and efficiently, does
it really matter what's in their hearts and minds? It's all relative isn't it?

~~~
pjc50
> Does it really matter if that cute girl at the check-out is an anti-Semite?

This matters rather a lot if you're Jewish. You're arguing that "it doesn't
matter if you don't look up", _Star Wars_ passim.

Similarly it matters if your hairdresser is an anti-vaccer and spreads
something contagious to you.

A certain amount of difference can be looked past, but when it comes to
matters of life and death - and it can come to that surprisingly easily when
things get heated - it matters.

~~~
superflyguy
You've not really made the case that those are life and death examples though.
It's more likely the person who's not an anti semite is the one who's going to
get heated in any discussion about it.

------
abandonliberty
Go to Cuba.

Internet is only available in hotel lobbies and government parks. It runs you
3$/hr.

However, be warned that Cuba (including Havana and the resorts) is a machine
designed to extract money from foreigners. While you can get by for <$15/day,
the government recommends $100. It's the only place where Rick Steeves gave up
on his 'travel like a local' creed and went with private drivers and the
touristic experience.

He was right. It's nearly impossible to find an authentic experience in
Havana. They'll tell you anything to make you happy and get your money. Even
the family I stayed with - who I assisted with translations, technology, and
donations - tried to rip me off on my last day. It's just business.

Treat it like a great retro theme park. Ride around in classic american cars,
walk around entirely safe at all hours, and overpay for everything. The art,
music, and architecture/decay is awesome. Just don't take it too seriously :)

~~~
markdown
Just a reminder, folks: this is one anecdote (or two, if you count the Steeves
one he included).

How'd you feel if your city was summed up thus with buckets of tar and a great
big brush?

------
rwc
Admittedly off-topic, but why add unnecessarily ignorant asides (in the first
sentence to boot):

"...I lived on the grounds of an old estate down in central Virginia, next to
a town called — terrifyingly — Lynchburg..."

...when a 10-second Google search reveals the less-than-terrifying reality:

First settled in 1757, Lynchburg was named for its founder, John Lynch, who at
the age of 17 started a ferry service at a ford across the James River to
carry traffic to and from New London.

~~~
burkaman
Not totally damning, but 10 seconds more would reveal that "lynching" is named
after his younger brother:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lynch_(judge)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lynch_\(judge\))

~~~
jessriedel
OK, but the younger brother moved away from the area that would be called
Lynchburg even before it was named that. The town is not named after the crime
and the crime is not named after the town.

~~~
coolgeek
> The town is not named after the crime and the crime is not named after the
> town

And yet, the crime is named for the brother of the man that the town is named
for.

Pardon the metaphor, but you're hanging on a pretty thin thread.

Also note that burkaman was pointing out the irony of an insufficiently
researched (and churlish) accusation of insufficient research.

~~~
imron
> And yet, the crime is named for the brother of the man that the town is
> named for.

So guilt by association is a thing now?

~~~
burkaman
Nobody is guilty of anything. It just isn't really true that the name is
completely unrelated to slavery and lynchings.

~~~
imron
But it's by such a tenuous thread that it's deceptive.

------
triangletodd
I genuinely expected this article to contain a single sentence that read,
"stop reading hacker news at work".

~~~
EnFinlay
Don't tell me how to live!

~~~
HugoDaniel
spread anarchy[0]

[0] [https://i.imgur.com/NIqQB.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/NIqQB.jpg)

~~~
RUG3Y
Oh God, Imgur is crossing over into HN now. I don't think I'm ever going to
escape the black hole that is the internet.

------
vorotato
Regaining control of your attention doesn't mean not using your phone. It
means being self-aware. The author is relying on a crutch. Not using the phone
is just removing a single source of distraction, it does nothing to actually
help attention regulation. It's like saying, I fixed my impulse issues by
never walking in to gas stations, so now I don't have to worry about buying
lottery tickets! You didn't fix your impulse issues, they're still 100% there.

~~~
iak8god
The "impulse issues" are reinforced by the phone. I've very often noticed when
I've set aside my phone for a few hours (the rest of the evening until bed or
whatever) that I have to literally _set it aside_ at some distance from myself
because otherwise it ends up in my hand without my even consciously deciding
to check it. It's like a reflex. And then once it's safely at a distance, I
repeatedly experience the urge to check it whenever I don't happen to be very
focused on something else. The frequency of that urge diminishes over the
course of a few hours and is accompanied by an increase in my ability to focus
on something else for stretches of time. Sometimes I've even taken a weekend
offline completely, and the effects are even more pronounced, and they last
beyond the offline time. This is what the author means by "attention is a
muscle". It's not that there's some baseline impulse issue and the device is
merely an outlet. The device is causing the issue, or at least exacerbating
it.

~~~
vorotato
The device aggravates this issue only because the author is unconscious enough
that they aren't even aware they are making a decision to use or not use the
phone. While it may be a necessary step to take a break from something that
captures your attention, it's important to be able to be aware of your
behavior and your desires independent of the context. A person should be
mindful when they choose to spend time on the phone of what they are deciding
to consume. The phone is not a magical device, it just has a lower effort
barrier and so unconscious behavior is easier. It doesn't mean one can't be
aware of what they're doing while using it. It also doesn't mean that one
can't use the device while developing awareness.

~~~
iak8god
I think we pretty much agree here. For me the best way to remain aware is to
periodically abstain, and the effects on my awareness persist after the
abstinence.

~~~
vorotato
I turned of notifications of all kinds 99% of them were not worth clicking. I
do periodically abstain, but I when I do use I try to stay self-aware. I
mentally keep track of how long I've spent, and what I spent my time doing. I
then periodically ask if I thought the previous 15 minutes was spent doing
something I was interested in or if I was just on autopilot / guided by
clickbait. I still use my phone a LOT, but I definitely am doing more of what
I enjoy, and reading things that are more meaningful to me.

~~~
iak8god
All good tips.

I've been using QualityTime (Android only, I think:
[http://www.qualitytimeapp.com/](http://www.qualitytimeapp.com/)) to measure
and track usage daily. Seeing it quantified was a bit of a shock even though I
thought I was doing a good job of mentally monitoring myself.

~~~
kentt
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to try that out. On the Desktop I use
RescueTime which has helped a bit.

------
dredmorbius
Rivality is the counterpoint of virality.

Information is free. Attention is inherently rivalrous. The author, Craig Mod,
seems to get this:

 _Time boxed disconnection has proven to be both generative and — most
importantly — sustainable._

Time-boxing is _setting bounds on attention._ Depending on what you do, it can
be difficult to enforce -- some types of creative work simply want to expand
to fill time, and rebuilding state is difficult. If that work requires online
access ... beware the manfalls.

 _Attention is a muscle. It must be exercised._

Muscles also need recovery time. Alvin Toffler's _Futurshock_ is one of the
earliest works I've seen which seems to grasp that intellectual effort has
similar bounds.

There's also Gleick's _The Information_ , which notes the opposition of
information and attention.

------
tdaltonc
We just finished making an app for people looking to use apps less and in a
more intentional way.

[http://YouJustNeedSpace.com](http://YouJustNeedSpace.com)

We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you
to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store.

~~~
graeme
>We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages
you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store.

Really? That's the sort of app I'd pay for. Ideally, I'd spend less time on my
phone, and more time on my (apple) computer.

Pretty shortsighted of apple.

Product feedback: I don't really know what it does, or how it does it. I
accessed this on a computer, so I couldn't preview.

Just got my ipad, so I had a look. Interesting idea. I actually switched to
launching all apps via spotlight typed commands though, so I don't think I can
use it. The spotlight method _did_ reduce a lot of impulse use though.

~~~
tdaltonc
> That's the sort of app I'd pay for.

Good new! You can! We use Stripe. I'm sure our conversion rate is a lot lower
than if we were in the app store. But it's still possible for people who love
it to help us keep working on it.

~~~
graeme
Oh, I wrote it before the "feedback" section. I think I'll stick with my
spotlight launch method, as it removes the physical action urge entirely.

Do you think it would be useful to add a physical item nonetheless?

~~~
tdaltonc
Do you usually access your problem app though spotlight?

If so, you could try creating a space icon linked to your problem app and give
the space icon a name that will cause it to appear above your problem app in
spotlight results, then search for it in spotlight a few times and see if you
can get the space icon to appear in Top Hits when searched.

The principle behind all of this is to get the space icon to appear in your
app launch flow where the icon of your problem app used to.

~~~
graeme
Ah yes, that could work. I'll try it when I have my phone handy (I don't bring
it to the office).

------
laredo312
If human nature is to take the path of least resistance, then it really comes
down to "Friction vs frictionless." "Distractions," e.g. Twitter, are
engineered to be as frictionless as possible -- low effort, quick dopamine
fixes. It is on us to engineer meaningful tasks to have as little friction as
possible.

Doesn't have to be complicated:

    
    
      1. Mute notifications
      2. Install Chrome "Timewarp" extension
      3. Break work down into bite-sized tasks
    

Some sources of friction are less obvious, and require studying the problem.
E.g for me, I found:

    
    
      1. Perfectionism
      2. Fear of not knowing/mental fog (the kind you encounter when learning something new)
      3. Fear of futility (that your efforts are in vain)
      4. Not knowing where to begin 
    

To be strong sources of friction, so I actively work to reduce them.

~~~
gopher2
That's quite interesting how you think about tasks you want to do with
"sources of friction" that way. How did you go about studying/identifying the
less obvious sources?

~~~
laredo312
Probably read them on a blog and made the connection later when I was
searching for reasons why I keep procrastinating. Putting a convincing name to
the mental force that holds you back gives you something to fight/say no to.
Or you can pretend it doesn't exist and hope it goes away (doesn't work for
me).

------
magice
I hate hate hate, bitterly, angrily, and even desperately, those fetishes
about a better, nicer, more innocent past. We all heard it; we all partake in
the orgy of present-bashing and past-glorying before. However, let's wake up
and, seriously, get our attention back to the present.

Look, yoga and meditation have existed for a looooooong time. And guess what,
for every time period, be it modern "over-loaded" time or ancient time, only a
handful of people can master them. And what are they? Oh, yeah, attention
controlling. I mean, if the past is so focused and attentive, shouldn't
everyone be meditation master? Shouldn't people be super productive and
focused and attain greatness? Guess what, they don't. What does that imply?

It implies this: please, for the love of progress, stop your whining and start
appreciating how much luck and resources you have access to today. Please.
Pretty please.

And what's with the fetish against "algorithm"? I despite those who take
regular but uncommon concepts and make a demon/angel out of them. Algorithm,
simply put, is how to calculate something or how to solve a problem. Sorry,
algorithms do not have "tendrils". They neither scheme against you nor love
you. Think about it: if you trip over a rock, does it "conspire" against you?
If you burn time on some game, don't blame the game, please. Blame the
publisher, maybe. Don't blame the poor tech. It does nothing but to please
you.

Back to time and attention. Is it challenging to keep my attention in today
fast pace world? Sure it is. How easier compared to starving world of the old?
Or racist world? Or back-breaking labor (think agriculture before advent of
machine and fertilizer)? Luckily, I have not been made to find out. Very
luckily. And I think everyone can appreciate that luck.

I always appreciate advices on control of attention and focus. I might not
find them valuable (I frankly feel like I can focus just fine with emails
singing their songs, for example, so I don't need to completely cut cord). But
I would not make a statement against those. I need all the ideas and advices:
attention is very hard to control.

However, the whining and fetishizing and conspiracy theorizing must stop.
Please. One nation have voted for economic regression while another elected a
racist bigot as their First Citizen. Why? Because of all of those whining and
fetishizing and conspiracy theories. So, please, stop. For the love of
progress, stop.

~~~
d33
I, for one, don't like the tone. You mention the progress. Don't you think
we'd have made a much bigger one if it wasn't for all those advertisements,
gamified social media et al providing less value than they cost us in
attention?

------
bootload
_" Did I have it before Twitter became a demagogue’s pulpit? When it was just
a few of us, goofing around?"_

If I had two points to up-vote a story, I'd give it to this story.

I have always been in the fight to maintain attention. I can remember cutting
the wires to a radio to maintain focus, studying for school. For me the
question I ask is, _" How do I work on the Internet, but not be sucked down
the addictive ^attention^ sucking black-hole?"_. This article is looking for
this balance. [0]

[0] I also note, pg updated his article _" Disconnecting Distraction"_ noting
the techniques he thought would work, do not.
[http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html)

------
sidcool
I, one of the millennials, find it difficult to focus, both at home and at
work. Mobile chats, Slack, Hangouts etc. drains all the focus. It's difficult
to get back in the zone. One moment you are chatting with your wife, in a deep
meaningful conversation, the next you are checking WhatsApp or FB for a
dopamine rush. I like what Louis CK says about it. Not his exact words. "Just
because something is out there, doesn't mean it has to be done. It's OK to
feel sadness and loneliness. Through the experience we get the beauty of
clarity. But we douse it with a quick rush we get from a like or a mention."

I am equally a culprit.

------
RichardHeart
[http://stopgaming.reddit.com](http://stopgaming.reddit.com) helps some people
out. I made a video about why gaming sucks and how you should make real life
your game instead. I was shocked that people actually liked it.

It's interesting that he also mentions twitter and facebook but the comments
here seem to skip the social media angles. I wonder if we feel subconsciously
collectively that gaming has done us more harm than social media. I know it
has done me more harm.

------
TYPE_FASTER
This book, a good read about the invention and adoption of the telegraph,
includes references to information overload from the 1800's.

[https://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Internet-Remarkable-
Ninetee...](https://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Internet-Remarkable-Nineteenth-
line/dp/162040592X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484338680&sr=8-1&keywords=victorian+internet)

------
mark_l_watson
In her book "Quiet" Susan Cain covers the topic of introversion and
productivity. Recommended.

Personally, I find turning off my cellphone and email client to be adequate to
work into my schedule several quiet thinking times a week. I usually hike with
friends a few times a week but I also use long solo hikes as another resource
for thinking.

------
hrayr
Regaining control presumes you had control to begin with.

I'd wager having little control over attention has been the default mode for
couple generations. The world is full of distractions that start from
childhood. Gaining control over attention requires awareness and a more
deliberate effort, through meditation or the like.

------
spuz
Are there any tools that allow you to enforce such things as 'internet only in
the afternoon'? I would pay a ridiculous amount of money for a router that
could disable access to certain websites according to time based or usage
based rules and something equivalent for my phone. I would build it myself but
I'm always just too damn distr...

~~~
tdaltonc
We built an app that doesn't do exactly but, but it's similar. Instead of
focusing on external restrictions, it reprograms your mind to make you less
distractible.

[http://YouJustNeedSpace.com](http://YouJustNeedSpace.com)

------
raintrees
An aside point of curiosity: That is quite a dictionary at the end of the
HTML...

------
greenspot
OT: What are these sub brands from Medium like Backchannel and Hackernoon? Are
there more sub brands/communities and why did Medium create them?

~~~
ianburrell
Backchannel and Hackernoon are separate publications that are hosted on
Medium. Backchannel is owned by Wired, and Hackernoon by AMI Publications.

------
yomly
How to regain my attention span...

Quit HN

/s

...

/s

~~~
superflyguy
You just have to make choices. I made a change a few years ago so this is
literally the only place I read online discussions (because the signal to
noise ratio is generally acceptable). I've dumped reddit, Twitter etc and the
inevitable comments section at the end of every page on a news site. It gives
me more time to read proper writing (books) or just stare out of the window
and think. I still use instant messages but just not on my phone so they wait
until I'm home. I can always phone or text someone if it's urgent (this hasn't
happened yet).

------
edblarney
Is there an App that gets rid of all technology? :)

~~~
lightedman
There are a couple of pieces of technology that can do it - though the general
end-result is we're extinct as well.

------
d883kd8
> Before palatable young white guys who say “bruh” with alarming frequency
> spun daily monologues into Sony HD cams for audiences of millions?

This is racist

~~~
cellularmitosis
Did he say that all white guys say "bruh"? Or is he talking about the subset
who say "bruh"?

------
dom0
It's rather ironic to see this title on the front page of HN.

