You're Not Lazy, You're Torturing Yourself (How To Actually Stop)

Summary

This script addresses the issue of smartphone addiction and its detrimental effects on productivity and flow states. It introduces a science-based protocol to rewire the brain for focused work, making it as engaging as social media. The speaker, a co-founder of the Flow Research Collective, outlines steps to defeat distractions, including disabling notifications, centralizing inboxes, and using apps like Freedom for total blocking. The ultimate goal is to transform the phone from a distraction to a tool, advocating for 'phone off till noon' to enhance focus and achieve peak performance.

Takeaways

• 📱 Smartphone addiction can waste significant amounts of time, but there are strategies to rewire the brain for productive focus.
• 🧠 The human brain is susceptible to the constant distractions provided by modern technology, which can disrupt the flow state necessary for peak performance.
• 🕊️ Historically, distractions required a similar level of cognitive exertion as the tasks at hand, unlike today where digital distractions are easily accessible and highly stimulating.
• 🛡️ The concept of 'attention merchants' has evolved from sensationalist salesmen to today's tech giants and algorithms, all designed to capture and hold our attention.
• 📉 Constant interruptions and distractions have been shown to cost businesses billions in lost productivity and individuals in terms of focus and time.
• 🧘 Flow state is characterized by heightened creativity, motivation, and effortless concentration, which can be disrupted by even a single glance at a phone.
• 🛑 Environmental design can significantly influence behavior more than willpower, suggesting that altering the environment to reduce temptation is crucial for maintaining focus.
• 🔒 To combat distraction, it's recommended to disable notifications, centralize inboxes, and use apps that block access to distracting content during productive hours.
• 🌞 The best time to engage in focused work is in the morning when cognitive load is low, and brain waves are conducive to entering a flow state.
• 📴 Implementing a 'phone off until noon' strategy can help protect morning hours for deep work and increase overall productivity.
• 📚 The script suggests that by batching communication, removing non-essential apps, and using analog alternatives, one can minimize phone usage and maximize focus.

Q & A

What is the main argument presented in the video script about smartphone addiction?

The script argues that smartphone addiction is wasting years of our lives by disrupting our focus and productivity. It suggests that over-stimulation from smartphones can be defeated by making focused work as addictive as social media, thereby rewiring our brains for more productive focus time.

What historical perspective does the script provide on distractions and their impact on productivity?

The script provides a historical perspective by comparing the distractions of the past, such as the encyclopaedia in 1650, with modern distractions like smartphones. It suggests that while past distractions required similar cognitive exertion as the tasks at hand, modern distractions are more insidious and abundant, leading to a significant loss of focus and productivity.

Who are the 'attention merchants' referred to in the script, and what is their role?

The 'attention merchants' are entities that aim to capture and divert our attention from our goals and dreams. They have evolved from snake oil salesmen and publishers in the 19th century to tech giants and algorithms today. Their mission is to keep us engaged with their content, leading to a loss of focus and productivity.

How does the script describe the physiological changes that occur when we enter a flow state?

The script describes flow state onset as a physiological transformation involving the sharpening of tension and dopamine release for motivation. Brain waves slow from beta to alpha and theta, enhancing creativity, and the prefrontal cortex downregulates to allow more spontaneous thinking. This results in a state of effortless exertion, operating at cognitive peak performance.

What is the 'tunnel' analogy used in the script to explain focus and distractions?

The 'tunnel' analogy is used to describe how focus works. When in a flow state, the 'tunnel' narrows, concentrating energy into a powerful beam. However, a single glance at a phone can shatter this tunnel, causing attention to dissipate and scatter, disrupting the carefully built focus.

What are the three steps suggested in the script to reclaim attention from attention merchants?

The three steps are: 1) Transforming the phone from a toy to a tool by disabling notifications and organizing the home screen. 2) Blocking the attention merchants entirely by using apps like Freedom to block distracting apps and websites. 3) Keeping the phone off until noon to protect the flow state and ensure focused, intentional work.

Why is it suggested to disable all notifications on the phone according to the script?

Disabling all notifications is suggested to liberate the user from intrusive red dots and constant interruptions. This makes the phone a proactive device, where the user decides when to engage with messages, thus building resistance against attention merchants.

What is the significance of the 'phone off till noon' strategy proposed in the script?

The 'phone off till noon' strategy is significant as it provides ample space for focused work in the morning when cognitive load is low and brain waves are conducive to flow. It helps in minimizing distractions and maximizing productivity during the peak performance hours.

How does the script relate the use of a smartphone to the historical practice of using leeches for medical treatment?

The script draws a parallel between the historical belief in leeches curing various ailments and the modern belief in the productivity benefits of smartphone use. It suggests that just as leeches were once considered beneficial, smartphone use is similarly overestimated in its productivity benefits, and both practices involve a form of misplaced trust.

What is the role of batching communication in the script's strategy for achieving flow states?

Batching communication is a strategy to minimize the constant check-ins that can disrupt focus and creativity. By designating specific times for checking and responding to messages, emails, and other communications, it helps protect the flow state and allows for more uninterrupted, focused work.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Smartphone Addiction and the Attention Economy

The first paragraph discusses the impact of smartphone addiction on our lives, suggesting that it wastes valuable time that could be spent productively. It introduces a science-based protocol to make focused work as engaging as social media, potentially unlocking additional productive hours each week. The speaker, a co-founder of the flow research Collective, has helped various organizations achieve peak performance. The historical context is provided to illustrate how distractions have evolved from the 19th century to the present, where tech giants and algorithms are the ultimate 'attention merchants'. These merchants aim to divert our focus from our goals to their platforms, exploiting our brain's reward system. The modern abundance of instant rewards contrasts sharply with our evolutionary history of scarcity, leading to a significant loss of productivity and attention, as evidenced by frequent phone checks and the cost to businesses due to interruptions.

05:00

🛡️ Combating Distractions: Strategies for Regaining Focus

The second paragraph outlines a three-step process to reclaim attention from 'attention merchants'. It emphasizes reducing phone usage to increase flow states and productivity. Drawing on psychological findings, it suggests that environmental design is more effective than willpower in shaping behavior. The paragraph provides specific actions to transform a smartphone from a source of distraction to a tool for focused work. These include disabling notifications, centralizing inboxes, disabling 'raise to wake' features, purging home screen distractions, and using grayscale display modes. The goal is to minimize unnecessary interactions with the phone, thereby reducing the attention merchants' power to distract.

10:01

🚫 Irreversible Blocking: The Freedom App and Total Disconnection

The third paragraph focuses on the use of the Freedom app to block distracting apps and websites entirely, advocating for a comprehensive and permanent solution to the problem of digital distractions. It details the setup process for the app, including the use of a VPN and the importance of enabling 'locked mode' and 'uninstalled protection' to prevent early termination of blocking sessions. The app is recommended to be used 24/7 to ensure constant protection of flow states. The paragraph concludes with the metaphor of the attention merchants as an octopus, with each tentacle representing a distraction that needs to be severed to achieve peak performance.

15:02

⏰ Phone Off Till Noon: Maximizing Morning Productivity

The fourth paragraph introduces the concept of 'phone off till noon' as a strategy to maximize productivity, especially during the morning hours when cognitive load is lowest. It suggests that the phone is the primary enemy of flow and should be treated as a tool rather than a constant companion. The paragraph provides steps to implement this strategy, including batching communication, removing non-essential phone functions, and replacing them with analog alternatives. It also emphasizes the importance of turning off the phone each night and keeping it out of reach until noon to prevent interruptions and maintain focus on goal-directed actions.

Keywords

💡Smartphone Addiction

Smartphone addiction refers to the compulsive use of smartphones that can interfere with daily life and responsibilities. In the video, it is depicted as a major time-waster and a hindrance to productivity. The script mentions that over-stimulation from smartphones can be instantly defeated, emphasizing the importance of managing this addiction to unlock new productive focus time.

💡Flow State

A flow state is a mental state where an individual is fully immersed in an activity, experiencing a heightened level of focus and productivity. The video discusses the concept of flow states as optimal performance levels that can be achieved through science-based protocols. It contrasts modern distractions with the ability of our ancestors to maintain focus, highlighting the importance of recreating such states in today's world.

💡Overstimulation

Overstimulation refers to the excessive exposure to stimuli, particularly sensory input, that can lead to a state of mental fatigue or distraction. The video script describes how modern technology, especially smartphones, contribute to overstimulation, making it difficult for individuals to achieve a focused work state similar to the 'flow state'.

💡Attention Merchants

The term 'attention merchants' is used to describe entities or individuals whose business model revolves around capturing and selling human attention. In the script, they are portrayed as the enemies of productivity and flow states, constantly vying for our focus through notifications, social feeds, and other digital distractions.

💡Productivity

Productivity in the context of the video refers to the efficiency and effectiveness with which individuals perform tasks and achieve goals. The script argues that distractions created by attention merchants can lead to a significant loss in productivity, and it suggests strategies to reclaim focus and enhance productivity.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system. The video script explains that the modern digital environment is designed to trigger dopamine release, creating a cycle of addiction to smartphone use. This is contrasted with the flow state, where dopamine plays a positive role in motivation and focus.

💡Environmental Design

Environmental design, as discussed in the video, refers to the strategic arrangement of one's surroundings to influence behavior. The script suggests that by altering the environment to minimize distractions, such as disabling notifications and centralizing inboxes, one can better resist the lure of attention merchants and maintain focus.

💡Digital Distractions

Digital distractions are any stimuli from digital devices or platforms that divert attention away from the task at hand. The video emphasizes the impact of digital distractions on breaking the flow state and provides steps to mitigate their influence, such as turning off notifications and removing app icons from the home screen.

💡Cognitive Load

Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort being used in working memory during tasks such as learning and problem-solving. The video mentions that the cognitive load is lowest in the morning, making it an ideal time for achieving flow states by minimizing distractions and focusing on important tasks.

💡Phone Fasting

Phone fasting, as suggested in the video, is the practice of abstaining from using a smartphone for a certain period. The script proposes 'phone off till noon' as a strategy to protect the flow state and increase productivity, arguing that the less time spent on the phone, the more focused and productive one becomes.

💡Peak Performance

Peak performance is the optimal level of performance that an individual can achieve. The video's theme revolves around reaching peak performance by accessing and sustaining flow states. It discusses the impact of distractions on this state and offers practical steps to overcome these obstacles and achieve peak performance.

Highlights

Smartphone addiction can waste years of your life, but there's a science-based protocol to make focused work as addictive as social media.

Flow research Collective has helped organizations like Audi and the US Air Force to access flow states and achieve peak performance.

Ancient distractions required similar cognitive exertion as the tasks at hand, unlike today's easily accessible digital distractions.

Attention Merchants have evolved from 19th-century snake oil salesmen to today's tech giants and algorithms.

Smartphones provide Attention Merchants with constant access, leading to a significant loss of productivity and attention.

Entering a flow state involves a physiological transformation, including the release of dopamine and a shift in brain waves.

Modern workplace distractions can steal attention and squander the neurochemistry that enhances performance.

Attention Merchants not only distract us from work but also from our ability to choose what to focus on.

To reclaim attention, it's crucial to transform your phone from a toy to a tool and reduce its addictive properties.

Disabling all notifications is the first step to take back control from attention merchants.

Centralizing inboxes and making them invisible can help break the habit of mindless checking.

Environmental design is more effective than willpower in managing distractions and maintaining focus.

Using apps like Freedom can provide total blocking of distractions, ensuring uninterrupted focus.

Phone off till noon is a strategy to maximize focus and productivity by limiting phone usage to essential functions only.

Batch communication to maintain momentum on important tasks and reduce the pull of constant smartphone use.

Replacing essential phone functions with analog alternatives can help break the habit of constant phone checking.

Turning off the phone and keeping it out of reach can significantly increase focus and productivity.

The struggle for attention is an ongoing war, and the tools to reclaim it are essential for achieving peak performance.

Transcripts

smartphone addiction is wasting years of

your life but there's a fast and easy

way to defeat over stimulation instantly

with this science-based protocol you can

make focused work itself as addictive

and exciting as social media and rewire

your brain to unlock a dozen hours of

new productive Focus time per week now

randar co-founder and Co of the flow

research Collective and we've help

everyone from Audi to the US Air Force

to a centure access flow States and

Achieve Peak Performance but will now

for our ancestors the biggest

distraction from Big important important

and productive tasks required almost the

same level of cognitive exertion as big

important and productive tasks so what

do I mean by this we just picture these

two scenarios scenario one it's 1650

you're at your desk quill in hand

parchment before you lit by candlelight

you start writing and the world Fades

away time passes unnoticed as you pour

your thoughts onto the page a thought

crosses your mind that fascinating new

encyclopedia you recently purchased is

on your shelf its lure is undeniable but

reading it would demand roughly the same

mental energy as your writing the

momentary distraction Fades overpowered

by your focus you stay in your Flow

State uninterrupted until you reach a

natural stopping point scenario 2 it's

2024 you sit down to work but within

minutes your phone Kings a friend has

texted you a Tik Tok video you resist

the urge to check your mind is already

wandering what video is waiting for you

what trends are you missing you give in

tell yourself it'll just be a quick

glance and you'll be back to the task at

hand but TI talk is an endless well of

perfectly created content a quick check

turns into a half hour as you scroll

your work forgotten your focus shattered

clearly things have changed and a new

enemy of Flow State and Peak Performance

has emerged it's easy to assume that the

greatest threats to our productivity are

the obvious culprits like

procrastination a lack of motivation or

insufficient willpower but the real

enemy is far more Insidious far worse

enter the attention Merchants these are

the shadowy figures who've lurked at the

edge of of our Consciousness for

centuries their mission is simple to

hijack our attention to divert us from

our goals and dreams and to keep us

scrolling clicking and consuming at all

costs the distractions devised by the

attention Merchants have evolved over

the decades in the 19th century they

were the snake oil salesman and Penny

press Publishers pedling miracle cures

with Sensational headlines then in the

20s they used the radio to weave

products into our deepest desires and

fears then television arrived in the

1950s suddenly moving images and ads

could Captivate and distract us for

hours today's Tech Giants and algorithms

represent the Apex power of attention

Merchants with smartphones in every

pocket giving them unending access the

result is that in the SP of just a few

decades we've G from a world where flow

states were rarely interrupted to one

where we can access highly rewarding

stimulation with little more than a to

our brains which evolved in an

environment of scarcity are ill equipped

to handle this abundance of inst reward

it's Little Wonder a survey by assuan

has found that we check our phones 96

times a day every 10 minutes another

study by basex approximated that

unnecessary interruptions cost American

businesses 650 billion a year in Lost

productivity now attention Merchants

once a minor nuisance now pose an

existential threat to our most valuable

resource attention itself when you try

to get into flow your physiology is

going through a transformation what's

happening in your body and brain is a

flow State onset Nora benine sharpens

the tension dopamine provides motivation

brain waves slow from beta to Alpha and

Theta boosting your creativity your

prefrontal cortex temporarily

downregulates to enable more spontaneous

less self-conscious thinking you're

fully absorbed in a state of effortless

exertion this is Flow State and it's

allowing you to operate at your

cognitive Peak the problem is in the

modern workplace distractions steal your

attention and squander all that

performance enhancing neurochemistry

your flow state is actively under attack

and being blocked imagine your attention

as a tunnel when you enter a flow state

that tunnel Narrows focusing your energy

into a powerful beam all it takes is one

glance at your phone to shatter this

tunnel and your attention just Splats

out everywhere dissipating the focus

you've carefully built that if sustained

turns into flow stti and to reenter the

physiological shift that occurs with

Flow State onset you have to pick all

those pieces back up and try and CH your

attention once again and this brings us

to the Insidious Genius of the attention

Merchant they don't just distract us

from our work they distract us from what

Holocaust Survivor Victor Franco

considered the last of human Freedom the

ability to choose what to pay attention

to within each moment just imagine for a

moment the feeling of being in flow

where time seems to disappear and you're

able to achieve the impossible now

imagine that same feeling but instead of

working on a project you care about

you're just scrolling through social

media or playing a mobile game that's

what the attention Merchants are after

it's the attention Merchants who are

stealing your Flow State and re-rooting

it to their goals instead of yours moded

humans and their phones are like

medieval peasants and their baches back

then people thought these blood sucking

worms cured everything from headaches to

obesity today we find that idea

repulsive yet at the time it was

considered perfectly normal even

beneficial today our phone use isn't so

different the bottom line is this if you

want more flow use your phone less the

less you use your phone the more flow

you get and the more productive you are

as a result there are three steps to

reclaiming your attention from the

attention merchants and winning the

fight for your flow stick this brings us

to the first step taking your phone from

Toy to two

now in the early 1970s psychologists

Daniel canaman and Amos verki revealed

that humans are not rational actors our

choices are influenced by biases and

juristic their experiments showed that

choice architecture how options are

presented in our environment can shape

decisions in ways we don't even realize

even small environmental changes can

lead to Big behavioral shifts For Better

or For Worse and the attention economy

digital environments are designed to

exploit our weaknesses notifications

social feeds and endless content Loops

trigger dopamine release turning your

smartphone into a dopamine slot machine

every check scroll or swipe is designed

to keep you hooked even when you should

walk away instead start to see your

attention as your most precious asset

investing it like a worldclass hedge

fund manager rather than a compulsive

Gambler so here's the rule environmental

design trumps willpower and discipline

every time yes willpower matters but

willpower is a finite drainable resource

we cannot rely on Willpower alone you

see environmental design is about

cleverly removing the need to constantly

battle Temptation like having a plate of

cookies on your desk if you're trying to

eat healthier so grab your phone right

now if you really want to win the war in

your attention and wrestle your float

stay back from the attention Merchants

follow along and take these actions

right now don't just save this for

future reference you can also download a

free checklist of all of these steps for

defeating distraction and reclaiming

your float State just click the link in

the description you can get it

immediately first action here is to

disable all notifications turn off all

notifications for all apps including

essential ones like phone messaging and

calendars theistic here is that anything

signaling you to pay attention to it

without your choosing has got to be

disabled by this we mean every

notification such that you never have

any popups any red dots or notifications

ever for anything including the phone

and messages themselves this liberates

you from intrusive red dots and constant

interruptions and makes your phone 100%

proactive rather than mostly a reactive

device it's a dramatic shift your life

won't fall apart you'll adapt quickly

you'll build the habit of proactively

checking messages when you need to and

when your response is required and this

is the foundation of your resistance

against attention Merchants now action

two is to centralize your inbox and make

it invisible gather all inbox apps

messages email social media into a

folder called inbox move this folder to

the last page of your home screen breaks

the habit of mindless checking and puts

you in control of when and how you

engage with communication action three

is to disable raise to wake and always

on as features ensure your phone stays

dark and Silent until you choose to

engage them this prevents unintentional

attention grab step for is to purge your

phone first remove all app icons widgets

and folders from your home screen keep

only 0 to four essential apps as visible

this creates a clear distraction free

interface that reflects your priorities

then delete all non-essential apps

remove social media games and other

distracting apps remember your brain

suffers from distraction because it's

bombarded by irrelevant information

reduce irrelevant input to win the war

on your attention every app is either an

asset or a liability in this battle if

you really want to test an app's value

just remove them all yes all of them go

a few days without any apps and see

which ones you actually miss and need by

necessity action five is to kill the

color switch your phone's display to

grayscale or red tint mode this makes it

less visually appealing and reduces the

temptation to use it unnecessarily you

can even set up automations to activate

these filters at specific times by

implementing these changes youve

transform your phone from a pocket

Casino into a tool that you'll use less

often and when you do it'll be for

focused intentional work but the battle

isn't over yet there's another step to

reclaiming your focus from the attention

Merchants brings us to step two blocking

the attention Merchants entirely you've

probably heard of and tried blocking

apps the problem is they don't work very

well because you can easily undo an app

or distraction Blocker on your phone as

a general rule I can't tell you how many

times over the years I've downloaded one

of those app blockers put it on and then

a few days or weeks later just turned it

back off when I was really feeling

suscep the distraction if you want this

to work properly you need total

irrecoverable blocking that doesn't end

with the only solution being in new

phone or a hard reset that's what we're

going for that's the real true

fundamental solution to win the war on

attention so here's how to do it now if

I had five minutes and can only give

someone a single solution for defeating

distraction and increasing available

time in a given week for productive

activity this would be it first step is

to download the freedom app now we have

no affiliation with freedom but we've

analyzed all the different solutions out

there and just found it to be the

simplest and the best you want to

download it to your phone you'll be

taken through several steps to get

Freedom set up on your device tap

continue to start moving through the

prompts and allow it to access screen

time allow it to set up a VPN but you

don't want to allow it to send you

notifications now once you've got the

app set up navigate to the block list

section from there block all of the

distracting apps and websites including

all social media news apps every website

or app that the attention Merchants use

to ins snare you should be selected or

added including some of your own guilt

Pleasures I know some people that will

randomly scroll IMDb looking at movies

for hours so if that's you make sure you

specifically block IMDb as a website be

aggressive here it's worth fighting for

your flow STI next navigate to the

session screen then select the block

list you just created then create a

recurring session for 7 days a week 24

hours a day so that freedom is running

all the time some will give themselves

an hour per day where they can just use

whatever apps they want just so they can

make the block more able in short term

but the choice of a peak performer is

obvious make it impossible for the

attention Merchants to steal your

attention from you for good all the time

now this final step is crucial open the

settings menu It's the gear icon at the

bottom right and enable two key settings

locked mode and uninstalled protection

this prevents you from ending the

session early even if Temptation strikes

this makes it impossible to delete any

app while lock mode is active that way

you can't just delete the app or log out

to regain access to the apps and site

you block you've now permanently

protected your Flow State from being

stolen by the attention Merchants

through your phone the attention

Merchants are like an octopus with each

tentacle trying to reach into your mind

and rroo your cognition from your goals

to theirs you just severed off those

tentacles and free yourself from their

Allure and that brings us to the last

step step three which is phone off till

noon now at some point once Peak

performers come to terms with the fact

that their phone is a flow assassin they

come up with all sorts of ways to

minimize their usage some will hand it

off to their SP some will lock it in a

timed safe for certain hours others

we've heard will even put their phone in

maple syrup which doesn't necessarily

damage the phone but makes it a pain to

use because you've got to dig it out of

the maple syrup get your hand all

covered in trle and then wash it off

every time you want to use it now the

good news is you don't have to go to

these extremes and waste good maple

syrup but all of these approaches do

illustrate something important which is

your phone isn't merely a distraction

it's the number one enemy of float don't

let it be the central control panel for

your whole life it's a tool you use only

where essential the things you do that

fundamentally change the trajectory of

your career and lead to the achievements

and impact you'll look back on on your

deathbed likely doesn't happen on your

phone now if you think otherwise

whatever thing you're doing on your

phone that you do consider incredibly

productive and essential to your

long-term boldest goals can probably be

done more productively on a desktop

without all the downsides of your phone

so the rule is simple flow before phone

your brains flow pronus is highest in

the morning after waking that's because

your cognitive load is low and upon

waking your brain waves are closer to

the brain waves we see in flow Alpha and

Theta so on your calendar protect this

block like a mama bear with Cubs from

there aim to have your phone off Out Of

Reach Out of Sight and inaccessible for

more than 75% of your time the simplest

way to achieve this is through a phone

fasting protocol putting your phone off

fully until noon every day we call this

phone off to noon this means no matter

what you don't use your phone until noon

every day this gives you plenty of space

to knock out your key goal directed

actions while in flow there are a couple

of steps to pulling this off and

properly nailing Step One is

communication batching communication is

one of the main things that pulls us

into using our smartphone and while

communication is essential constant

communication is crippling the key is to

batch it ruthlessly to maintain momentum

on what matters so ask what are the

minimum times per week you can check

your email and slack ideally two to

three times a week at most then what are

the times per day you can check the

messages or emails on your phone ideally

once a day for no more than total of 60

minutes if you really need to respond a

lot you do twice a day what you want is

the lowest amount possible and what's

possible is often much lower than you

think so the step to take here is to

pick the best time a day to communicate

our suggestion is to do this during what

we call the trough your physiological

energy dip that tends to occur in the

afternoon keep your phone off and

messages should be ignored completely

until that block to make this easy first

schedule recurring meetings with the key

people that you need to stay in sync

with in your life whether it's your

spouse or colleagues or business

partners whatever it is so that instead

of having the check in sporadically

throughout the week or any given day

that's blocked out in advance and you

know that you have a sync coming up

pre-scheduled at a time that actually

worked then schedule a specific time

each day again ideally once maximum

twice to check and respond to messages

emails slacks whatever it is another

reason this is key is because constant

check-ins eat away your rumination and

creativity and compromise memory

encoding both of these things make it

harder to focus decreased memory

encoding leads to increased time

pressure and increased time pressure

makes it harder to sink into the present

moment and slide into flow and tell

those you interact with about your new

communication schedule most will adapt

and the productivity gains from focused

work will outweigh any occasional missed

messages for Urgent matters designate a

separate Communication channel and ask

key people to use it exclusively don't

underestimate people's ability to adapt

to your schedule by basing communication

you protect your hours maximize flow and

train others to respect your time and

that brings us to step two a phone off

till New if you haven't already remove

all non-essential functions the stuff

that you kind of like being able to do

on your phone but that you know is

sabotaging your ability to get it a flow

like checking the news or whatever it is

all that should be cleared from the

prior steps next we've got to identify

the essential functions on your phone

the things you actually need to be able

to do that you use your phone for that

are essential next replace these

essential functions with analog

Alternatives wherever possible for

example use a real alarm clock wear a

watch carry a notebook so you can write

down notes if that's something you use

your phone for all the time and delegate

to your desktop use your desktop

computer for tasks that don't need to be

mobile check your calendar and take

calls on your computer for two-factor

authentication use desktop apps like

step two if you have to use social media

use the desktop apps compared to the

phone version there's minimal addictive

ux this is part of the reason the vast

majority between 80 and 99% social media

apps are accessed from a smartphone not

the desktop now finally for the few

essential phone functions that remain

like checking your sleep or Fitness

tracker handle this during your

communication batch the key is to break

the habit of reaching for your phone

during every spare moment and of having

your life built around a stitial

functions that only occur on your phone

you want to identify all these essential

functions and then move them into the

analog world so you're not constantly

pulled into your phone for these things

that are actually productive now step

three for nailing phone off until noon

is to turn your phone off and put in the

other room every night before you go to

bed and by the way the momentum from

this habit will carry you forward to the

point that you can graduate from phone

off until noon to phone off until Finish

Line this more advanced approach

involves keeping your phone off and Out

Of Reach from the moment you wake up

until the moment you complete your

entire work day and this can be unlocked

for Extreme Performance later but for

now phone off until noon is a formidable

defense against the attention Merchants

the less you use your phone the more

focused and productive you become treat

your phone is a tool for specific

intentional uses not a constant

companion now by the way we're aiming to

get this channel to a million

subscribers to help more people across

the world access Flow State more easily

and sustain those States slow and Peak

Performance for longer to help us get

there please click subscribe to the

channel our mission is to take every

research paper on Flow and Peak

Performance and decipher it for you and

turn it into incredibly easy to watch

instantly applicable content once we

reach a million subscribers we'll also

give you an exclusive preview of my

upcoming book which you'll get to see

before we go public so hit subscribe if

you're liking this content now remember

flow follows focus and focus is fragile

treat Focus as sacred and protect it

from even the smallest digital

intrusions and every time you check your

phone you're voting for who controls

your attention but make no mistake this

is a war the attention Merchants are

devising new ways to hijack your focus

and exploit your instincts right now as

we speak succumbing to these

distractions is like making a deal with

the Devil the prize is a mere moment's

relief from wdom but the price is your

potential every Flow State achieved is a

victory in the struggle for sovereignty

of your own mind and now you've got some

more tools to win that war now well done

you've taken the first step to

reclaiming your focus but there's

another hidden enemy lurking in your

daily routine discover how to neutralize

it and unlock record levels of

productivity click the video on screen

to learn exactly how to structure your

day for Peak Performance