Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

Nir Eyal

BenBella Books, Sep 10, 2019 - Business & Economics - 290 pages

"Indistractable provides a framework that will deliver the focus you need to get results." —James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

"If you value your time, your focus, or your relationships, this book is essential reading. I'm putting these ideas into practice." —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE OUTSTANDING WORKS OF LITERATURE (OWL) AWARD

INCLUDED IN THE TOP 5 BEST PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY AUDIBLE

INCLUDED IN THE TOP 20 BEST BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY AMAZON

FEATURED IN THE AMAZON BOOK REVIEW NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2020

GOODREADS BEST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OF 2019 FINALIST


You sit down at your desk to work on an important project, but a notification on your phone interrupts your morning. Later, as you're about to get back to work, a colleague taps you on the shoulder to chat. At home, screens get in the way of quality time with your family. Another day goes by, and once again, your most important personal and professional goals are put on hold.

What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions? What could you accomplish if you could stay focused? What if you had the power to become "indistractable?"

International bestselling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert, Nir Eyal, wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming. Five years after publishing Hooked, Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book.

In Indistractable, Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more.

Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us.

Inside, Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals:

   • Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture—and how to fix it
   • What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management"
   • Why your relationships (and your sex life) depend on you becoming indistractable
   • How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world

Empowering and optimistic, Indistractable provides practical, novel techniques to control your time and attention—helping you live the life you really want.

Contents

• From Hooked to Indistractable: 1
• Whats Your Superpower?: 5
• Being Indistractable: 11
• MASTER INTERNAL TRIGGERS: 17
• What Motivates Us Really?: 19
• Time Management Is Pain Management: 27
• Deal with Distraction from Within: 33
• Reimagine the Internal Trigger: 37
• Reimagine the Task: 41
• Reimagine Your Temperament: 45
• MAKE TIME FOR TRACTION: 51
• Turn Your Values into Time: 53
• Control the Inputs Not the Outcomes: 61
• Schedule Important Relationships: 65
• Sync with Stakeholders at Work: 73
• HACK BACK EXTERNAL TRIGGERS: 79
• Ask the Critical Question: 81
• Hack Back Work Interruptions: 87
• Hack Back Email: 93
• Hack Back Group Chat: 101
• Hack Back Meetings: 105
• Hack Back Your Smartphone: 109
• Hack Back Your Desktop: 117
• Hack Back Online Articles: 123
• Hack Back Feeds: 129
• PREVENT DISTRACTION WITH PACTS: 135
• The Power of Precommitments: 137
• Prevent Distraction with Effort Pacts: 141
• Prevent Distraction with Price Pacts: 147
• Prevent Distraction with Identity Pacts: 155
• HOW TO MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE INDISTRACTABLE: 163
• Distraction Is a Sign of Dysfunction: 165
• Fixing Distraction Is a Test of Company Culture: 171
• The Indistractable Workplace: 177
• HOW TO RAISE INDISTRACTABLE CHILDREN AND WHY WE ALL NEED PSYCHOLOGICAL NUTRIENTS: 183
• Avoid Convenient Excuses: 185
• Understand Their Internal Triggers: 191
• Make Time for Traction Together: 199
• Help Them with External Triggers: 205
• Teach Them to Make Their Own Pacts: 211
• HOW TO HAVE INDISTRACTABLE RELATIONSHIPS: 215
• Spread Social Antibodies Among Friends: 217
• Be an Indistractable Lover: 223
• Chapter Takeaways: 228
• Schedule Template: 232
• Distraction Tracker: 234
• Acknowledgments: 237
• Contributors: 241
• Notes: 248
• Indistractable Book Club Discussion Guide: 268
• About the Authors: 271

About the author

A graduate and instructor in Stanford's Graduate School of Business, Nir Eyal has studied and taught behavioral design with and to industry-leading experts and scientists. He writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business at NirAndFar.com and his writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, Time, The Week, Inc., and Psychology Today.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
• Author: Nir Eyal
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: BenBella Books, 2019
• ISBN: 194883653X, 9781948836531
• Length: 290 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Leadership; Business & Economics / Workplace Culture; Design / Product