This was terrific, per usual! This line hit me in between the eyes! ‘doing worse than nothing’. Yes! Because not only is time lost but it’s usually content that isn’t neutral.
I also find myself blowing past any roadblocks I put in place. Loved the part about scrolling being an external problem that can be solved rather than a personal moral failing. Thanks, Will!
Yes! Definitely not a personal moral failing, I’m absolutely convinced of that. My weird awakening experience convinced me that my mind is just a succession of thoughts, and that takes all the guilt and self-loathing out of the initial decision to scroll.
Fully aware that this is likely the most bathetic lesson to draw from an awakening experience.
Yeah, it’s a wonder I don’t get a dumbphone given all the moaning here. But I really do think I need a smartphone, and what’s more I want one.
That’s a really interesting point about substitutes
So as you have probably picked up by now, part of the aim of all the doing nothing is that I’m less likely to pick up the thing in the first place. And that does work pretty well for me on the whole.
When I actually do find I have it in my hand, it’s usually the most boring thing on earth that’s got me there - checking whether something is charging or something like that. Over a few years of battling I’ve managed to get rid of the worst time sucks - for me it was probably news.
Now of course would be Substack, which is why I have three different types of blocks stopping me using it!
I do sometimes end up writing next week’s piece. But then, as long as intentional, that’s a happy and good thing… and one of the reasons why I quite like having a smartphone!
Humbled and confused that you would describe someone who now needs to wear high vis to stop himself looking at a phone on tube as "a step ahead" :-D
Really interesting parallel between news and Substack. It's relatively easy to spot the things that are straight up bad (though not always to resist them). But lots are in that mixed space like news and Substack.
It took me ages to unpick the good and bad from news. I'm not 100% sure I've settled in the right place as now I pretty much skip it all! A post for another day... It's a very open question in my mind.
Substack at present I've killed from the phone, and have weird browser extensions helping me regulate it on a laptop. It's an uneasy truce :-D
Actually not so much. In the early days I wrote about about how it felt, which changed quite a bit over four weeks - various types of phone withdrawal. I was thinking that I might repost a couple of them while I'm away on holiday because they are interesting to look back on. However, although I did note in passing that in the first week I felt like a MASSIVE DOOFUS there are only so many ways of saying that! Also, I'm a bit fortunate in that I'm too affected by feelings like that due to the no self thing. And back in the early days there weren't quite the words for that, or I hadn't found them yet :-D
This was terrific, per usual! This line hit me in between the eyes! ‘doing worse than nothing’. Yes! Because not only is time lost but it’s usually content that isn’t neutral.
Thanks so much bud!
Yes! The content isn’t neutral, and the method of delivery seems to do its own harm
I also find myself blowing past any roadblocks I put in place. Loved the part about scrolling being an external problem that can be solved rather than a personal moral failing. Thanks, Will!
Thank you!
Yes! Definitely not a personal moral failing, I’m absolutely convinced of that. My weird awakening experience convinced me that my mind is just a succession of thoughts, and that takes all the guilt and self-loathing out of the initial decision to scroll.
Fully aware that this is likely the most bathetic lesson to draw from an awakening experience.
“Your call” great read, Will! Thank you
Thank you!
Yeah, it’s a wonder I don’t get a dumbphone given all the moaning here. But I really do think I need a smartphone, and what’s more I want one.
That’s a really interesting point about substitutes
So as you have probably picked up by now, part of the aim of all the doing nothing is that I’m less likely to pick up the thing in the first place. And that does work pretty well for me on the whole.
When I actually do find I have it in my hand, it’s usually the most boring thing on earth that’s got me there - checking whether something is charging or something like that. Over a few years of battling I’ve managed to get rid of the worst time sucks - for me it was probably news.
Now of course would be Substack, which is why I have three different types of blocks stopping me using it!
I do sometimes end up writing next week’s piece. But then, as long as intentional, that’s a happy and good thing… and one of the reasons why I quite like having a smartphone!
Humbled and confused that you would describe someone who now needs to wear high vis to stop himself looking at a phone on tube as "a step ahead" :-D
Really interesting parallel between news and Substack. It's relatively easy to spot the things that are straight up bad (though not always to resist them). But lots are in that mixed space like news and Substack.
It took me ages to unpick the good and bad from news. I'm not 100% sure I've settled in the right place as now I pretty much skip it all! A post for another day... It's a very open question in my mind.
Substack at present I've killed from the phone, and have weird browser extensions helping me regulate it on a laptop. It's an uneasy truce :-D
Actually not so much. In the early days I wrote about about how it felt, which changed quite a bit over four weeks - various types of phone withdrawal. I was thinking that I might repost a couple of them while I'm away on holiday because they are interesting to look back on. However, although I did note in passing that in the first week I felt like a MASSIVE DOOFUS there are only so many ways of saying that! Also, I'm a bit fortunate in that I'm too affected by feelings like that due to the no self thing. And back in the early days there weren't quite the words for that, or I hadn't found them yet :-D