Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life: Eyal, Nir: 9781948836531: Amazon.com: Books

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"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.

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Customers find the book provides practical advice for focusing attention. They find it an interesting and important read with clear explanations of concepts and resources. The content is approachable and engaging, keeping readers hooked throughout. Readers mention that the book helps them optimize their time and become more efficient. They appreciate the explanations and tools for creating productive habits.

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Advice Readability Ease of reading Content Time management Habit formation Internal triggers Actionable

212 customers mention "Advice"203 positive9 negative

Customers find the book provides practical advice and helpful insights for focusing attention. They say it helps them understand their own behavior and is excited to use the tools in the book. The book covers many important facts about human habits and frameworks that anyone can really apply right away. It's a great prerequisite to enhance effectiveness for any other productivity.

"...is a great book that dives in becoming more productive and becoming a more focused and effective person." Read more

"...Eyal provides nuts and bolts steps to take to minimize distraction to accompany his theory. The book is packed with quick steps to reclaim your time...." Read more

"...Yet, I was struck by this book as it could really help me focus and I needed to take back what little control I was lacking so that I could be more..." Read more

"Indistractible by Nir Eyal is timely, important and I can't think of anyone with a "smart" phone and internet connection who wouldn't benefit from..." Read more

111 customers mention "Readability"111 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and important. They find the first part eye-opening and say it helps them have better quality time with themselves, friends, and family. The book is recommended for college courses.

"This is a great book that dives in becoming more productive and becoming a more focused and effective person." Read more

"...This is a great book and so relevant to the times we live in today. I recommend it...." Read more

"...This book is a compelling read for anyone looking to make intentional choices in an increasingly distracting world, earning it a solid 7 out of 10..." Read more

"...Great read and helpful!" Read more

78 customers mention "Ease of reading"71 positive7 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and understand. It offers realistic explanations and practical advice that is simple to grasp. The book's structure breaks it into four key areas, making it a quick, easy read with bite-sized chapters. Readers appreciate the practical suggestions most people can use right away.

"...They chapters are short and easy to read (10 minutes at most) and get right to the point with regards to concretes steps to take to reclaim your..." Read more

"...This book has been such an amazing help with that from the easy to read way it is written to the workbook that you can download after buying the..." Read more

"Easy read and well written. The structure is great by having a topic, giving real life examples, and solutions to implement. Great read and helpful!" Read more

"...The chapters are brief and easy-to-understand with actionable advice and tips that you can apply right away...." Read more

52 customers mention "Content"45 positive7 negative

Customers find the book's content easy to follow and engaging. They say it's a quick read filled with ideas and examples. The author does a great job of telling stories and providing insights. The internal chapters are their favorite, providing great exercises and insights. The book provides tools and resources to overcome challenges and improve interactions with the people that matter most.

"This is a great book that dives in becoming more productive and becoming a more focused and effective person." Read more

"...use these same tools to become INDISTRACTABLE and fully engaged to build better relationships, not just with others, but with ourselves." Read more

"...The content is approachable and easy to follow along with and the layout make it easy to revisit and implement a lot of the recommendations provided..." Read more

"...This is an easy, quick read filled with ideas. You can choose which ones work best for you." Read more

34 customers mention "Time management"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful for improving time management and prioritizing tasks. They say it's timely as they need to get up to speed on challenges. The book provides practical insights and simple ways to capture time and seize distractions in life.

"...Timeboxing, setting aside time for any activity, is the foundation for making ourselves more present in our professional and personal lives...." Read more

"Indistractible by Nir Eyal is timely, important and I can't think of anyone with a "smart" phone and internet connection who wouldn't benefit from..." Read more

"...I already feel much more organized and in better control of my time." Read more

"...His timing is perfect, as we all need to get up to speed on challenges we've never had before...." Read more

12 customers mention "Habit formation"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful for creating productive habits. They say it provides practical tools and tips to stay focused, explains the why behind habit formation, and provides a roadmap for more fulfilling personal and professional lives. The advice is tested and proven to improve focus and reduce distractions, making their willpower stronger.

"...the psychology of distraction, providing a roadmap for more fulfilling personal and professional lives...." Read more

"...include tools for his readers to break unproductive habits and build healthy habits...." Read more

"...enjoyed about "Indistractable" is that it explains and justifies the WHY behind habit formation...." Read more

"...It is balanced, sensitive to the benefits and addictions that most of us have, while removing nearly every excuse for not putting the suggestions..." Read more

12 customers mention "Internal triggers"12 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's explanations and practical life hacks for dealing with internal triggers. They find the chapters on internal triggers to be brilliant. The book is easy to read and includes plenty of hacks to gain control over daily activities.

"...* (great reframing of the opposite of Distraction) include Master Internal Triggers, Make Time For Traction, Hack Back External Triggers, and..." Read more

"...technology was able to provide us simple explanations, and actions to hack our triggers to have the attention in things and people that matter...." Read more

"...It's a great book, easy to read, and includes plenty of hack to gain control over your daily activities and improve your interactions with the..." Read more

"...Nir lays out the quadrant of distraction/traction and internal/external triggers is brilliant...." Read more

10 customers mention "Actionable"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book inspiring and actionable. They appreciate the advice, tips, tools, and mental model for understanding and overcoming distractions.

"...The chapters are brief and easy-to-understand with actionable advice and tips that you can apply right away...." Read more

"...be a critical decision that each of us need to make, so this book is so actionable that you are going to enjoy..." Read more

"...The book is both inspiring and actionable...." Read more

"...lots of research and personal observations into an actionable mental model for understanding and fighting back distractions...." Read more

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Abdi Abdullahi
Great book.
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024
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This is a great book that dives in becoming more productive and becoming a more focused and effective person.

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Helvis
A great "how to" book in minimizing daily distractions from technology
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
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”If we want to master distraction, we must learn to deal with discomfort”

Every distraction we allow into our lives is alleviating the discomfort of anxiety or other stressors in our work and/or personal life. As a famous organization says, the first step is admitting you have a problem. Nir Eyal gives us a comprehensive overview of the psychology of distraction and how to manage both internal and external stressors.

I can’t do justice to his writing in a single review, but much effort is focused on changing how we think about things. Simple changes of thought such as, “it’s been two hours since I’ve had coffee” can be replaced with “I’ll have an opportunity for coffee in an hour.” From abstinence to anticipation is some of the fine tuning that can change our view of ourselves and our stressors and help alleviate the anxiety that precludes distraction.

Self-care/compassion are crucial parts of this as well and not being a harsh self-critic.
As with anything worth doing, these exercises will take some time and refinement to determine how they best work for you.

Eyal provides nuts and bolts steps to take to minimize distraction to accompany his theory. The book is packed with quick steps to reclaim your time. First and foremost is a time old habit of getting a calendar and using it. Timeboxing, setting aside time for any activity, is the foundation for making ourselves more present in our professional and personal lives. Apps and programs that disable push notifications or emails are mentioned aplenty in this book. One has numerous options to choose from.
Focused workers are more productive. Distracted workers make errors that must be corrected; adding costs to the organization. In some professions, such as health care, errors can be deadly. Finding our focus is important in every field for a variety of reasons.

They chapters are short and easy to read (10 minutes at most) and get right to the point with regards to concretes steps to take to reclaim your focus. Eyal often uses himself as an example of the pitfalls of distraction which provides a powerful first-person testimony for using the tools provided.

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13 people found this helpful

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Julia Weller
I love the concept and the book over all
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
For me I started on the imprint app. It was this easy fast way to go threw a book to learn. Yet, I was struck by this book as it could really help me focus and I needed to take back what little control I was lacking so that I could be more motovated to do the things I had dreamed. This book has been such an amazing help with that from the easy to read way it is written to the workbook that you can download after buying the book so that you can have that extra help to really put the principles in the book to work for you.

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Tom Venuto, Author of Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle
Every distracted person with an internet connection or "smart" phone should read this
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2020
Verified Purchase
Indistractible by Nir Eyal is timely, important and I can't think of anyone with a "smart" phone and internet connection who wouldn't benefit from reading it.

Contrary to what you might predict, Eyal doesn't completely blame technology for our distraction problems and the negative consequences they cause. He explains the underlying issue and notes that if you don't take care of that root cause, you'll simply find something else to distract you (even without the tech).

Spoiler: The root cause of distraction is our desire to escape discomfort, not our devices per se. (It's as internal as it is external). With that warning prefaced, he explains how external triggers are also a big problem.

After describing the problem, he gets into solutions. The book is full of them, but here are a handful of the ones I decided I needed to work on more, or I have implemented for the first time:

- Identify and write down your distraction triggers.
- Use time-blocking (and schedule time for yourself first)
- Hack back your email by: sending fewer emails, set office hours for email, unsubscribe, answer in batches (stop constant rechecking), answer faster/shorter
-Remove ALL unused apps from your phone
-Rearrange apps on phone
-Schedule (timebox) time for social media; check only during scheduled time
-Kill push notifications, especially sounds
-Use do not disturb
-Clean all the folders off the friggen desktop (mine was a mess, ughhhh)
-Close all the browser tabs (guilty of this too, i would have so many open it would crash, further slowing me down)
-Avoid the online article rabbit hole. Save for later (there's an app for that).
-Skip the social media feeds completely (there's an app for that too)
-Make precommittments and effort pacts (there are apps for that three!) I downloaded forest app and it's a favorite of mine now, just as it is for Eyal... I thought it was goofy at first, but I was hooked quickly because I like trees and forests, and dead trees make me sad. I also downloaded self-control app for my laptop.

There was a bunch of stuff in the book that didn't apply to me because I'm self-employed and also don't have kids, but significant space is also devoted to hacking back distraction in the workplace and at home with family.

People who have read multiple books in this genre might say they've heard this stuff before, but anyone who reads this slowly cover to cover is going to come away with more than one new and useful tip. This is a great book and so relevant to the times we live in today. I recommend it.

Last note: Although this is not a book about fitness, as a 30-year veteran of the industry, I appreciated Eyal's occasional fitness reference (and he won me over after he mentioned how he gained 12 pounds of muscle)

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51 people found this helpful

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Daniel
This book will change your life
Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book taught me how to take control over my thoughts, and decide where to put my attention into. It has helped me perform better in school, relationships, and to work for longer duration of time. Highly recommend!

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José I.
Gran lectura, muy recomendada
Reviewed in Mexico on January 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
Excelente libro que hable sobre la psicología actual de las distracciones, como saber cuando estás distraído y estrategias practicas para poder enfocarte en cualquier contexto de tu vida personal, intima y laboral. Muy recomendado

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AnttiR
Would recommend, as great a product as promised.
Reviewed in Germany on November 14, 2024
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Would recommend, as great a product as promised.

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ANANTHARAJ BASKARAN
Excellent content
Reviewed in India on October 29, 2024
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More than worth for a money

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Kindle Customer
Fabulous
Reviewed in France on January 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
Practical tool to be indistractible with concrete steps and real life examples
It allowed me to understand the real causes of distraction and how to act againt it from within
I recommand

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