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Recently, as an experiment, I've begun compartmentalizing my digital tools. I've set up different system accounts for different tasks, then I configured each account with its own privoxy proxy that blocks websites that are not related to that task. The proxies are there basically as a reminder, since a lot of these tabs tend to open without thinking of it. So for example, on my work account, I can't use social media and news; on my social media account, I can't access github, access dashboards, or check my mail. Phone's on the work privoxy too. The idea being that distracted context-switching, e.g. opening a hacker news tab any time there's a moment's pause in what you're doing, a moment of frustration, of boredom, any negative motion; that this is a major part of the problem. This doesn't prevent me from checking up on social media (I'm doing it right now!), but it does mean I can't do so while supposedly working. To use social media, I need to log off the work account, closing anything I'm doing, and log into a different user. That's a lot of friction, and as a result, is something I do maybe once or twice a day for ten to fiteen minutes. I usually don't really find much to engage with and then log off. I do find myself needing to make active choices a lot more. Like if I find I don't know what to do next, I need to decide on something. I can't just default to grabbing my phone and start cycling through the usual tabs. It's taken a while to get used to reading these moments as cues for getting off my ass and doing something, but it's also incredibly impactful. The critical part of the regimen is that it does not have many of the drawbacks you get with going offline completely (or using a dumbphone), where you can't park your car because you need an app for that, or people try to get ahold of you and messenger isn't working on your brick. |