See here's the thing, I think a lot of people distract themselves precisely so that they don't have to be introspective. A lot of people have become intimidated by the idea of being left alone...
See here's the thing, I think a lot of people distract themselves precisely so that they don't have to be introspective. A lot of people have become intimidated by the idea of being left alone with their thoughts.
I think you're bang on here. I get asked what I listen to when I drive, or run or whatever. I love my commute because it's a little under 30 minutes before and after work where I'm alone with my...
I think you're bang on here.
I get asked what I listen to when I drive, or run or whatever. I love my commute because it's a little under 30 minutes before and after work where I'm alone with my thoughts. But even driving's a distraction. Just thinking after going to bed, before going to sleep feels great.
Who am I? Where am I going? What am I accomplishing? Where can I improve? How does that make me feel? Complicated, existential questions require work.
(This video is bad because it's an intentionally boring video used to distract from the speech given to prove that the visuals aren't actually worth watching.)
The argument that we're creating an "attention deficit society" where we can't focus is overblown. The attention competition is ever increasing. There are more and more interesting things worth spending time on.
It's just easy to choose to put something interesting in your attention. That's a safe bet. You can't force self-realization, epiphany or personal development. You don't know what 30-minute-commute is going to lead somewhere, or how gradual gradual change actually is (is it imperceivable?). The horizon for getting an investment on that time commitment is longer, the reward less immediate.
What did you think about the last time you'd only had your mind as company for 5 continuous waking hours without external input? What had you thought about in those five hours?
When he was talking about filling the space with podcasts was a moment of great irony for me. Both "Hello Internet" and "Cortex" are my go to podcasts to fill the space in my life (Grey's...
When he was talking about filling the space with podcasts was a moment of great irony for me. Both "Hello Internet" and "Cortex" are my go to podcasts to fill the space in my life (Grey's Podcasts).
This is an issue I have come across a lot in my life. I am an avid reader and I consider my love of literature a large part of my personal identity. Well, over the last three or for years I have struggled with retaining my ability to read regularly. After a lot of personal reflection I came to the same conclusions Grey has. There were three major things in my life that were affecting my concentration and ability to remain focused. Being an avid gamer, being a Redditor (and the internet in general) and having a toddler in the house. Obviously my son being distracting is not something i can or need to fix, so I focused on the other two.
First thing I did was stop playing competitive games entirely. I was a long time League of Legends player, ranked high with an account that went back to season one. I had been growing weary of Riot anyway and It was a good time to leave. I also regularly played games like Starcraft, Counter Strike, Dota, Call of Duty and Battlefield. I changed my focus in gaming back to story driven games, which has always been what I enjoy more anyway. I haven't touched any of them in about a year. I focused on games like Subnautica, Firewatch and The Witcher III. I found that playing story driven games and not allowing myself to play as often really helped improved my ability to focus. Not to mention I was playing the competitive games because of the competition, not because I actually enjoyed them and that wasn't healthy.
The internet has been the hardest for me. I was a redditor for over a decade and in that time checking reddit has become habitual. Tildes has actually helped a lot with that. I have effectively replaced Tildes as my go to habitual website. I know it's not a positive thing for most of us, but the fact that our flow of content is slower and smaller than bigger websites has actually helped me spend less time online. I enjoy it here, but there is not enough content to keep me mindlessly browsing for hours on end. Its helping me adjust my habit and make it healthier.
Also, and this is something I would recommend for anyone; Stop carrying your phone constantly. I know its hard but seriously stop. When I am home, my phone is in my room on my nightstand, I do not play with it or use it regularly. When I am at work, it's in my bag or Jeep, never in my pocket.
See also: Digital Hygiene: How We Might've Fucked Our Attention Spans [5m26s], which is similar, but a little different. I don't have a problem being alone with my own thoughts, I spend most of my...
I don't have a problem being alone with my own thoughts, I spend most of my time just like that. Though, I certainly had noticed the addiction of the internet kicking in during moments of boredom. The nature of the internet and how I interact with it have changed a lot since I first started using it nearly 20-years ago. What used to be something special, and magical, is now pervasive and permeates my entire life. The ubiquity of smartphones has permitted a permanent connection to entire web. I've had a smartphone for nearly a decade, and have only recently become aware of how much of a damaging influence it had been on my mind. It was draining my spoons far too quickly.
I've been working on more healthy digital habits lately, with noticeable success and to some of my contacts' chagrin. I have deleted Facebook, substantially cut down on reddit (outside of r/politics and some pretty niche subs), and will often just put down and walk away from my phone. It's not a crime if it takes me an hour or two to respond to your text, it's not the end of days if I take time for myself.
I can relate to this as well. Currently watching this video and writing this as I can't focus on work. I've been trying to introduce more fiction novels in my life as I find they're a good way to...
I can relate to this as well. Currently watching this video and writing this as I can't focus on work. I've been trying to introduce more fiction novels in my life as I find they're a good way to keep my brain focused on reading. I also find that on the rare occasion that I practice mindfulness meditation it helps significantly as well.
As a side note I think of Idiocracy when I see bars like that airport bar he showed. Ads everywhere grabbing for your attention.
See here's the thing, I think a lot of people distract themselves precisely so that they don't have to be introspective. A lot of people have become intimidated by the idea of being left alone with their thoughts.
I think you're bang on here.
I get asked what I listen to when I drive, or run or whatever. I love my commute because it's a little under 30 minutes before and after work where I'm alone with my thoughts. But even driving's a distraction. Just thinking after going to bed, before going to sleep feels great.
Who am I? Where am I going? What am I accomplishing? Where can I improve? How does that make me feel? Complicated, existential questions require work.
(This video is bad because it's an intentionally boring video used to distract from the speech given to prove that the visuals aren't actually worth watching.)
The argument that we're creating an "attention deficit society" where we can't focus is overblown. The attention competition is ever increasing. There are more and more interesting things worth spending time on.
It's just easy to choose to put something interesting in your attention. That's a safe bet. You can't force self-realization, epiphany or personal development. You don't know what 30-minute-commute is going to lead somewhere, or how gradual gradual change actually is (is it imperceivable?). The horizon for getting an investment on that time commitment is longer, the reward less immediate.
What did you think about the last time you'd only had your mind as company for 5 continuous waking hours without external input? What had you thought about in those five hours?
When he was talking about filling the space with podcasts was a moment of great irony for me. Both "Hello Internet" and "Cortex" are my go to podcasts to fill the space in my life (Grey's Podcasts).
This is an issue I have come across a lot in my life. I am an avid reader and I consider my love of literature a large part of my personal identity. Well, over the last three or for years I have struggled with retaining my ability to read regularly. After a lot of personal reflection I came to the same conclusions Grey has. There were three major things in my life that were affecting my concentration and ability to remain focused. Being an avid gamer, being a Redditor (and the internet in general) and having a toddler in the house. Obviously my son being distracting is not something i can or need to fix, so I focused on the other two.
First thing I did was stop playing competitive games entirely. I was a long time League of Legends player, ranked high with an account that went back to season one. I had been growing weary of Riot anyway and It was a good time to leave. I also regularly played games like Starcraft, Counter Strike, Dota, Call of Duty and Battlefield. I changed my focus in gaming back to story driven games, which has always been what I enjoy more anyway. I haven't touched any of them in about a year. I focused on games like Subnautica, Firewatch and The Witcher III. I found that playing story driven games and not allowing myself to play as often really helped improved my ability to focus. Not to mention I was playing the competitive games because of the competition, not because I actually enjoyed them and that wasn't healthy.
The internet has been the hardest for me. I was a redditor for over a decade and in that time checking reddit has become habitual. Tildes has actually helped a lot with that. I have effectively replaced Tildes as my go to habitual website. I know it's not a positive thing for most of us, but the fact that our flow of content is slower and smaller than bigger websites has actually helped me spend less time online. I enjoy it here, but there is not enough content to keep me mindlessly browsing for hours on end. Its helping me adjust my habit and make it healthier.
Also, and this is something I would recommend for anyone; Stop carrying your phone constantly. I know its hard but seriously stop. When I am home, my phone is in my room on my nightstand, I do not play with it or use it regularly. When I am at work, it's in my bag or Jeep, never in my pocket.
See also: Digital Hygiene: How We Might've Fucked Our Attention Spans [5m26s], which is similar, but a little different.
I don't have a problem being alone with my own thoughts, I spend most of my time just like that. Though, I certainly had noticed the addiction of the internet kicking in during moments of boredom. The nature of the internet and how I interact with it have changed a lot since I first started using it nearly 20-years ago. What used to be something special, and magical, is now pervasive and permeates my entire life. The ubiquity of smartphones has permitted a permanent connection to entire web. I've had a smartphone for nearly a decade, and have only recently become aware of how much of a damaging influence it had been on my mind. It was draining my spoons far too quickly.
I've been working on more healthy digital habits lately, with noticeable success and to some of my contacts' chagrin. I have deleted Facebook, substantially cut down on reddit (outside of r/politics and some pretty niche subs), and will often just put down and walk away from my phone. It's not a crime if it takes me an hour or two to respond to your text, it's not the end of days if I take time for myself.
I can relate to this as well. Currently watching this video and writing this as I can't focus on work. I've been trying to introduce more fiction novels in my life as I find they're a good way to keep my brain focused on reading. I also find that on the rare occasion that I practice mindfulness meditation it helps significantly as well.
As a side note I think of Idiocracy when I see bars like that airport bar he showed. Ads everywhere grabbing for your attention.
I know what he means. Right after I got my phone 2 months ago, I’ve practically stopped reading.