by Nir Eyal;
Page 207 “If location tracking is a priority, a GPS-enabled wristwatch like the GizmoWatch keeps track . . .” Joshua Goldman, “Verizon’s $180 GizmoWatch Lets Parents Track Kids’ Location and Activity,” CNET, September 20, 2018, www.cnet.com/news/verizons-180-gizmowatch-lets-parents-track-kids-location-activity/.
Page 208 “Anya Kamenetz, author of The Art of Screen Time, writes that making sure kids get enough sleep . . .” Anya Kamenetz, The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life (New York: PublicAffairs, 2018).
CHAPTER 34: SPREAD SOCIAL ANTIBODIES AMONG FRIENDS
Page 217 “Psychologists call this phenomenon ‘social contagion,’ and researchers . . .” Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler, “Social Contagion Theory: Examining Dynamic Social Networks and Human Behavior,” Statistics in Medicine 32, no. 4 (February 20, 2013): 556–77, https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.5408.
Page 217 “It’s hard to watch your weight if your spouse and kids . . .” Kelly Servick, “Should We Treat Obesity like a Contagious Disease?” Science, February 19, 2017, www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/should-we-treat-obesity-contagious-disease.
Page 218 “Essayist and investor Paul Graham writes that societies tend to develop ‘social antibodies’ . . .” Paul Graham, “The Acceleration of Addictiveness,” July 2010, www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html.
Page 218 “Consider that in 1965, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 42.4 percent of adult Americans smoked . . .” “Trends in Current Cigarette Smoking Among High School Students and Adults, United States, 1965–2014,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed December 6, 2017, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/trends/cig_smoking/.
Page 219 “You’ve succeeded in tactfully spreading the social antibody against ‘phubbing,’ a word coined by . . .” McCann Paris, “Macquarie ‘Phubbing: A Word Is Born’ // McCann Melbourne,” June 26, 2014, video, 2:27, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLNhKUniaEw.
CHAPTER 35: BE AN INDISTRACTABLE LOVER
Page 223 “Almost a third of Americans would rather give up sex for a year . . .” Rich Miller, “Give Up Sex or Your Mobile Phone? Third of Americans Forgo Sex,” Bloomberg, January 15, 2015, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-15/give-up-sex-or-your-mobile-phone-third-of-americans-forgo-sex.
Page 223 “We were among the 65 percent of American adults who . . . sleep with their phones . . .” Russell Heimlich, “Do You Sleep with Your Cell Phone?” Pew Research Center (blog), accessed January 15, 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2010/09/13/do-you-sleep-with-your-cell-phone/.
Page 225 “Though we were proud of our tech-blocking invention, many routers like the Eero now come . . .” https://eero.com.
Page 225 “To strive means ‘to struggle or fight vigorously.’” New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd ed., s.v. “strive.”
Indistractable Book Club Discussion Guide
It’s time to bond with some friends while you discuss what you learned in Indistractable. These questions are designed to evoke a thorough and interesting discussion around the topics mentioned in the book. Invite a few friends to a casual conversation about productivity, habits, values, technology, and triggers, and allow a lively dialogue to unfold.
1.Throughout the book, Nir speaks about the importance of the three life domains: you, relationships, and work. Often, we unintentionally spend too much time in one area at the expense of others. Which life domain do you desire to improve the most, and why?
2.Indistractable is full of unconventional wisdom. Was there anything that changed your mind? What did you find most surprising?
3.Think about your most frequent distractions that prevent you from achieving traction. What are your three most common internal triggers? What about your three most common external triggers? Remember, internal triggers cue us from within, while external triggers are cues in our environment.
4.Fun and play can free us from discomfort by helping us reimagine a seemingly boring or repetitive task. Think about something you do in your day-to-day life or work day that isn’t particularly engaging. How can you reimagine the task (or add in a constraint) to make it more interesting?
5.Nir offers a polarizing view of to-do lists and says that they’re “seriously flawed.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
6.Creating a fun jar served Nir’s goal of becoming a more involved father to his young daughter. What are five to ten activities that would be a “must” in your fun jar?
7.Aligning your schedule with your values is essential to achieving traction. Dream up an ideal timeboxed day in your life. How would you spend your time? How would you “turn your values into time” for yourself, for your relationships, and for your work?
8.Values are not end goals; they are guidelines for our actions. What three to five values are most important to you?
9.Studies have shown that the modern workplace and particularly open office floor plans are a constant source of distraction. Do you agree or disagree?
10.Distraction is inevitable at work, even when you work from home. Everything from group chats, to email, to our phones can take us off course. How will you make uninterrupted work a priority in your daily grind?
11.We learned in the book that our identities are not fixed. Like habits, we can choose to change our identities and commit to a more positive self-image. What are a few habits you’ve longed to change, and how could you create a new identity to empower yourself to success?
12.Nir wrote, “Limitations give us structure, while nothingness torments us with the tyranny of choice.” Describe an instance where constraints could offer structure in a positive way.
13.Behavior change is hard and people will inevitably fail. It’s critical to know how to bounce back from failure. How have you bounced back from failure in the past?
14.The internet (including social media) can be a content vortex. What habits would you like to cultivate to improve your current relationship with content consumption online?
15.Nir shared an extensive list of some of his favorite hacks to combat online distraction (e.g., eliminating his Facebook news feed, using productivity apps like Forest). Share a hack that has helped you be more efficient and focused.
16.According to researchers, we need three psychological nutrients to flourish: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Which of these nutrients is most important to you and why? Which are you lacking?
17.Technological advances tend to create fear and panic (think self-driving cars, AI, virtual reality, even social media). Why do you think this is?
18.Tell the group about something you consistently fail to show up for (whether it’s skipping the gym or following through on other plans). What can you do differently to make sure you do as you say by following the four parts of the Indistractable Model?
19.According to a survey, a third of Americans would give up sex for a year vs. part with their phones for that long. Which option would you give up for a year and why?
20.What is your definition of living an indistractable life?
About the Authors
Nir Eyal taught behavioral design at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business at NirAndFar.com. His writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, the Atlantic, Time, The Week, Inc., and Psychology Today.
His 2014 book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, is a Wall Street Journal best seller, has been translated in over eighteen languages, and won the “Marketing Book of the Year” award from 800 CEO Read.
Julie Li cofounded NirAndFar.com, where she works to bring the latest insights on time management, behavioral design, and consumer psychology to a growing global audience. Julie previously cofounded two start-ups and helped lead both companies to acquisition.