Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

Eyal (Hooked), a former Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, dissects the difficulties of staying on task in modern times and presents attention-strengthening strategies in this helpful guide. Using many diagrams to present action items and current research on attention retention, Eyal argues that learning to deal with discomfort must be mastered in order to overcome distraction. He explores why people become distracted and offers solutions on how to adjust one’s thinking to reimagine triggers, understand willpower, and how to solidify one’s identity around “being indistractable.” Chapters are dedicated to what Eyal considers life’s largest distractions, including smartphone use, email, and socializing with co-workers and friends. At the end of each chapter, he lists solutions for managing these common triggers and “hacks” for staying on task, such as overscheduling the day (or “timeboxing”), rearranging one’s phone display screen, using peer pressure in helpful ways through “microcommitments,” and concentrating on financial incentives. Eyal also suggests apps that can help with each suggestion. Eyal’s insights into how one’s values and daily schedule relate to distraction will be persuasive to any reader. (Sept.)