Beware of These Powerful Distraction Traps

I’ve often whined in my writing about the drawing power of social media. Cal Newport helped me see a way forward from the distraction traps.

But it wasn’t a matter of personal willpower or hiding my phone; it was a philosophical shift that occurred when I read his book, Digital Minimalism. (I also highly recommend his book Deep Work.)

“I’ve become convinced that what you need instead is a full-fledged philosophy of technology use, rooted in your deep values, that provides clear answers to the questions of what tools you should use and how you should use them and, equally important, enables you to confidently ignore everything else” (from Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport).

Distractions are a choice.

“When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (Matt. 17:8).