- With the advent of personal computing and the internet,
we've seen an explosion of amazing tools
for productivity and connectedness.
With all this new tech, our lives were destined to be better
and our effectiveness in getting things done
was gonna shoot through the roof.
Or so we thought.
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Over the last several years,
technology has become more distracting than ever.
In the attention economy, advertising is king.
Social media companies like Instagram make more money
the longer you use the platform and the more ads you watch.
They have teams of brilliant minds working hard
to make their platforms as enticing
and addicting as possible.
Between these social media platforms and notifications
from instant messages, news apps, and God knows what else,
it's only natural that our capacity for sustained attention
and deep work has become increasingly fragmented.
When I was doing plastic surgery,
it was easy not to be addicted.
When you're in the hospital for most of the day
and scrubbed into the operating room such that
you cannot even touch your phone for sterility reasons,
it's hard to be addicted to your phone
or even glance at your smartwatch.
But when I quit plastics in 2018
and didn't have these formal constraints,
I found myself getting distracted and checking my phone
more often than I would like.
So, in traditional Kevin Jubbal fashion,
I obsessed over optimizing that which was suboptimal.
I wanted to stay connected with others
and maximize the utility of social media and technology
while simultaneously minimizing the deleterious effects
on my attention and my ability to focus.
Now while my system is still not perfect
and is continuously evolving, these are the systems
and best practices I've found helpful
in having a healthier relationship with tech.
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The biggest culprit is, of course, our smart phone.
Chances are you're watching this video on your smart phone,
and if not, then it's likely within reach
at this very moment.
For most people, our smart phones
are constantly by our sides,
they're constantly connected to the internet,
and they're deeply intertwined
with all aspects of our lives,
both personal and professional.
First, the default mode of operating for your phone
should be to have all notifications disabled.
When you install an app and it inevitably asks you
to grant notification permissions,
deny that nonsense immediately.
Any notification you enable is a distraction,
a variable reward resulting in a small dopamine hit
that erodes your ability to focus.
Be very intentional with where you enable notifications.
Phone calls obviously trigger a sound
and visual notification on my phone.
That's the core functionality of a phone.
Text messages also trigger a notification on the screen,
but they do not play a sound, nor do they vibrate,
and when I unlock my phone, there is no badge icon
on the actual Messages app.
That means I don not get reminded
that I have unread text messages.
Seeing it once on the lock screen is enough for me
to know if it's urgent or not.
I don't need that badge icon reminding me.
If anything, this badge icon just makes you feel the need
to open the app to resolve that lingering notification,
that little bit of tension.
I don't have any email notifications
because email is not time sensitive 99.9% of the time,
and if I see the message in five minutes versus five hours,
it doesn't really matter.
The other two notifications I get are word of the day
definition from Daily Dictionary
and a reminder to journal every morning and night.
Now I used to have all Instagram notifications disabled,
but then I found myself checking the app more often
to see if I got a message, because I often use Instagram
to message friends rather than text.
But I now treat Instagram the same way
I treat text messages.
DM's from primary contacts result
in a home screen notification,
but no badges and no other sounds or other notifications.
I don't get notified if someone likes a post, or comments,
or accepts my follow request, or anything like that.
Next, let's talk about how much you use your phone.
If you tell yourself to use your phone less,
you probably won't.
The secrete to discipline isn't trying to brute force
a willpower of steel.
Rather, you want to put in place the systems
that facilitate your desired outcomes.
If you want to drink more water, it's less effective
to tell yourself to drink more water.
It's more effective to keep a water bottle
filled and nearby.
With your smart phone, the same principle applies.
On the iPhone, I use Screen Time to track
how much I'm using various apps.
For Android, the equivalent is Digital Wellbeing.
I've set limits for myself on certain apps,
like Instagram or Reddit, to ensure I don't waste
too much time there.
But if the limit is too aggressive,
I'm more likely to just overrule it and push through anyway.
But if the limit is reasonable,
let's say 15 to 25 minutes of Instagram each day,
then I'm more likely to stick with it.
Finally, where is your phone in relation to you
moment to moment?
One of my friends has a wireless charger
for his phone on his desk, right below his monitor.
If any notification goes off, he sees it immediately.
If he wants to mindlessly scroll on Facebook,
his phone is right there.
This is great for the monkey mind,
but not so great for your productivity.
I don not have my phone on my desk when I'm working
unless I'm making a phone call.
It's placed out of sight, either on the charger
on the other side of the room or in another room altogether.
In my bedroom, I never keep my phone on my night stand
or next to my bed.
It lives on a wireless charger
on the opposite side of the room.
This has two functions.
First, I won't be tempted to check my phone while in bed,
which is terribly disruptive for your sleep.
I've spoken about this and other common mistakes
in my sleep videos on the Med School Insiders channel.
And second, when my alarm goes off in the morning,
I'm forced to get up and I cannot simply snooze
while laying in bed.
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I'm actually surprised that given the utility
and affordability, more people aren't taking advantage
of making their homes or apartments smart.
After my Kindle Paperwhite, my Philips Hue smart lights
are definitely my favorite tech purchase.
I have lights across my entire apartment,
including every light in my bedroom
and most of the lights here in my living room.
At night, I can tell Google Home, "Bedroom red."
And this does more than just set the mood.
I'm also reducing blue light exposure,
which suppresses the release of melatonin,
an important hormone for the onset of sleep.
With dimmer lights and warmer hues, like red,
I can more easily unwind and prepare for a restful night.
And as someone who has struggled with sleep onset insomnia,
trust me, every bit helps.
In the mornings, when waking up,
I can have my smart lights simulate sunrise.
Rather than the jolting startle of a traditional alarm,
the slow and gradual illumination of my bedroom
allows for a more natural and peaceful way
to start your morning.
The possibilities are endless and you can program
your lights to do whatever you want.
When I come home after sunset, the lights in my apartment
will automatically turn on.
And when I leave, they turn off.
If it's raining outside, my lights will briefly turn blue.
And if I have a timer that goes off on my phone,
like when I finish a Pomodoro session,
then all my lights will flash for a couple seconds.
Every night at 9:30PM, my bedroom lights flash
to remind me to put the computer away and wind down for bed.
And when paired with your Google Home or Amazon Echo,
you can control your lights seamlessly with your voice
without even needing to even open an app on your phone.
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When it comes to limiting distractions on your computer,
I have three main recommendations.
First, optimize your notifications,
just like you did with your phone.
I actually am constantly on Do Not Disturb on my computer,
since notifications on this device are almost always
a distraction and almost never useful.
I don't need message notifications on my computer
when I'm trying to work.
Similarly, emails don't need notifications.
If I batch emails in the morning and evening twice a day,
there's no rush to get to them any sooner.
Second, I recommend finding apps that help you
maintain focus by blocking distracting websites.
On my Mac, I use Focus, which both blocks distracting
websites and also serves as my Pomodoro timer.
You set your whitelist and blacklist beforehand,
meaning you can tell it which websites are OK and which
websites you want to block during your Pomodoro sessions.
So not gonna lie, when I first heard about these apps,
I thought they were so stupid.
I would think, "Gosh, guys, just don't be so distracted
"and try to exercise an ounce of discipline".
But it turns out these tools are so effective
because we often reflexively check certain websites.
When we have a moment of boredom or a brief challenge
in our work, it's too easy to get an instant relief
of just checking Facebook
or loading up Reddit or your email.
So Focus, Freedom, and other similar apps
put an end to this.
You're instantly made aware that you've strayed away
from your work while on autopilot
and then you're forced to get back on track.
Third, use fullscreen.
I will often fullscreen an app to ensure
I'm not distracted by other apps or icons
or visuals on my screen.
But sometimes I'll also just pick up my iPad since,
by default, apps on the iPad will run in full screen
for the same effect.
When writing scripts for the Med School Insiders channel,
I'll often have Bear, my writer app of choice, on one side,
and have Safari for research on the other.
With notifications and app icons out of sight
and out of mind, I find it easier
to remain focused and productive.
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Too many smart watches these days are simply
an extension of a phone, but now on your wrist.
And if you recall what we were saying
about proximity to your device,
having a phone equivalent constantly
on your wrist is terrible.
I know people, and I'm sure you do too,
who are addicted to their watch just as much
as they are addicted to their phone.
Notification.
Gotta check it!
Since it's on your body, the friction is so low
that it's just hard to resist.
I've spoken about my thoughts on smart watches
before on this channel.
I used to have the Fitbit Blaze,
which is technically a smart watch,
but I liked that it was pretty dumb
and bad at being a smart watch.
It wasn't distracting
because it's functionality was limited.
Sure it could do notifications, but I disabled those.
It was more important to me to track my heart rate
and activity throughout the day.
The problem is that it was ugly.
A face not even a mother could love.
I then tried the Apple Watch but that's too good
at being a smart watch.
Notifications, text messages, emails, apps.
By having so many features and providing value
with various functions, it paradoxically loses value
as a tool and then becomes a distraction.
The other issue is that analog watches
are simply far more beautiful.
I love the craftsmanship and art of a beautiful watch,
even more so if it has historical significance
with automotive racing or aviation or space travel.
When I went to CES earlier this year,
I came across Withings and was so excited to see
a company finally creating a smart watch done right.
I've been using their Steel HR Sport watch
for a few weeks now as my daily driver.
What do I like about it?
Well, first, it's definitely a looker.
I love watches and I have a small collection of my own.
And I just think that analog watches are simply beautiful
and timeless and this looks the part.
The battery life is 25 days.
That's right, nearly a full month,
so if you're traveling for a couple weeks at a time,
you don't even need to bring a charger.
But most importantly, it balances the benefits
of a smart watch without the distraction.
It has most of the bells and whistles,
including sleep tracking, continuous heart rate monitoring,
step counts, activity tracking, alarm functionality,
estimated VO2 for trackable fitness score,
and if you really want them and didn't learn anything
from this video, notifications.
But of course I disabled the notifications.
It does not have a high resolution color screen,
and that's actually good.
You don't want that.
You want something that serves a function and looks good,
not a gadget that's gonna distract you.
The small screen on this device can show you your heart rate
or time elapsed on a workout,
but it's not gonna distract you
with all these bells and whistles and colorful animations.
The Withings Health Mate app is clean and a joy to use.
And best of all, it syncs with Apple Health
so you can have all your health data in one spot
across all your health devices.
The watch also uses standard watch straps
which you can quickly interchange.
I rock the red silicone one for when I'm working out
and the brown leather one for when I'm trying to look fly.
As for what I don't like,
I wish they had luminous watch hands,
which I appreciate as a classic touch on my analog watches
so you can see the time in the dark.
It's not a big deal,
you can still see the time in the dark with this watch
but you have to press the crown button
to get the digital screen to light up.
Big shout out to Withings for sponsoring this video
and for making beautiful and functional tech
like this watch.
If you guys want to check it out for yourselves,
use the coupon code KEVIN for 20% off at Withings
and free shipping.
You can also click that link in the description below.
Thanks for watching guys.
Much love to you all.
See you in the next one.
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