I have spent this week at SXSW Sydney, and as this newsletter makes its way across the digital universe to your inbox, I will be speaking on a panel about “How to seize control of your workday”.

One of the highlights of the week so far was seeing Johann Hari (whose books I have devoured) speak about the ideas in his (brilliant) book “Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - and How to Get Your Brain Back”.
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I thought I’d share his two biggest tips on what we, are individuals, can do to win the war on our attention. Plus a couple of bonus tips from me.

Get a KSafe

I first learned about the KSafe back in 2018, ironically through a conversation with Tim Kendall, the ex-President of Pinterest (who previously had worked at Facebook, the company that invented the infinity scroll). To kick his own mobile phone addition, he bought himself a KSafe (a time lockable box - originally designed for dieters to put cookies and other temptations into). Tim then created a ritual around storing his mobile phone in the KSafe and programmed it to be locked after hours, and for much of his weekends.

Johann is a huge fan of this device. I am too. You can order one here.

Use website blocking software Freedom.to

Relying on our willpower to stay off tempting sites and apps is a battle we are never going to win. So let technology do it for you. If you haven’t come across Freedom.to, it’s worth checking out. The software allows you to block yourself off any addictive sites and apps when you need to be focused and engaged in deep work. I used it myself for many months (several years ago) to create some good Deep Work habits. It worked a treat. Johann uses it for three hours a day when he is writing his books.

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Two bonus tips from me:

Delete your work apps from your phone

IMHO, one of the biggest barriers in the way to leaving work behind at work (even if your office is in your home) is the fact that most people have their work apps (Teams, Outlook, etc) on their phones. Even with the Right to Disconnect laws now in place in Australia, it’s just too bloody tempting to check those apps at all hours.

Do yourself a favour and delete these apps from your phone. Leave them off for one week - and let me know how big a difference it makes to your wellbeing.

Switch your phone to grayscale

Instagram is very dull in black and white. Change your display settings today for your iPhone or Android phone.

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I love this quote from writer Annie Dillard (which Johann mentioned in this talk):

If you are currently spending over one hour a day on social media (check the Screen Time data on your phone to find out if this is you) and you don’t want your legacy to be “watching cute animal videos”, today might be the time to make a change for good.

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