Notifications like pings and dings of your phone are not the culprit for being distracted. We often encounter that external triggers like phone notifications are being blamed for being distracted. But in reality, there are internal triggers that bring more distractions than external ones. Internal triggers are the pains or discomfort that shift our attention and actions into something that could ease the pain. For example, if you are studying for an exam, then that pain of studying is being soothed by pseudo productivity like cleaning your room. When you can see your phone at the moment of hardship it is easier to submit yourself to the red dots of notifications. Those notifications however are easily ignored when you are having fun like watching Netflix. Just like what Tony Robbins said, we do what we do because we move away from pain and move towards pleasure.

You can manage your distractions if you can manage your pain. I am currently reading the book Indistractible by Nir Eyal and you can learn more about this kind of content in that book.

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Checking and responding to emails even seems productive activities are distractions. Yes, those productive activities are distractions if they are not helping you achieve what you intend to do. If your goal is to spend quality dinner time with your family, then checking email is a distraction. If it is time to relax, then watching Netflix or taking a nap is not a distraction.

I am currently reading the book Indistractible by Nir Eyal. I learned that distractions are activities that move you from your tractions. It is better to define your tractions first. Be definite on what you want to achieve. After that, you can determine the activities that do not support you in achieving your goal at the moment. Those activities are distractions. We can focus more and be more productive in the absence of distractions. In the mental model of Charlie Munger, use inverse thinking. What are the activities that keep you away from your tractions?

Time Blocking and Life Domains

Nir Eyal suggested to time block in accordance with the three life domains: You, Relationships, and Work. He showed the three domains in diagrams of circle with You in the innermost of the circle followed by relationship and lastly your work. There is no relationship and work without You. Time blocking for You includes the basic way of nurturing ourselves like, eating healthy meals, sleeping, learning, and exercising. You have to put a time block on those activities.

Most people, spend a lot of time on one of those domains at the expense of the other. There are people who are so busy that they cannot give themselves time to sleep and exercise. Again, You are the foundation of other life domains. There is this saying that a sick person has only one wish and that is to get well.

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What you know is valuable to others even if it appears too easy for you. I had a conversation with a teenager, probably he is 15 years old. As an older man, I ask what are your plans in college. His options are a business course or being in the military. I asked who inspired him to be in the military. He shared that he was amazed by the mindset of those who are in special operations. He told me that he was listening to podcasts of Navy Seals like David Goggins and Jocko Willink.

Imagine if David and Jocko decided not to share their mindsets, then that will be a disservice to a young guy whom they have just inspired and influenced.

Whenever you feel like giving up on sharing your thoughts, stories, knowledge, experience, passion, and skills online, think of it as a disservice to other people. Go ahead and keep on creating.

You can bounce back from challenges even if you feel stuck. I met a guy, probably 11 years younger than me. But this guy inspired me. He had challenges in school that made him late in his school years compared to his age. After having a conversation with him, I can say he is now more advanced compared to his age group and he can be successful.

He caught my attention as I can overhear his conversation with his friend in the gym. They were talking about self-help books that I just read when I started working. He started reading self-development books at the age of 17. I told him that if I can go back at his age then I would do what he is doing. He is on the right path. He is reading books and consistently working out. He strengthens his body and mind.

He shared that lockdown has helped him as he had a lot of time reading books and working out. His way of thinking is advanced. He told me that he was thankful for the setback he experienced at a young age. He shared that it made him tougher. Even if there will be challenges in the future, which is unavoidable as he said, he can surpass them too. Kudos to you bro.

My key takeaway is that you just have to divert your attention and activities from bad to good habits. Everything will follow.

Charlie Munger shared in his speech at Harvard University the lollapalooza effect. It occurs when different tendencies or mental models combined to act in the same direction provide a greater result. It is like synergy, 1 plus 1 is not 2 but 3 or more. The outcome is much bigger than the sum of the parts.

One of their investments that yielded great returns was their investment in Coca-Cola. Here are the factors that contributed to the Lollapalooza effect on Coca Cola:

1. Great product

2. Powerful stimulants – sugar and caffeine

3. Availability – it is available in every supermarket

4. Clever marketing – “the brain of man yearns for the type of beverage held by the pretty woman he can’t have”

5. Social proofing – almost everybody drinks it

If you aim for 1 million dollars and you just have 100,000 dollars, you might feel 900,000 dollars lacking. That 900,000 dollars make more people empty as they slave away in achieving and working towards the 900,000 dollars.

The better approach is to be happy and grateful for what you have while being excited about things you would like to achieve. Keep on dreaming big but remember it is not the outcome but the journey. The million dollars is not the goal but the hard work itself must be the goal. What you feel right now will just be the same when you reach your goal.

I found the podcast Y combinator that shares lessons on how to start a start-up. My key takeaway is that we have to focus on what matters most and that is providing solutions to end-users. Paul Graham discusses that most of the new founders focus on tricks and hacks like how to grow the business and how to get funding. As an investor, Paul Graham says that everything follows when you are valuable or offering solutions to your customers.

One of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is that they begin with an end in mind. I can relate this from what Paul Graham shared. Whether we are in starting a start-up or working as an employee we must make everything lean by focusing on what is our main objective.

Showing up every day is the key to whatever you want to achieve. I am currently building the character of consistency. Last year I had a chance to work out 5 days a week for two months. It made me realize that when I can be consistent in one thing then I can anchor that to be consistent in another aspect of my life.

This year I made a goal to write and publish every day. I am on my 22nd day. There are days that I feel lazy but the sense of having this streak is like I don’t want to break this chain. I can see a lot of improvement in my life and my work that I can say came from this daily habit of writing. 

To make this possible, I made some rules and one of those is I don’t aim for perfection. There might be some grammatical errors and I am letting myself have some mistakes. My objective is simple and clear. I just want to be consistent and won’t let perfection hinders me.

There is a story wherein two groups of students were learning photography. The first group was instructed to take many photos. The second group was asked to take a few photos but ensure that they take only quality photos. At the end of the activity, the group who took many photos without much considering the quality was able to learn faster and better. 

If you want to avoid being overwhelmed then just aim to do it 100 times. I learn this law of 100 from Noah Kagan. I can say it is a good initial goal. It is more like an acid test if you like what you are doing. It is also a true habit builder. I read a lot about the 21 days in building habits. I am at 22nd days now of writing and I feel like it is a good stretch to make it to 100. It feels like I am in the challenge zone.

What will be your anchor for consistency?

If you want more content like this, I invite you to join me in my book club and mentor tips newsletter. Just visit KevinUmali.com/free