A&B #12

Hey friends,

I'm writing to all 3,040 of you today. Getting my merch store up and running has been a bigger challenge than I imagined (it's my first time doing this) but I'm happy to share that it's finally live!As promised, because you ladies and gentlemen are true A&B supporters, you're getting early access, bragging rights, and a special discount.Use promo code "AB30" to get 30% off any of my merch. It's only t-shirts and stickers for now, but if you have any product ideas or designs, I'd love to hear them.Shop the official A&B merch here! 

Alright, let's dive into this week's newsletter!

Podcast Update:This week's podcast is with Nir Eyal. We spoke about his book Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Nir is a behavioral design expert and former Stanford lecturer who spent 5 years studying why people get distracted. This may be the most practical and insightful podcast to date.Nir talks about: Why we get distracted  How to manage distractions How to hack back your email and smartphone How to raise Indistractable children (this part was pure gold)And much more. As always, I've added timestamps so if you're short on time, you can find the parts most relevant to you.Listen to our podcast here.PS: You can also watch our conversation on YouTube here.

Book Lessons:

If you enjoyed Atomic Habits or Essentialism, you'll love Indistractable. By the way, both James Clear and Greg McKeown wrote a testimonial for Nir's book.There's so much great advice in Nir's book that I can't fit in all in one newsletter but for now, here are 3 short lessons from the book:1) Technology Is Not EvilToo many people demonize technology for being evil or the cause of all the world's problems. But here's the truth, technology isn't evil. It's neutral. How we use it dictates whether it's good or evil. For instance, you can use social media to build or grow your business. Or, you can use it to watch videos of cats or funny videos all day. It's up to us, the users, to decide how we want to use tech. Yes, some tech companies may be operating in a gray area at times, but technology will only continue to play a larger and larger role in our lives.We need to take responsibility for our actions. We need to figure out how to get the best out of technology without technology getting the best out of us. 2) The 2 Types of DistractionsDistractions tend to come in two forms: Internal triggers & External triggersAn internal trigger is when your body senses discomfort and seeks a distraction to escape the pain at hand. For instance, if you're bored while waiting in the checkout line, you may reach for your phone to check social media. Or, perhaps you're reading a hard book and decide to check your email for a second. In either case, you're feeling a sense of discomfort and seek relief through a distraction. An external trigger is when an outside source causes a distraction. Perhaps you're working on a project but keep getting distracted by email notifications. Or maybe you're reading a book but then hear a text notification from your phone and stop reading to check your phone. To be Indistractable, you need to understand both triggers and find ways to minimize the distractions from each.3) How To Hack Back Your SmartphoneA big source of distraction for people is their smartphone. As we said earlier, our phones aren't evil. In fact, they're amazing pieces of tech, but it's up to us to use it wisely. Here's how:First, uninstall any apps that you no longer need. Then, shift distracting apps (like Twitter or YouTube) to your desktop instead of your phone. Also, get a wristwatch so you don't have to look at your phone every time you want to check the time.After that, move any apps that may trigger mindless scrolling away from your phone's home screen. Have only essential apps (calendar, maps, etc.) on your home screen. And finally, change the notification settings for each app (I personally have all notifications off except for phone calls and texts).It also helps to learn how to use your phone's silent and Do Not Disturb settings. Follow those four simple steps and your relationship with your phone will be much more productive.

 Actionable Advice:

• Accept responsibility for the technology in your life instead of blaming it:

  • If you believe you're responsible, that means you have the power to make a difference and change your relationship with technology

• Identify the distractions in your life:

  • Keep a piece of paper next to you as you're doing a task and when a distraction comes up, label it as internal or external

    • If internal, try to reflect on why you're feeling discomfort

    • If external, try to think about ways to minimize similar distractions in the future

• Spend 15 minutes today to hack back your smartphone:

  • Remove apps you don't need

  • Replace distracting apps from your phone to your desktop

  • Rearrange your apps so that only the essential ones appear on the home screen

  • Reclaim your attention by turning off notifications for non-essential apps

Reading Tip:Surf The Urge 🏄‍♂️Ever find yourself reading a book but then you get the urge to check your email or social media?Like some magnetic power is pulling you away from the book and towards something else.Well, here's how to Surf The Urge.

Weekly Quote:"Reading creates knowledge. Action creates change."(source)

Photo of the Week:

One thing I miss most about life pre-COVID was having the chance to meet some of my favorite authors in person. It's one thing to read an amazing book, but it's another to meet the person who wrote that book.

However, this chaotic time won't last forever, and hopefully, things will return to normal soon.

Here's a question: If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you want to ask them?

Hey everyone, this week's newsletter is brought to you by...me! Show the world you're a reader and support my work at the same time by getting some Alex & Books swag.I want to keep all of my content free (newsletter, podcast, etc.), but to do so, I need to find a way to support myself and pay for the costs involved in all of these projects. For instance, my email bill is now $55 a month, and will likely grow as we gain more readers.So if you've enjoyed any of my book summaries, reading tips, podcasts, or any other content, consider buying some merch.Get your A&B merch here!PS: use code "AB30" to save 30%. Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next week!Read on,Alex W.