What are /r/nosurf's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Here's a link to the free online copy

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaceaabqxxsrgcc73uik5x27mjwxetv42jr3ibdqr3p65qljkuwq4cdg?filename=Allen%20Carr\_%20John%20Dicey%20-%20Smart%20Phone%20Dumb%20Phone\_%20Free%20Yourself%20from%20Digital%20Addiction-Arcturus%20Publishing%20Limited%20%28201...

This was the wake up call for me. When the founders of social media admit they are manipulating your subconscious to addict you to their product I knew I had to make a change. This is the modern tobacco industry. Look into advertising as well and how it manipulates you on a subconscious level. Propaganda by Bernays lays the groundwork on public relations and the modern advertising industry. Make no mistake, social media is an advertising business - and you are being exploited. Don't let people use you.

if you use android you can do something similar by downloading a a new launcher (think homescreen). its in the playstore as lessphone. Works basically the same. You can always flip to regular mode if you need something else or add more apps. It isnt an eink device but worth a try. If you're commited to it and dont want to pay the crazy light phone price you could also find a cheap android phone and do this.

You could start playing https://habitica.com/static/home

It's an RPG for your life. You'll add habits and to-dos and receive gold and experience for completing them. Then, you can upgrade your character, buy equipment, and fight bosses. You can also add real-life rewards and then reward yourself once you have collected enough gold and bought them.

It's most fun if you start to play with your friends.

Why don't you get a minimal launcher for your phone like. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&hl=en_GB&gl=US This way you still have access to WhatsApp for communication and Waze for driving but can get rid of all the distraction apps like youtube Reddit. Then actively join 2-3 clubs art class or local paddleboarding club. This will give you meaningful contact with real people. A lot of us are finding ourselves increasingly addicted to SM the first step is acknowledging the fact that you need to cut it down massively. Yet here I am on Reddit again.

Hey, I'm the developer!

Sorry /u/mbrochh and /u/earlyattempt, I have no plans to port it to different platforms, although anyone who wants to fork the project is welcome to do so.

I still need to add screenshots to F-Droid. In the meantime, you can see them on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aaronhalbert.nosurfforreddit

I deleted Twitter from my phone, crafted some private lists of different groups of people I care about and added them as tweetdeck columns. Twitter seem to have somewhat abandoned tweetdeck so it doesn't have any of the dark patterns that Twitter.com and the app have to increase engagement - no trending topics, everything in chronological order, no "[x] liked post [y]". And by making lists of people (I have people I know from work, people I know from my hometown, etc), you can easily catch up on the stuff that actually matters.

Of course, that doesn't get you away from the fact that everyone is tweeting stuff all the time about the latest outrage, and why you too should be outraged about [topic]. For solving that, I've tried to switch to following people on the fediverse (mastodon and friends). There I seem to follow a bunch of people who mainly seem interested in building stuff and talking about it, which is a lovely change, and reminds me of the olden days of Twitter.

Hi cupboard. The internet can be a solace when we are feeling down. But when you get off the computer your problems are still there. You have to address why you use the internet in this way so it stops being a crutch. Otherwise you'll find another way to distract yourself from your problems.

idk if you meditate but it can be really helpful combined with nosurf. The book Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn is a good book on mindfulness and has really helped me.

Congrats. I've done the same and it has been a huge improvement.

Resources you may want to look into:
http://gen.lib.rus.ec/ for finding ebooks and pdfs of all sorts (yarr matey)
https://calibre-ebook.com/ For kindle organization and anti-DRM. Also good for transferring stuff to kindle and managing your library.

Smart Phone Dumb Phone, here's a PDF https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaceaabqxxsrgcc73uik5x27mjwxetv42jr3ibdqr3p65qljkuwq4cdg?filename=Allen%20Carr\_%20John%20Dicey%20-%20Smart%20Phone%20Dumb%20Phone\_%20Free%20Yourself%20from%20Digital%20Addiction-Arcturus%20Publishing%20Limited%20%28201...

Found these two on r/getmotivated

Strict Pomodoro

Concentrate

Everything we do is habitual, and you developed the habit of rewarding yourself with browsing YouTube/Reddit after a long day. It's okay, a lot of people subconsciously do it, you just happened to be mindful about it, so congrats on the first step!

The best way to get rid of a bad habit is slowly replacing it with a good one. Don't go cold turkey, 99,9% of the people who do it relapse fast and hard. Slowly cut down the surfing, even if it is 5 minutes at a time, but make sure to do it everyday. Check the NoSurf Activity List for hobby ideas.

Some useful tips to make it a little bit easier:

• Use your bed for sleep and sleep only. Make sure your phone/computer is far enough that you have to get up to get it. That way it won't be the first thing you do in the morning.

• Read books or listen to a podcast. Both are good alternatives to cut down all the YouTube watching. Hopefully you have access to a library or a Kindle (and z-lib), it helps a lot.

• And most importantly: It's a lifelong thing, so don't stress about it too much. Relapses will happen, but don't get caught up on your own mistakes. Make sure that you understand why you relapsed and make a conscious effort to avoid the same trap in the future.

All the best! DMs are open if you wanna know more about it :)

Meetup.com, local community centre noticeboards, Google local walking/board game/music/your interest here groups, local volunteering opportunities, social nights, etc. Guaranteed almost anywhere will have Google-able options!

That extension is awesome! I would use it all the time to print articles!

I stopped using it recently because I got a kindle paperwhite for my birthday and have been reading articles on the e-ink display. I've been really enjoying it so far.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the automated services like pocket and instapaper to automatically send articles from my computer to the kindle. However I did find a great chrome extension called dotEPUB that automatically converts articles to ePUB and .MOBI extensions and saves them to my computer. Takes less than 30 seconds to convert and article into an ebook and upload it to my kindle by plugging in the USB. Here's a link for anyone who might be interested in quickly converting online articles to ebook formats: Link

I'm especially loving the paperwhite because I've found that with an e-ink screen I'm able to read in a deep and focused way just like with printed articles, which I wasn't able to do when reading articles on my phone. I didn't think the e-ink display vs. typical electronic display would make such a big difference, but it turned out that it does.

I prefer saving articles and reading at a later time because I find that when I set aside time to read articles, I actually read and gain a good understanding of them rather than just skimming and reading in a shallow way like when I try to read articles on my laptop.

Adam Alter is a marketing and psychology professor at NYU's Stern School of Business.

On Amazon you can read through the first couple of pages (hover over the book cover and click 'look inside').

Even the creators of these apps and devices recognize the potential for addiction. Steve Jobs for example, didn't let his kids use an iPad. The Instagram founder said "there's always another hashtag".

Even the presence of a smartphone without it being used, just it by itself sitting there is enough to disrupt sociability.

I really recommend reading the introduction to this book, it's free!

I'll start part one when I buy it!

I was an internet addict and found myself on chrome and facebook all the time, and I'd forget about the things I could be doing instead. Based on my experience, my friend and I developed an Android App that helps you track your app usage and think through alternate activities to be doing. We even threw in a 'coach' who gives you a kick in the butt through notifications if you're getting close to your goal limits. Hope it helps you as much as it's helped us, and would appreciate any feedback! The direct link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gnothi.demo Our website, which includes more on our vision: https://www.gnothi.life/

As i need my phone to do some stuff morning or evening (like using radio/music, checking weather etc), I use this app to block all irrelevant apps that make me losing time. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.mobilesoft.appblock&hl=fr

I use it for 2 weeks now and pretty useful so far.

hi, you can use the following link, there is a spotify field: https://airtable.com/shrLQZhajJAT596t4/tblXdpuV9utwt0fgk

also, you should check out /r/dumbphones, they may be better able to help you good luck

I should preface this by acknowledging that I do have a smartphone, but it has no SIM card, and therefore is only useable with wifi. I use it for long distance skyping, the occasional instagram photo, and for on longer daytrips around town when I need internet access to figure out where I'm going because I just moved to a new city and don't quite know my way around yet. I prefer not to bring it with me, though. Partly because it's so big - I've actually gotten re-accustomed to the form factor of the smaller, lighter, dumbphones, and it's great. I don't even remember its there half the time.

That said, I love not having data 24/7. My memory and attention span is much improved, my sense of direction is sharper than ever, and I'm more approachable to strangers since my face isn't stuck to a screen every minute I'm out in public. I've had some great conversations with folks at pubs this way, too, on the occasions I've gone out for beers by myself. (And books are much better ice breakers than phones. I've never had a dull conversation start with "What book are you reading?")

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the freelance art world, I still have to be connected to some kind of social media (though I use IFTTT.com to automate posting to my twitter and tumblr feeds from posts I make to my instagram or my personal website so I never have to log in) so leaving completely isn't in the cards for me right now.

I can't wait to get back to being smartphone-less. For right now, though, it's going to be more cost-effective to just use the hand-me-down smartphone I have than buy a new dumbphone to use in my new country. When I'm settled and decide on a contract carrier I'll shell out for a Huawei feature phone or something.

If you're in a city where Meetup.com is active, that might be an option. You can also use Facebook groups and even reddit to find folks in your city (look up the sub for your city) to find folks who might be interested in meeting up in person.

This is why some people swear by f.lux -- software that purports to dim your monitor based on time of day to more "natural" levels. Who knows if it's actually effective at all.

I’ve used this before, and it sounds like it’s pretty much exactly what you’re describing: https://mailbrew.com/ Think I heard about it through this sub - I remember I could choose for it to send me “x top posts in last 24 hours” for 3-5 subreddits or something. May be worth checking out

Go to Meetup.com and find local events. Join a gym to go out and exercise, or find a nice mountain to hike regularly. You are a human and you will need social interaction. That's how you are wired. So you gotta replace a bad habit with a good one. (BTW Reddit will not be considered a "good" one lol)

Make some friends online too and meet them over Zoom or Skype. Discord is nice too. Surround yourself with people who want to better themselves and will support you.

commitment: reduce youtube, reduce reddit (only use reddit for my group chat) bbc, can use film websites tv, no pointless searches, only use it for good use, meetup.com finding out things, spend a long time without internet connected,

goals:to read more and sit with myself more and have a peaceful mind.

length: Unitl January 1st

You can look into learning how to become mindful in every moment. Essentially applying a high level of focus to every single moment of your life so that every activity is intentional and not mindless. Here's an article I like on the topic: https://www.headspace.com/blog/2014/03/20/5-ways-to-get-mindfulness-into-your-everyday-life/

You can apply the same concepts with internet browsing. Apply light, patient, and quiet focus whenever you use anything with a screen.

As del1507 points out, that's exactly mindulness meditation. A (scientifically proven) very powerful tool in the fight with bad habits, anxiety, addiction, etc. BUT: it's not necessarily easy to start with or to do daily. It can actually be frightening since you might want to run from your thoughts and feelings. THEREFORE: You might want to start slow, and possibly with audio guidance. I've used Headspace (https://www.headspace.com) to get into the habit, there are some great guided meditations on there to get you started. @OP: Might be worth a try, good luck with your effort!!

Check out Celeste if you haven't already.

It's one of only a handful of games to break into the top 100 on metacritic in the last 10 years.

ah maybe it have, I had the old version to you could restart the computer and then you could choose to clear the "freedom blocks" :P

But I seems like i found a option gonna try this out http://selfcontrolapp.com/

Instead of Leechblock, a more efficient way to block a website is using a hosts file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_%28file%29
It works quite well for me. Plus, you can use the same hosts on your computer and your smartphone/tablet.
With it, you can use OpenDNS too: https://www.opendns.com/

I'm using both, it's not perfect, I know how to disable it but it adds a more step if you want to go on this-wasting-time-website-you-dont-want-to-go and remind you what you are doing.

Also, leaving your computer in your closet and using only in college is a good idea, I think. I think doing the same thing during the week and a free-time session on, let's say, Saturday morning.

Moment really helped me reduce my phone time. Image proof here -- I went from 2+ hours a day to <1 hour a day.

Once I broke the habit of checking my phone 'just because' -- in line, even at the urinal -- the rest came pretty easy. I uninstalled the social apps, disabled notifications, moved most apps off my home screen, and now keep my phone in my bag/on the table instead of my pocket.

You can't really get rid of the internet, but you can create some space between you and it :)

Love the plan!
For the last bullet, I recommend either the app Moment https://inthemoment.io/ or the Freedom app https://freedom.to/
I have used Moment myself and it has great tracking of how you use your phone and I have heard Freedom is good for blocking content on your smartphone.

My bane was also video-games. And "False Achievement" is a nice way to sump up the affliction of 'Video-game Addiction'.
What I would recommend is using Habitica to track the new habits you wanna build coz u now have a lotta time in hand. Accomplishing tedious tasks feels awesome since the app feels like a video-game. U get a avatar who progresses as you do your daily habits.

Ideally I read more of a book on my Kindle Paperwhite using this stand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WHYWC08?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share, and keep reading that same book before bed too. But sometimes I read an article from NYTimes on my phone or Chromebook

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YourHour. The app will lock you out of any app after a specific time limit you place. It can also monitor how many times you unlock the phone, how long you use each app, and even a countdown clock per app. It also comes with usage reports (Daily, Weekly, Monthly), Dark Mode, 24 hour Format, and a small widget.

If you're on Android, this app will do what you asked and more
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stayfocused&amp;hl=en

Install a different launcher. There's a host of different minimalist ones on the playstore. I'm using the Siempo one and this is what it looks like.

Hey man,funny thing I've already been using an app called Space and I absolutely agree with what you said.I started using it in April and was shocked to see the number of times I unlock my phone and the hours I wasted without even being aware of it.I set it to 90 mins for the first day and crossed it by the early hours of evening itself.I've been trying to keep track and have improved a bit since haha.

I'm happy you're making an effort to improve yourself, that in itself is a sign of a great person. It's just that mindset is everything.

I used to be very anxious, anxious socially, anxious financially, anxious about my job, and so on. I realized I had different ways of dealing with it, I could give in and find remedies like alcohol, a video game addiction, or do nothing all day, or I can dig myself out. I knew in order to dig myself out I would have to have the right mindset so I began focusing on what my life would be like after I achieved my goals and compare it to that now. Having that sort of drive really pushed me to work my ass off. Having that sort of mindset forces you to focus on the good, not the bad. If you're looking for book recommendations, I recommend you check out the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, where she explores the differences between a growth oriented mindset and a fixed one.

We are constantly growing in every direction as time goes on and it's good to adopt a mindset about growth, rather than decay (or worse, being fixed in one spot). It's healthier, makes you a happier person, and it's more fun to be focused on the rewards not the punishments.

I would also recommend joining us at /r/Meditation. Meditating, next to frequent exercise, has been the greatest thing I've added to my daily routine. Since I began meditating regularly my mind has been easier to focus, I've been more relaxed in situations that used to make me anxious, and most importantly I have been at ease with myself. It's amazing what sitting in silence for 10 minutes a day can do to the mind.

I tend to apply the principle of Allen Carr's EasyWay to any addiction that I'm trying to kick.

I'd imagine that due to the Internet still being in the stages of infancy, there are very few people who actually understand the negative effects of surfing, and even fewer who are capable of writing a book about it.

However, there are many other books out there that are tied in with the self improvement range which might give you some insight into breaking the addiction.

Here's a few of the titles in my Kindle book collection that I suggest you check out. Many of these are completely unrelated to your original question, but nonetheless they are fascinating books that you might benefit from.

The Four Dimensional Human: Ways of Being in the Digital World - Laurence Scott.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey.

The Materialistic World - Grace Scott.

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill.

The Art of Happiness - Dalai Lama.

The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle.

Mastery - Robert Greene.

But anyway, good luck on your recovery mate.

Hey, I know how you feel in ways. I would highly suggest starting with groups in your area. Have mental health conditions? Find support circles. Hobbies? See if there are any groups for that. Checkout meetup.com and see what's there. Maybe there's a generic socials group. I really stress groups in helping you meet people where you are!

I have church. Not everyone does, but if you do have a faith or spirituality, there is always a place to go where people of similar beliefs will congregate and socialise.

Volunteering can get your foot in to door into what's going on in your community. Having volunteered at local charities myself, you will find that a lot of them network or at least are aware of each other. These not only give you a chance to make friends with fellow volunteers, but it will teach you what services are around you in your area, and help you get to know the community more.

Your local library will be informed about some stuff going on.

Maybe eventually, if you join a group of some sort, you can then look into events in your area, and start going to those with the people you meet.

It's okay to be a loner but want people in your life, too. You and me both! :P It just takes finding that place to go where you get the distance that you want, but also some connection.

That sucks. If it's night time and you're online because you can't sleep, try lowering the temperature of the light coming out of your monitor with flux or a similar program.

I personally don't have a problem with getting up and doing things when I can't sleep because I don't want to associate my bed with with restlessness.

What I would do is go do something else for a bit. Maybe read a book. Maybe go into the kitchen and get my breakfast ready to go or my lunch packed. Whatever it is, I'd set a time limit to go back and try sleeping again.

That way, since I'm not sleeping anyway, at least I can feel like it's not a total waste. It's like going an extra few miles on the circle route instead of sitting in a traffic jam in the city. Did it actually help anything? I don't know, but it was a little less frustrating.

Just my two cents. We're all different. Maybe try r/insomnia. Good luck!

Sounds like you might be helped by Allan Carr’s “Smart Phone Dumb Phone”, which is all about breaking internet addictions.

Have heard it works wonders for tons of people, although I haven’t read it yet myself. I don’t find my internet usage to be dominating my life, but in case I ever do, I think this book will be the first thing I turn to.

That’s a link to the whole book, btw!

&gt; I suffer from needing the phone or computer to fall asleep

Try an app such as Relaxio for some good meditations to fall asleep with. I wouldnt constitute something like that as mindless surfing.

&gt; I feel exhausted all the time, I am going to get my sleep checked out but I barely have energy to hang out with friends

Good call on getting sleep checked out. Sleep hygiene is very important, read up on that.

Honestly, this constant fatigue and exhaustion sounds like you may be suffering the physical effects of psychological issues such as depression and anxiety, which therefore impact sleep and said fatigue.

Maybe try Meetup.com or local community boards for some groups related to what you're into, or even things you're curious about but never tried. Hope that helps. :)

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Try reading some of the free ebooks available here (sorted from shortest to longest). A very nice collection of classic topics: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks?query=&amp;sort=length&amp;view=grid&amp;per-page=24

Back when I had an iPhone I used to have to have a trusted friend put a parent lock on the web browsing apps, then have them unblock it when it was fine. SelfControl is the closest mac equivalent to cold turkey if you're looking for an alternative to StayFocused http://selfcontrolapp.com/

You could try using f.lux or Redshift,buy blue light filtering glasses (I have no experience with these, I just know they exist, do your own research) or you could also take melatonin before sleep.

You can also download Newpipe for your phone, which is a much cleaner version of Youtube, without adverts and recommended videos to suck you down a rabbit hole, but with all the same videos. You can also download vids, so you can watch them later without having to turn your wife/data on and distract yourself.

Download link: https://newpipe.net/

I use it myself and it is much less distracting than Youtube.

Mentioned this in another thread, it's something I'm really surprised more people don't know about if you have an Android phone: Newpipe

It's an alternative frontend for YouTube, no ads, all the features of YT premium for free (downloads, minimizing etc), but most importantly it doesn't recommend you videos. You're only shown what you subscribe to, in this big chronological list. (also it's free and open-source, you have to download the apk from their website though since Google doesn't want it on the play store for obv reasons)

https://newpipe.net/

I absolutely love seeing my subscription feed the way I imagine it was when YouTube first started, pre Google, pre dopamine loop exploitation. You feel like you're tailoring your experience to exactly and only what you decide on, without bs suggestions by a cash-hungry algorithm that only wants to lock you in permanent consumption.

From the perspective of playing ambiance, you can start a playlist and minimise it on your phone, and you won't get any ads.

I have no answer because I don't know much about you: your goals, aspirations, struggles, ...

My recommendations would be:

1. Try not to go down the rabbit hole. Have a purpose in mind when checking the Internet or Social Media.
2. I spend so much time in front of screens for my work and after some time I feel my brain doesn't understand reality anymore. So I recommend to take time off the screen regularly and do more things physically especially with people and in nature.
3. Realize that the screen with all the social media websites, Netflix, .. is nothing but a big circus. It is mainly entertainment, and it could literally make you crazy.
4. I use freedom.to sometimes to force my self to stop surfing all the websites on all my devices for 12 hours. I could feel very uneasy without access to all that shit. I recommend you use it (They have 6 sessions for free), and see how you feel. I will start my session after I post this comment.

Cheers.

I will start by asking do you need to work on a computer/Internet?

I found the best way to get off the Internet is to disconnect entirely, if I want to do some work on the computer (programming, ..). I use freedom.to or I won't have Internet at all.

Also, I found that the best learning could be from (technical, programming, web dev ) books instead of youtube videos which draw you in and in and in.

If you don't work with computers, could you leave your cellphone somewhere?

Make it harder for yourself to have access to it is key in breaking this habit.

Can you explain what exactly you want? I can probably write a small script you can with Tampermonkey (a plugin that allows you to add scripts to any website)

When you go to reddit.com, what would you like to (not) see? Empty page? Redirect to your saved posts? When you go to reddit.com/r/all, what would you like to (not) see there? When you go to reddit.com/r/nosurf, or another subreddit, what would you like to (not) see there?

To skip ads you could use uBlock Origin, and for things like sponsors you could get the Sponsor Blocker browser extension that lets you skip subscribe reminders, intro animations, sponsors, all that stuff.

It's like Quora, but for developers/IT professionals.

But TweetDeck might help you. There's no suggested topics or seeing random tweets because someone you follow liked it.

I wrote a detailed post about overcoming internet addition here.

Maybe you can copy or adapt the strategies I outlined in the article.

Good luck!

Although not as bad I have experienced the same, espcially with unblocking website blockers.

What helped me is to ALLOW myself to access these sites but to make it just a little bit more work. I describe my approach in this blog post about overcoming internet addiction.

https://findfocus.net/overcome-internet-addiction/

People who use a website blocker or chrome extension to build deep work habits and get better at concentrating usually fail for two reasons.

Reason #1: It's Too EASY To Turn Off Your Website Blocker

One of the reasons is that it's too easy to turn it off. This is ALWAYS the case if you use any extension for your browser. If you are engaging in demanding work you're depleting your willpower. Your brains comes up with an excuse and easily justify to give into a easier behavior. Then you simply switch to another browser. It's too easy to find a way because your not delaying the gratification enough.

Reason #2: It's Too HARD To Turn Off Your Website Blocker

In our day and age, we always face some kind of emergencies whether they are real or imagined. Maybe a client calls you and needs a reply to an important email. Or you need to do a quick research for the project you are working on. The reasons to turn off your website blocker are endless. These software programs are not built for the flexibility that is required if you have to work online.

What worked for me is to make the unwanted behaviour just a bit more unpleasant so you'll do it less over time.

E.g. you unlock it by used typing in a phrase like "I want more out of life. Do I really want to watch Netflix or porn right now?" every twenty minutes.

So you can still access everything but it annoying over time...

I haven't tried it yet since im dabbling with the idea of quitting but this program seems cool.

https://getcoldturkey.com/

from the bottom of the features page:

"Exceptions and white listing Websites can be added to the exceptions list if you'd like to access to them when they would otherwise be blocked. For example if reddit.com is blocked, but you still want to access a subreddit: reddit.com/r/getmotivated"

This really is one of the most fundamental insights. Our emotions are scary, and addictive behavior often only is the learnt way of least resistance to instant comfort, however temporary it may be.

There’s a nice exercise by Joe Edelman (the guy who co-started the time well spent movement) called emotions to values: https://www.notion.so/humsys/Emotions-to-Values-fab16da4ea8349a793c65ed6dee0e542

It helps so much to face emotions, because it provides a structure to figure out what’s going on, and to translate them into ways of being that are important to us... in turn helping with the OPs objective of figuring out what we actually want.

This, and buying an armchair, really transformed my capacity for facing my emotions. Before, i didn’t really have a place at home that was just for relaxation... and being.

So often the relationship we have to our devices reflects the one we have to ourselves, right? Here are some more recommendations that I found powerful...

• journaling
• cold showers (as part of the wim hof method)
• charging all my devices in the hallway, not even taking them into my room
• designing an empowering digital environment

Several years ago I created the least distractive-possible Android launcher for myself. Can be configured for white-on-black text only. No images, no colors. App are searched or scrolled. Single result search = execute. I still use it today.

There are other minimalistic launchers like Kiss that probably can be customized more.

Hope it helps.

Get rid of your smartphone. It makes social media more inconvenient to access and forces you to limit it. Also, check out this book https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-James-Clear-audiobook/dp/B07RFSSYBH

Thanks for asking. Last night I finished novel https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/0006542549/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_C3ZXN4B6W5FEE5F7KZJB and moved on to the relaxing nature book https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/1910931314/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_WVQAZEPA2YVY9AAH0N8P

Some great tips here. Something that worked for me was buying a cheap phone, and putting a "dumb" clean launcher on it, something like this indistractable launcher.

p.s. also use a minimal home screen launcher if you are on android

e.g. 'Slim Launcher'

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sduduzog.slimlauncher

my example [with inverted colour monochrome]

https://i.imgur.com/5FxJRKO.png

[in case wondering what apps: podcast addict, google play books, google keep notes, text messenger.

can swipe up for a select few more, but there is a maximum of 7 apps at a time]

Nice. I've had luck with an android launcher called Before Launcher. Just big words instead of icons. I'm much less distracted now and use jy phone less.

Max of 8 apps allowed on your home screen, and it has this great feature that intercepts notifications from your apps and puts them to the left of the home screen (except the ones you tell it to let thru)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beforesoft.launcher

Use this app it will do what you've asked and more
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stayfocused&amp;hl=en

It's a great app. I installed it a few weeks ago and you can set limits to your use (like x minutes per day) then it'll get blocked the rest of the time. You can make it super difficult to unblock it. I've set my chat apps and Chrome to 30m each, and man I finish so many more ebooks on my phone it's not even funny.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stayfocused&amp;hl=en

Hey welcome to NoSurf! I'd recommend reading the Wiki and some of the books in the recommended reading. Deep Work by Cal Newport might be of particulra interest to you as a student.

All the information you need is here, but you'll have to read around to find it. I'm planning on organizing all the information step by step so it's a bit more friendly to newcomers.

As for your PC issues check out cold turkey, K9 Web Filtering, and PluckEye web filters. They're not perfect solutions but they're a step in the right direction.

Good luck!

That's a really great idea, learned stopping cues. I am actually reading the book 'The Power of Habit' right now, maybe I could turn 'learned stopping cues' into a habit. I have an addictive personality, so the internet is especially hard to escape from its grasp of never-ending information. Before the internet, I watched tv a lot, but with tv I could draw or work on projects while it was on in the background, with the internet it really takes over all your attention. I think you are right that most people don't realize it's a potential problem, but I feel like in the future this will start coming to a head in our society, with like internet use rehabs or something. *Edit to add, what do you think are some examples of a good stopping cue for the internet, would that be like a timer or something?

Tip:

Go for any book that you think you might enjoy.

A lot of people seem to think that because they are trying to improve their all-round life when they start something like no surf, they must necessarily read self-improvement books, or generally knowledge books that they might not otherwise be interested in.

For me, the self-improvement genre is pretty dire as anything more than an article i might read online. Instead, I've taken up reading political books (currently a book by someone who has advised Presidents gone by), books on areas of history that perk my interest (such as a book on Arabian history, which is something I didn't know much about before), and most recently a book on the sports team I support. Literally read anything - the act of reading a physical book no matter what kind will benefit you in trying to cut down on the internet.

That said, the one self-help sort of book I would definitely recommend is Deep Work by Cal Newport, especially if you're a student. It's the only one that I've taken ideas from and been able to apply in my day to day life.

I love Jon Kabat-Zinn's stuff, especially Full Catastrophe Living. I think pretty much the first thing he suggests for meditation is "letting go of wanting things to be different than they are right now." It's a big relief, when you can do it.

Cold Turkey for Android temporarily bricks your phone for the amount of time you choose.

But the Windows and Mac versions of Cold Turkey are much more featureful and customizable.

Have you tried AppLock app for android? Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domobile.applock&amp;hl=en

I use it to block both the browser web and youtube. I've used a long numeric password I can't remember. The password is the ISBN code of a book which is on my night table

>I have an outdated android

Here I was thinking my S10+ was outdated. I suppose it's only 3-4 years old.

fyi I bought mine refurbished from amazon and it's worked great, they're pretty cheap at $200 and mine has already lasted me over a year and still going strong

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Factory-Unlocked-Warranty-Renewed/dp/B07PJV9ZLR/ref=sr\_1\_2?crid=1VDHVS1YC0WFN&amp;keywords=s10%2B&amp;qid=1668797158&amp;sprefix=s10%2B%2Caps%2C168&amp;sr=8-2

I think about this too, especially with nephews who are already Kindle/tablet addicts (like many other of their pre-cell phone classmates). The older one especially exhibits signs of addictive behavior and I wonder what impact this kind of thing has on his developing brain. These tablets have become babysitters and it's shameful.

I suggest reading anything by Jonathan Haidt on this matter. I believe he's raising a daughter. He recommends trying to network with other like-minded parents to try and create social groups that are committed to social media abstinence until a certain age (as a lot of Haidt's work deals with how social media has impacted depression, anxiety, and suicide rates among kids). This helps to mitigate the outcast problem/dilemma.

His flagship book here

i was supposed to buy an ipod but i realize that whenever i listen to music or anything at all i tend to skip through all of them and just listen to parts i want and avoid being bored

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so i bought a random chinese mp3 where it doesnt have an option to skip the parts , i forgot the exact model but its from RUIZU

for the pocket timer i bought something similar to this

https://www.amazon.com/Classroom-Kitchen-Cooking-Magnetic-Exercise/dp/B09HKTSS2Q/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1QY25RAADJ2IB&amp;keywords=pocket+timer&amp;qid=1668401887&amp;sprefix=pocket+ti%2Caps%2C354&amp;sr=8-5

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best mini purchase hope it helps u too , whenever i do some sort of studying or work i now think of time as resource like i would "invest 5 minutes into this"

Ah, yes, unfortunately Freedom support advised me they can’t prevent that circumvention method. I know NordVPN has a killswitch feature that disables all internet access if it’s disabled, so the technology isn’t impossible. I’ve raised that with Freedom because otherwise this issue destroys the whole point. I wonder if it’s possible to do them in tandem, or to find other ways of using parental controls.

But at this point I might just start leaving my phone at work so I can do constructive things at home. The time I’ve had with Freedom not being able to circumvent it has definitely given me a chance and opened up my sense of possibilities.

If you’re good with networking, help your friends and family set up pi holes! It doesn’t directly stop people from surfing, but it takes a bite out of the predatory ad revenue that keeps the internet functioning in such an addictive way. Even my non-technical friends LOVE their pi holes and have even begun evangelizing them themselves. It also helps to visualize (if you turn on logging) just how many trackers and ad networks are trying to get through.

While setting it up, of course, give a gentle lecture about your own relationship with technology and try to nudge them towards reducing their own consumption. As a tech worker, your take on tech will carry a lot of weight!

Wow I didn’t know that about Aldous Huxley! Cool. I’ve always been surprised by how well connected so many famous people are from birth, though we mainly know them for their personal achievements. It reveals a lot about how the levers of power work in this world.

I would highly recommend studying computer science! It’s useful but also incredibly interesting an empowering. It’s no accident that many of the most dedicated data privacy advocates are programmers themselves - if you are able to understand what’s going on on a deeper level you’re much better equipped to see when things are going off the rails and to protect yourself when that happens. It’s extremely empowering to understand how this kind of technology works and be able to manipulate it.

A pi-hole is very easy to set up with minimal technical knowledge. If you know how to run some basic commands in a terminal and fiddle with router settings you can probably figure it out. Give it a shot! https://pi-hole.net/

It’s super easy if you have enough technical knowledge to run a few commands in a terminal! https://pi-hole.net/

It’s a DNS server that you can run on a computer as small as a raspberry pi (even their smallest one that’s like $10). You set it to be the DNS server for your home router and then it can block requests by matching the domain to a blacklist, which you can customize. It comes with an admin dashboard you can use to view blocked traffic and logs and things like that. Highly recommend!

I installed App Lock and locked specific apps behind a pin. Only my wife knows the pin.

Read this years ago. Need to read it again.

https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=33HBYK8P8Q5OK&amp;keywords=flow&amp;qid=1667149276&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjg4IiwicXNhIjoiMy43OCIsInFzcCI6IjMuNjcifQ%3D%3D&amp;sprefix=flow%2Caps%2C...

Do you know Jon Kabat Zinn? His books can be really great at easing you into Meditation, helping to ivercome what you identify as Missing willpower, and I think they are available in Spotify as audiobooks even. I highly recommend you to try to Listen to them in your 15-minute-breaks for example this one https://www.amazon.ca/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/1401307787

Listening to audiobooks night also be easier than trying to get into Meditation from 0 to 100

It sounds like you've fallen into a perspective of perspectives that are not healthy. I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like a struggle.

A perspective is how you view the world. We see the present moment, then unconsciously tell ourselves a story about the present moment, and that story is what gets recorded into memory, not the raw pure present moment. Perspective is the stories we tell ourselves, specifically how we interpret what we're seeing.

There was a movement in the 70s with the goal to get as many people to unlock their potential as possible. One step along the way is to master perspectives. Not just fall into perspectives, but learn how to control them and master them, to create your own perspectives if you want. To have power over your own mind beyond what the average person could do. To make that normal.

This movement failed, but it sounds perfect given your situation. Why not master perspectives? Why not master that part of your mind? Prometheus Rising is one such book that teaches this. It's a quick read, but I'm not sure how well it works without doing some of the exercises. Working with perspectives is a lot like riding a bike. The book is silly makes jokes, talks about alien conspiracies even and how those perspectives can influence one. It sounds like a perfect lighthearted version of what could help you.

You can try carrying a hotpot device in your pocket and have Apple watch connect to hotspot's wifi. for example https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E5576-320-Hotspot-150Mbps-Download/dp/B07Z5LWMNZ/ref=sr_1_16?crid=302PDMXRG9PST&amp;keywords=hotspot&amp;qid=1665254018&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjU4IiwicXNhIjoiNS4xOCIsInFzcCI6IjQuNzIifQ%3D%3D&amp;sprefix=hotspot%2Caps%2C311&amp;sr=8-16&amp;ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

This may be attributed to reactive hypoglycemia, which is not diabetes. I'm assuming your doctor has taken lab work (fasted blood glucose levels, your a1c). The main symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes are excessive thirst and excessive peeing.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-answers/reactive-hypoglycemia/faq-20057778

I wholeheartedly believe that the internet is the cause for depression and anxiety, for all the reasons you listed.

Have you tried the K-safe box to lock your phone & laptop at night? And using a smartwatch to stay connected to the bare essentials without the risk of binging on the larger smartphone?

https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Safe-Locking-Container-Height/dp/B00UY0TQRE/ref=sr\_1\_1\_sspa?keywords=ksafe&amp;qid=1664285154&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjI3IiwicXNhIjoiMy4yMyIsInFzcCI6IjMuMDQifQ%3D%3D&amp;sr=8-1-spons&amp;ufe=app\_do%3Aamzn1.fos.08f69a...

Not totally what you are looking for but maybe the "mighty vibe" would work for you. https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Spotify-Music-Player-Gully/dp/B07KJZJG7H/ref=sr\_1\_3?keywords=mighty%2Bvibe&amp;qid=1664272237&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjg4IiwicXNhIjoiMC45NiIsInFzcCI6IjAuODIifQ%3D%3D&amp;sr=8-3&amp;th=1

Take a look at https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/152474672X

She essentially says that (1) your brain will naturally find a balance between pleasure and pain, (2) if you continually shock your brain with hits of dopamine (from the sources you identify above, your default state when unstimulated will veer towards a slight discomfort or pain (she says its little gremlins gathering on the pain side to balance out the dopamine hits...when you take the dopamine out of the equation, the gremlins will still sit there), and (3) she finds usually its 30 days of abstinence before the default pain starts to dissipate as the brain learns there aren't the dopamine hits to balance out.

But as other have pointed out, just acceptance of the empty feeling (instead of running from it to the internet) is a big part of wisdom and well being. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional, etc.

After searching multiple lock app, this is the best that I found. The app is call 'Keep Me Out'. Only have to pay once for premium features with cheap price, compare to other lock app that have to pay yearly.

The app lock me from my phone for good. There's no way I can open it untill the time is up. You can set multiple lock shedule too, like 7am - 12pm.

I have quit social media and uninstalled many apps, and yet I still addicted to my phone. So I'm glad to found this app. I first found out about it, suggested from a comment in this group. Here's the app, check it out. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vikesh.dass.lockmeout

I hope you enjoyed the digital detox so far. I was on holiday and only had my flipphone with me so I just read your comment just now. This is the "put me down" app on playstore. I don't think there is an app in the apple store for it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sumatras.putmedown

i like Flight Simulator, which lets you choose an airplane flight and requires you to keep your phone on airplane mode for its duration.

&quot;Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain&quot;

&quot;The Natural Way To Draw&quot;

Do you have access to a public library? I used to borrow books on drawing first in case I give up, that way i wouldn't have invested a lot of money. You could also prob print out the drawabox lessons, you wont be able to watch the demos but at least the temptation to surf wont be there. Distraction-free youtube chrome extension helped me a lot in making sure i am consuming the content i wish to consume, i would HIGHly recommend adding on that extension.

As for book recs... if you are a beginner my best drawing rec has to be The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws. Its meant for nature journaling but also carries lessons on drawing. For the price (as of now, $25.5 USD on amazon) it has a little bit of everything - drawing insects, animals, birds, plants, flowers.. even rocks and trees and simple landscapes. but no humans or buildings/vehicles. i think its a good beginner-friendly book.

I think Buzzkill is the right app for you. It is very cheap, but very powerful, advanced and beautifully designed.

Add a rule, choose the apps you want, select what the notification must contain (or leave at default), pick the time you want the rule to be active and lastly, choose an action (batch). Then you can choose wich periodic interval you want.

I hope it helps.

Wish you the best.

The thing that determines whether studying / research is fascinating or horrible, for me, is how much I feel like I'm picking up the ideas and using them. Annotating is a good start, but also making connections, writing things down, etc.

tools like Roam Research and Plexus have helped make research into something that feels more personal + fun.

I use 'Block Apps:Digital Wellbeing" to schedule blocks for phone apps, and find it useful. It also has a good tracking function. Gives me a report each week of how much time I have spent on each app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wverlaek.block

Can relate, I have adhd too and the addictive nature of my phone definitely doesn’t help. Think it’s a hyper focus loop. The only thing that’s sort of worked for me is the kitchen safe - Just need to have the self discipline to actually use it on a regular basis lol. Drilled a hole into it so that I could charge my phone while it’s in there.

like this you mean?

This is the first thing I carved.

A simple wooden pipe using a single knife

This is a great set of knives for starters.

BraverCraft

Simon Tatham's Puzzles are a good choice. No ads, no in app purchases, no notifications: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.boyle.chris.sgtpuzzles&amp;gl=US

If you want to go non digital, the Windows versions can be printed: https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/

Or just pick up a puzzle book. Dollar Tree sells some cheap ones.

I'm trying to do something about it by creating a platform with more action focused content. It's local first, so you can actually see something on the app, then go see it locally or find a related event or connect with other people who show interest.

It's called Therr app and it's a work in progress. Would love some feedback if you have the time.

Apple https://apps.apple.com/us/app/therr/id1569988763?platform=iphone

Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.therrmobile