Internet Detox

I will be using the Internet only to get things done for a month.

This means I won’t be using the Internet for:

1. Watching videos or movies. This includes YouTube, Instagram, Apple TV, etc.

2. Using Twitter.

I have blocked these sites on my laptop using Site Blocker Panda, which is a Chrome extension I built.

On my phone, I uninstalled these apps. I also disabled Chrome and Samsung Internet to prevent myself from using the web to access them. I kept Firefox as my only browser, with a site blocker enabled to block these apps.

3. Listening to any podcasts.

4. Slack is another source of distraction. I will check Slack only once every 60 minutes and will limit my channels to those that are directly work-related. I will check the social channels only during lunch hours.

5. I will check my work email only right before work, during lunch, and before I sign off.

6. I will spend the extra time outside working hours on books, programming, or engaging in outdoor activities.

7. I am allowed to use websites that help me get work done, like GitHub, ChatGPT, etc.

8. I am allowed to use apps like WhatsApp that keep me in touch with friends and family.

9. I plan to reevaluate what I should reintroduce to my life after completing the 30 days.

10. I am allowed to spend 15 minutes on Hacker News per day after I finish working on any side project. However, the catch is that I am only allowed to use the Lynx terminal browser for accessing it to avoid mindless scrolling.

The following are new rules I added after starting this experiment:

11. I am allowed to check Instagram messages in the web app, but only at the end of the day.

12. I can check Strava only while posting.

Log

Day 1

• As expected, Slack turned out to be the main source of distraction. I need to be more mindful.
• I didn’t open Twitter or Hacker News.
• While going for a run, I tried to find a loophole and listened to a meditation session for a while in the Waking Up app. However, it didn’t last long since I didn’t have Internet. The run was more intense and fulfilling.
• Strava turned out to be another source of distraction. The new rule is that I will check Strava only after going for a run.
• I found another loophole by opening chat.zulip.org. The new rule is that I can only check chat.zulip.org at the end of the day.
• I should probably use the dopamine from these apps as a reward mechanism after deep work sessions. I need to give this more thought.

Day 2

• Saying that I should be more mindful about Slack wasn’t very actionable. I should stop using the desktop app and switch to the web version. I’ll only check Slack after finishing an intensive work session, limiting my usage to a maximum of 5 minutes.

Day 3

• It’s Saturday! I resisted the urge to listen to a new podcast episode while running.
• I devoted most of the day to reading “Measure What Matters,” completing nearly 30%. It’s been a while since I made such significant progress in one day.
• I accessed Strava a few times. I need to add Strava to wellbeing mode and enable wellbeing mode continually, ensuring it restarts automatically if deactivated, for instance, when tracking a run.

Day 4 and 5

• Strava and Slack. I forgot to add Strava to wellbeing mode. Today I added Strava to wellbeing mode and made attention mode automatically start when Wifi is connected.
• Need to uninstall Slack.
• I listened to a meditation focused podcast while going for run. I think I have to make an exemption for listening to the meditation podcast since it actually improves the quality of life. For example I did the second fastest 10k while listening to it today. The first time I did a 10k was also while listening to that podcast.

Day 30

• I completed 30 days.
• In the past 30 days, I kept the usage of Hacker News, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube etc to bare minimum.
  • I installed Instagram for 2 days while I was on a trip to Stockholm to post stories.
  • I need to evaluate more on whether I should encourage this behavior.
• I think my sense of well being had significantly increased by not constantly checking Instagram and Hacker News. I plan to stick with this. This means
  • Instagram would remain uninstalled in phone and blocked in browsers. I am allowed to check Instagram once every few days for messages.
  • Hacker news would remain blocked. Again allowed to check it once every few days by going through the top posts of the week in Algolia.
• My ban of podcast during run only survived a few days. Podcasts makes my runs more enjoyable so I am going to continue listening to them for a while.
• I started to spend more time on side projects. I open sourced diff.blog which was something I have been procrastinating for months now.