What if at least 50% of your screen time was repurposed on your #1 priority?

Now imagine that added up over 1 year.

Is that enough time to make even minor progress?

Let's try it now.

You spend 2 hours and 15 minutes on your phone on average. But you decide to become more intentional with your day.

Now, 1 hour per day can be used for that new job you've been wanting to pursue.

Or that creative hobby you've been procrastinating on.

Or that workout routine you don’t have time for.

In theory, you gain:

• 7 hours per week

• 30 hours per month

• 365 hours per year

According to Kaufman, it takes 20 hours of deliberate practice to learn a skill well enough to overcome Beginner's Frustration.

Technically, you could learn 10-12 skills in a year with only 1 hour of focus per day.

Realistically, you could spend 6 months, finding a skill to learn, then the next 6 becoming proficient at it.

Instead of scrolling Instagram, you could be building a purpose-led business.

Instead of replying under big accounts on X, you could be getting feedback on your offer.

Instead of playing hot potato with YouTube videos you could be, creating your own or writing a newsletter and seeing what resonates with your audience.

But we don't do this.

We think it's impossible or we need to be ready first. We make excuses that we may not be conscious of.

I'm not blaming you.

Because there's a bigger problem:

Infinite distractions are fighting for your attention.

The best engineers at YouTube, Meta, and TikToke are paid hella money to keep you smoking that Digital Crackpipe.

You've become programmed (unconsciously) to open your phone, leading to the doomscrolling cycle.

Rewiring your brain for better rewards

Why do we continue to do this despite knowing that it's destroying our deepest desires?

Picking up your phone masks the resistance to putting off your biggest goals.

Look, I get it.

You’re driven by purpose at your core, but on the surface, you’re drowning in the opinions, achievements, and lifestyles of others.

You may be using social media to learn, but you’ve been learning for too long and not taking action.

Action requires focus and concentrated creative energy, that we spend on over-consuming content.

The environment (digital, physical, mental) you spend the most time in is killing your drive to produce great work.

• People you follow

• Family and old friends with unaligned values

• Self-talk that’s keeping you stuck in loops:

  • Overthinking

  • Procrastination

  • Perfectionism disguised as insecurity

You want to do it all but you’re spread thin because of lack of focus and distraction.

Overly concerned with metrics and the opinions of others.

I've spent well over a decade addicted to technology.

1.5 years ago I decided I was done. Now I’m redirecting my sporadic energy and high stimulation to create and learn about interesting things (my highest value).

I used to scroll when I knew I had an important deadline that week.

I thought learning from YouTube and finding the perfect video would solve all my issues to start a business.

So I experimented with all the fancy systems. Some that don’t work well:

• Deleting apps

• Grayscale mode

• Locking your phone in a box

• Quitting social media entirely

These are worth a shot but if you tried these without success, read on to learn about the systems that work for me now.

As a result of the new systems, I've experienced:

• Increased time and energy for things that matter.

• Less anxiety from keeping up and aligning with meaningful goals I care about.

• New opportunities to push my goals further because I have free time to reflect and play.

Less time on socials means more time to discover, build, or recharge.

Here are my 5 best tips to control your attention (ranked from easiest, less effective to hardest, most effective):

The Dopamine Control Method

1) Mute and unfollow

How I rewired my brain:

Unfollow and mute people – real and online.

If someone doesn't inspire, educate, or bring me joy, I don't need the clutter.

Become intentional with your friend feed and let go of those who no longer support your growth.

You’re the sum of the 5 or so people you hang out with most.

Make sure they inspire the greatness you aspire to be like.

2) No Notifications

The only thing distracting me these days is my mind (and my family outside my office, hehe).

Fewer sounds from your phone means more unbroken focus time.

Especially on social media.

Being available to everyone, all the time is a disservice to yourself.

I keep all my notifications silenced except for messages and calls from my immediate family.

If someone needs you, they should have to work hard to reach you.

3) Add friction

Simple, but effective.

If you unconsciously check Instagram on the toilet, add friction.

Use 1 or more of these, depending on how bad your habit is:

1. App and extension blockers

2. Delete the apps from your phone

3. Sign out of socials from all browsers

I use the onesec app to add a 6-second delay between opening the app. This forces me to create space and intention behind why I’m clicking it.

Not sponsored but I pay $25 for the year.

Worth it to save hours of my time.

On desktop, I use, this Chrome extension to block the newsfeed (it’s free).

I don’t need an algorithm telling me what and how to think.

4) Digital Declutter (micro)

Last 3 months, I took my social media consumption seriously.

I did a 2-week declutter that left me feeling reenergized and ready to reenter the matrix.

Can you guess what I’m going to recommend?

False.

It’s not a 30-day or even a 14-day declutter.

But a 2-3 day 100% no technology challenge. Trust me. A few days without your buzzing feed won’t kill you. It may even add years to your life if you integrate it properly (anti-anxiety).

Omit all optional technologies, except if you need them for work.

Then set strict rules on reintroducing them, one by one.

Binging would defeat the point.

The Aftermath Experiment

After decluttering, I've been experimenting with a new two-part system.

1) Slow Sundays

Every Sunday, I stay off of social media completely.

Not thinking about work at all would be ideal but I’m working on that now.

I’ve been reading Rest by Alex Soojong-Kim Pang after tons of recommendations.

As I write this, the power of rest energizes me to do higher-quality work.

The idea is to get a full day’s charge to sustainably

• Be more creative in your job

• Increase focus with full mental capacity

• Allow your brain to solve problems during downtime

2) Timed Tech Rules

Remember the onesec app?

It has a feature to block apps of your choice for a designated period.

Mine are:

• Instagram

• X (Twitter)

• Discord

Other apps like YouTube have the friction screen and a prompt to state my intention so I need a reason to open it.

Not just when I’m bored.

My system only allows social media Monday - Saturday, Noon - 8 pm.

Outside of those hours. I’m locked out.

Screw you, algorithm…

I’m going outside.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Please take 5 minutes for the short quiz below.

I want to help you where you need more clarity.

You can also send me a message. Just hit reply. I respond to every email.

Performance with Purpose Quiz — 5-minute quiz to understand your deep life goals so we can create a sustainable success strategy.

See you next week!