365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 139: On Tolerating an Absence of Novelty

(…)  the  use  of  a  distracting  service  does  not,  by  itself,  reduce  your

brain’s  ability  to  focus.  It’s  instead  the  constant  switching  from  low-

stimuli/high-value  activities  to  high-stimuli/low-value  activities,  at  the

slightest hint of boredom or cognitive challenge, that teaches your mind to

never tolerate an absence of novelty.

—Cal Newport

 

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The  ability  to  thrive  in  low-stimuli  environments,  such  as  when

working without distractions, is one of the most powerful demonstrations of

self-control.  Sadly,  most  people  don’t  possess  it,  because  they  have

developed  a  habit  of  constantly  interrupting  their  focus  with  low-value,

highly-stimulating  activities,  such  as  browsing  social  media  or  shopping

online.

If you’re unable to tolerate an absence of novelty, you’ll be unable to

focus on anything for long enough to see it through to the end. Therefore,

it’s  key  to  develop  the  willpower  to  resist  the  temptation  to  entertain

yourself when things get boring or too challenging for your mind.

I  suggest  a  simple  practice:  follow  the  Pomodoro  technique  of  time

management  in  which  you  work  for  25  minutes  and  then  give  yourself  5

minutes to distract yourself with whatever you want. Once the 5 minutes are

up, you have to get back to work, and after 25 minutes more of work, you

can  yet  again  let  yourself  enjoy  high-stimuli,  low-value  activities  for  5

minutes .

The Pomodoro technique works so well because it doesn’t force people

to exert incredible amounts of willpower. It’s only 25 minutes of work, so

even if you’re usually interrupting work every 10 minutes, you’ll only need

to wait for 15 minutes more before you can indulge.

After following this technique for several weeks or months, you should

notice  an  improvement  in  the  quality  of  your  work.  Soon,  25  minutes  of

highly-focused  work  will  no  longer  be  a  challenge  for  you,  and  you’ll

greatly strengthen your self-control.

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