I pick up my phone to send someone a work message. Fifteen minutes later, I’ve read other messages, checked the weather, and watched a funny TikTok somebody sent me. The one thing I haven’t done? Sent the message I picked up the phone for.

This is something I struggle with, and I suspect I’m in good company. I have a reason to use my phone, but the detours are so easy that I forget why I’m there. Which got me thinking: what would happen if I made those detours a little more inconvenient?

Tip of the Week: Add a small obstacle to a habit you want less of, and remove one from a habit you want more of. Make your environment support your intentions.

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The Theory Behind

Ease influences what we do. As BJ Fogg explains in his Behavior Model, behavior occurs when motivation, ability, and a prompt come together. Ability includes how easy something is to do. When checking an app takes almost no effort, even a passing desire can be enough to get us there. A small obstacle changes that equation. We can still choose the distraction, but it takes more effort to follow through. That gives us a practical lever beyond repeatedly telling ourselves to focus.

We can deliberately reverse the rules of habit formation. In Atomic Habits, James Clear’s third law of behavior change is “make it easy.” To break a habit, he reverses it: “make it difficult.” We can apply this by logging out of an app, removing a shortcut, or keeping a distracting device farther away. These changes add steps between an impulse and a response. The useful question becomes: where could we add just enough effort to interrupt an automatic detour.

We can also change what invites the distraction. Fogg’s model identifies prompts as another ingredient in behavior. Applied to our phones, a notification can invite us to check something we weren’t thinking about a moment earlier. Turning off an unnecessary alert changes the invitation; logging out changes the effort required to respond. Those are different adjustments. Together, they give us a way to examine a recurring distraction: what starts it, and what makes it so easy to continue?

What I’ve Learned

I’m still figuring this out myself. I love George Mack’s idea of having a “kale phone” for useful tools and a “cocaine phone” for all the irresistible distractions. It captures the two devices living inside the one in my pocket. I used to use Brick to block distracting apps, and then I stopped. So I’m thinking about my next experiment. Arthur Brooks also recommends creating “tech-free times” and “tech-free zones,” specific moments and places where your phone doesn’t get an invitation. Maybe I’ll start with meals or keeping it outside the bedroom. That’s part of why I write these newsletters: they make me pause, question my own habits, and share what I’m considering with you.

Make It Happen

1. Pick one recurring detour. Be specific: “I open Instagram while replying to work messages.”

2. Identify what starts it. Is it an alert, a visible icon, or opening your phone without a clear next action?

3. Add one obstacle. Log out, remove the shortcut, or limit that app to your computer. Choose something you can maintain.

4. Make the intended action easier. Put your messaging shortcut where you can find it immediately. Open directly to the conversation you need.

5. Review it during your weekly planning. Did the change reduce the detour? Keep it, adjust it, or try a different obstacle. Repeat with another habit once this setup helps.

This week, what’s one thing you could make slightly more inconvenient to protect your attention?

Inconveniently,

Jorge Luis Pando

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