Nir Eyal defines traction as actions that pull you toward your goals and distraction as actions that pull you away. Write down which is which, then eliminate one distraction today. Ask yourself "Is this giving me traction?" at every choice point.
Hi, this is Brian.
Welcome back to another Optimize plus one.
Nir Eyal wrote the playbook that pretty much all of the major tech companies use to create their super compelling, addictive, irresistible websites, apps, etc. The book is called Hooked. Then a funny thing happened. Nir found himself hooked to the very technology he helped create. So he wrote another book and this one's called Indistractible. It's all about how to unhook ourselves from mindless use of technology so we can use technology wisely to achieve our goals.
I loved it.
Highly recommend it.
Check out the notes. Today we're going to talk about an awesome distinction from that book. Here's Nir I quote Imagine a line that represents the value of everything you do throughout your day. To the right, the actions are positive. To the left, they are negative. On the right side of the continuum is traction, which comes from the Latin trahere, meaning to draw or pull. We can think of traction as the actions that draw us toward what we want in life. On the left side is distraction, the opposite of traction. Derived from the same Latin root, the word means the drawing away of the mind. Distractions impede us from making progress toward the life we envision. All behaviors, whether they tend toward traction or distraction, are prompted by triggers, internal or external. END QUOTE Traction vs distraction now, we think a lot about being distracted, but I've never thought, not once of its opposite traction. Have you? Now, as an etymological nerd, I just love the origin story of these words. Let's review traction. It literally means to draw or pull. Distraction, on the other hand, means drawing.
Away of the mind. Isn't that Fascinating?
That's today's +1. Two steps. First, if you feel so inspired, grab a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle of it. On the right side of that line, write down the things you do that give you traction toward your most important goals. And on the left, write down the things that distract you from expressing the best version of yourself. Second, pick one distraction, cross it off and commit to not doing it today. Minus one distraction for the plus one traction win a little bonus at choice points today. Remember this little distinction. Ask yourself self, is this giving me traction toward being the optimist best me or is it a distraction? The answer will be clear. We just need to remember to ask.
And then do what needs to get done.
Enough time so it runs on autopilot. Remember, I quote Again, traction draws you toward what you want in life, while distraction pulls you away. Little PS Here this is basically exactly what we talked about in the very, very first plus one on Destiny Math.
Check that one out.
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