Thread by @Roamfu

1/ NEXT LEVEL FREEDOM: ELECTED ATTENTION

In Scripture, exorcists need to find out the name of a devil first before they could banish it.

h/t to @AlexanderELundy for naming a devil I've been attempting to exorcise: unelected leisure.

How do you defeat this boss?

2/ This devil wants you to spend your limited lifetime for entities which may not have your best interest in mind.

For instance, I have wasted so much of my lifetime in YouTube. Some entity bought my attention pretty cheap (I'm an advertiser so I know). And I mindlessly sold it.

3/ This also doesn't mean robotic productivity. I want a lot of rest and a lot of leisure, but I want them to be something I choose: lifting, biking, hiking, reading, hanging out with friends and family, watching a good movie.

3/ "Programmable attention" is the most used phrasing for freedom from unelected leisure. But its creator @andy_matuschak thinks the name is too robotic.

So how about "elected attention," when you—and not a social platform algorithm—choose what you pay attention to across time.

4/ The most progress I've had in eliminating unelected leisure was recognizing that there are two minds at play here: The Stallion and the Rider.

When I was younger, I naively thought I could just use discipline. It wasn't sustainable.

https://twitter.com/Roamfu/status/1278321043623555072

5/ "Design trumps willpower," as @bjfogg's popular adage goes.

Giving my stallion a menu of meaningful (aligned to my Rider's vision) & exciting things to do usually does the job.

+ removing distractions (eg leaving my phone somewhere else). Others: medium.com/life-tactics/h…