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The best way to approach this is to start by mechanically removing the possibility of doing the thing you wish to avoid. In the cases you mention:

- An alarm clock without a snooze button: https://www.amazon.com/Travelwey-Clock-Outlet-Powered-Operat...

- An app that you can use to block facebook and other sites from your phone: https://freedom.to/

There are people who claim that this sort of thing is 'a crutch'. These same people probably would not encourage a dieter to keep a packet of cookies on their desk though. Regardless, crutches are useful whether you've broken your ankle or your mindfulness.

You can and should build more active mindfulness practices on top of this.



As someone who's pretty pathetically addicted to the internet at times, having Freedom on my laptop and phone has been a huge plus.

I'm sure I could work around it very easily (I know I can on the laptop) but the shame factor involved is enough to stop me generally and I'm surprised there isn't a huge market for this kind of thing. Been gradually limiting my usage of certain sites down to tiny windows of the day and it's left me with so much more time. Along with that, it's largely removed those sites from my reflex routine of checking for updates... several of them I've just dropped entirely.

Used a few free ones beforehand and the risk of it messing up my hosts file or w/e was always too high to actively recommend to anyone.


> Along with that, it's largely removed those sites from my reflex routine of checking for updates... several of them I've just dropped entirely.

Removing the Facebook app from my phone and logging out when I was done with a session on the computer was a great improvement in my life. Even the barrier of typing the password in was enough for me to avoid mindlessly browsing through stuff whenever I finished a small task.

It's been about 6 years since I took these steps, and I don't regret them. Since the Cambridge Analytica stuff came out, I've been dabbling with dropping FB entirely, but there are some people who I like receiving updates from, but they are only on FB.


Of course it's a crutch. A crutch is a device used to help you heal, without with healing would take much longer or be much more ineffective.

We need to stop demonizing crutches.


I use "Space" which is a fantastic app that shows you how often you use apps and the like. You can set limits where it asks you if you are sure you want to use your phone. It also suggests taking a break from your phone at set times. https://findyourphonelifebalance.com/


> An alarm clock without a snooze button: https://www.amazon.com/Travelwey-Clock-Outlet-Powered-Operat....

'cept that one DOES have a snooze button?




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