# How to Beat Distraction and Still Enjoy Life  ## Metadata - Author: [[The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast]] - Full Title: How to Beat Distraction and Still Enjoy Life - Category: #podcasts - Source: snipd - Last Highlighted: 2025-02-12 17:32:35.799146+00:00 - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/2d157d1a-b337-4fb8-8705-05bd246f1ed0 ## Highlights - **Traction vs. Distraction** - Distraction is any action that pulls you away from what you planned. - Traction is any action that pulls you towards your intended goals. Transcript: Nir Eyal Sure, sure. So let's start with, okay, let's back up. What is distraction? Let's start with some definitions here. So the best way to understand what distraction is, is to understand what distraction is not. What is the opposite of distraction? Most people, if you ask them, what's the opposite of distraction? They'll say focus, right? I don't want be distracted. I want to be focused. That's not exactly right. The opposite of distraction is not focus. If you look at the origin of the word, the opposite of distraction is traction. Of course it is, right? Traction and distraction, they're opposites. So traction and distraction both end in the same six letters, A-C that spells action, reminding us that distraction is not something that happens to you, okay? It is an action that you yourself took. So traction, by definition, is any action that pulls you towards what you said you were going to do, things that you do with intent, things that move you closer to your values and help You become the kind of person you want to become. Those are acts of traction. The opposite, distraction, is anything that is not what you plan to do in advance, something that pulls you away from your values, further away from becoming the person you want to become. So this isn't just semantics. This is really, really important because the difference between traction and distraction is one word, and that one word is intent. As Dorothy Parker said, the time you plan to waste is not wasted time. So I think we need to stop vilifying and moralizing and medicalizing what people do with their spare time. Like, let's stop harping on, oh, video games are melting your brain, and stop using social media, and stop doing this, stop doing that. Look, anything you want to do with your time and attention is fine, right? Why is playing video games morally inferior to watching golf on TV? I don't know the difference. If that's what you want to do with your time, fine. Stop worrying about how other people spend their time. Ask yourself, how do you want to spend your time in accordance with your values? So if you plan for that, if that's what you said you were going to do in advance is play video games or go on social media or watch YouTube videos, awesome. Do it. Enjoy it. Don't feel guilty about it, but do it on your schedule and according to your values, not someone else's, certainly not the tech company's schedule. Conversely, just because something is a work-related task doesn't mean it's not a distraction. So I'll give you a perfect example in my own life. For years, I would sit down at my desk and I would say, okay, I'm going to get started. I'm going to work on that big important project that I've been delaying and procrastinating on. Nothing's going to get in my way. I'm not going to get distracted. Here I go. I'm going to get started. But first, let me check some email, right? Let me just scroll that Slack channel. Let me just catch up on industry news because that's a work-related task. I'm being productive, right? But if it's not what I said I was going to do in advance, it's just as much of a distraction as playing Candy Crush or whatever, you know, stupid activity might distract you. So if it's not what you said you're going to do in advance, it is by definition a distraction. ([Time 0:05:32](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b7c4cf26-22f5-458d-9c44-56675604e84d)) - Tags: #starred