How to Create a Distraction-Free Phone

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jake Knapp loves tech. He grew up using Apple II and then Mac computers, browsing bulletin boards, and making his own games. As an adult, he worked at Microsoft on the Encarta CD-ROM, before being hired by Google, where he worked on Gmail, co-founded Google Meet, and created Google Ventures' Design Sprint process. Today, he's a venture capitalist and consultant for start-ups, as well as a writer. But, if Jake was an early adopter and booster of the upsides of technology, he was also early in sensing its not-so-positive side effects. Twelve years ago, unhappy with the pull his smartphone was exerting on him, he decided to curb its distractions. He continues to use this distraction-free phone today. Today on the show, I talk to Jake about what motivated him to change his relationship with his phone over a decade ago and what steps he took to do so, including how and why he lives life without a web browser or email app on his phone. We get into what realizations about work and life Jake's gotten from having a distraction-free phone, why he doesn't think using tools like Screen Time or a dumbphone are always the best solutions to reducing the phone itch, and how he also cuts down on distractions on his desktop computer.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness
0:10.4	podcast Jake Knapp loves tech.
0:14.0	He grew up using Apple II and then Mac computers,
0:16.5	browsing bullets and boards and making his own games.
0:19.4	As an adult, he worked at Microsoft on the Jakarta CD-ROM before being hired by Google,
0:24.0	where he worked on Gmail, co-founded Google Meet, and created Google Venture's design sprint process.
0:30.0	Today he's a venture capitalist and consultant for startups as well as a writer.
0:33.7	Today in the show I talked to Jake about what motivated him to change his relationship with his phone
0:37.7	over a decade ago and what steps he took to do so, including how and why he lives life without a web browser or email app on his phone.
0:45.0	We get into what realization about work and life Jake's gotten from having a distraction-free phone.
0:49.6	Why he doesn't think using tools like screen time or a dumb phone are always the best solutions
0:53.2	to reducing the phone itch and how he also cuts down on distractions on his
0:56.7	desktop computer. After shows over check at our show notes at AIM.
1:00.3	I S slash phone.
1:15.0	All right, Jake nap, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having me, Brett.
1:17.0	So several years ago, we had your co-author of your book, Make Time, on the podcast to discuss how we can make time for it really matters in our lives.
1:27.0	And one aspect that you guys talk about in the book is spending less time on our smartphone and you're an expert in this because 12 years
1:37.3	ago you're an early adopter of trying to reduce screen time on your phone you set out to make your phone your iPhone
1:45.4	distraction free 12 years ago that's a long time in internet time and things have
1:51.9	changed a lot since then.
1:53.4	There's a lot more to be distracted by for sure.
1:56.3	Back in 2012, what were the biggest distractors on your iPhone?
	...

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