20 Years Of Fighting Procrastination [Part 13] - Your Phone Is A Menace

Your phone can be both a powerful tool and a massive productivity killer—how you manage it makes all the difference. Here are the core points from the lesson:

• To prevent unconscious distractions, keep your phone physically out of reach during deep work and turn off nearly all notifications by default
• Replace passive phone checking with active forecasting—mentally plan what you’ll do next based on the outcome of a task to stay engaged
• Use batching strategies (e.g. scheduled email checks) to reduce context switching and maintain focus
• Aim to move up the PEM framework: from Pleasure (mindless scrolling) → Engagement (being immersed in your craft) → Meaning (working toward a long-term purpose)