Reddit reviews Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked

The guide to how to do it:

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591847788/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_10WrDbBQA46KY

The book about how it’s damaging us:

Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HNJIK70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_v1WrDbAC84ESN

Hey yo, thanks for stopping in with your question! I'm 34, a teacher, and I have the same problem. Seriously. Right now I am procrastinating working on a letter of recommendation ;)

Part of dealing with overcoming this bad habit is understanding why it happens. Basically, animals like things that give us a burst of happiness in the form of endorphins being released and absorbed by our brain cells. Many different things give us these endorphin rushes. Eating a tasty food, seeing something beautiful, laughing at something funny, etc. But one of the best things to give us endorphin rushes--and part of the reason we as humans have been so successful as a species--is collecting new information/learning something.

We need to collect new information. Our brains are wired from birth to desire it like air. We collect it over our lives to navigate and survive our surroundings, then pass it on to the next generation as best we can. Now, of course can do collect new information by, you know, learning something, but the problem is that learning something often takes effort. The deeper the understanding, the more the effort. So learning subjects that are complex take a lot of work before you get that endorphin rush payoff when you understand something for the first time. By contrast, connecting with people via text/social media, reading things on the internet, playing games, etc, these are all things that give us endorphin rushes with far far less effort. The more we use them, the more our brain expects to get that endorphin rush with little effort, so when something comes along that requires more effort for the same endorphin rush, our brains rebel and are like, fuck this, why are we putting in all this work for endorphins when there's an easier way sitting right next to us on the table there?

Now (hopefully) you might be thinking to yourself, gee, isn't this similar to drug addiction where people become so used to the rush from drugs that regular things in life don't do it for them anymore? And the answer is yes it absolutely is. I have a book right next to me on my desk I am planning on reading this summer that specifically deconstructs how some types of social media and casual games are specifically designed to trigger addictive behavior in their users. There was also a television interview recently that discussed the same thing.

Now. I am not saying everyone needs to throw out their cell phones and other devices. Clearly there are massive benefits to these technologies as well as risks. We just need to understand these risks better and learn to manage our own behavior a little more consciously. Just like there is a difference between having an alcoholic drink every once in a while and being a clinical alcoholic, there's a responsible way to use tools and technologies that might otherwise be dangerous.

Which is exactly what you're already asking about, so awesome! Getting started on such behaviors now, while your brain is young and growing, will have massive benefits as you get older. Active techniques like the Pomodoro Method work for many people, I definitely recommend checking it out. I also actually recommend checking out mindfulness meditation. Regular meditation for as little as a few minutes a day has had scientifically proven effects in long-term rewiring of the brain to improve focus and clarity. There are a ton of websites and videos and apps and resources out there. I recommend the app HeadSpace, it has a free guided ten-session series that really walks you through the basis of mindfulness meditation and why it's important. You can pay for an account later if you want more but their free intro ten-series is fantastic and if thats all you work with you will be way ahead of the game.

Good luck!