The library behind the work
Where to go deeper
The works that started this investigation, and the practices that support it. Curated, not exhaustive — every item here earned its place.
Books
7Deep Work
Cal Newport
The case for focused, undistracted effort as a rare and valuable skill.
Stolen Focus
Johann Hari
A sweeping look at the forces eroding attention — individual and systemic.
Digital Minimalism
Cal Newport
A philosophy for using technology on purpose, in service of your values.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
How small, identity-based changes compound into a different life.
Flow
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The psychology of complete absorption — attention's most rewarding state.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
Joe Dispenza
On the loop between thought, emotion, and identity — and how to interrupt it.
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
Why meaning, not comfort, is what sustains a human being.
Essays & talks
1Why You Can't Pay Attention
Selected reading list
A rotating set of essays and talks on the attention economy. Coming soon.
Tools
2A grayscale phone
Practice
Removing color strips away much of what makes the screen compulsive.
Single-tasking timers
Practice
A simple timer turns vague intention into one bounded, finishable block.
Practices
2The daily boredom window
Practice
Ten minutes a day of deliberate under-stimulation. Boredom, on purpose.
Phone-free first hour
Practice
Protect the first hour after waking from the feed. Begin the day as yourself.
This library grows as the work does. New additions are shared first in The Weekly Attention Report.
Reclaim your attention
This is the beginning of getting your mind back.
Attention Science is a long-term investigation, written in the open. Start the path, take the audit, or get one quiet letter a week.