This week I’m writing—again!—about the Freedom app, and sharing a couple of powerful blog posts from their team that hit me right between the eyes.
The first post, The Role of Mindfulness in Tackling Digital Distractions, got me acting before I even finished reading it.
Two Immediate Changes
First, I looked at how many browser tabs I had open.
Fifteen. Exactly fifteen.
So, I created a new window with just one tab—the one I was actually working on. This blog.
Second, I moved my phone into another room. Notifications were already off, and it was on silent. But I kept finding myself glancing at a business group chat every few seconds, just to see if someone had added a comment. That’s not focus—that’s compulsion.
The post shared a simple but piercing three-question digital mindfulness check:
- Why am I reaching for this? (Curiosity or compulsion?)
- What do I actually need? (Connection, rest, stimulation?)
- Will this serve me or drain me?
Those three questions alone are worth printing and sticking to your monitor.
The next post from Freedom—Mental Overstimulation in the Digital Age: How to Reclaim Calm and Focus—was another wake-up call.
This line jumped out at me:
“We now check our phones over 205 times a day—a sign not of productivity, but of addiction to stimulation. That’s the true cost of digital overwhelm.”
A few more insights that stopped me in my tracks:
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Chronic digital input rewires your brain, damages focus, and elevates stress.
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Reducing screen time calms the nervous system, improves sleep, and enhances creativity.
Deep Work and the Power of Boredom
I love the term “deep work.”
To me, deep work means blocking distractions and focusing on one thing for a solid stretch of time—say, 90 minutes.
No phone.
No email.
No 20 browser tabs open.
Just one meaningful task.
The authors even remind us that boredom is productive. When you allow yourself to be bored, your brain starts generating creative connections that constant stimulation would normally smother.
Final Thought
If you want to reclaim calm and focus in a world that thrives on distraction, start with these two reads from Freedom.
Thanks for reading—and maybe try closing a few tabs before you move on.