84 Comments (page 1)

Awesome! That was the best piece of advice I've read all year! Thanks for sharing that!

There's no conversation or mildly arguing anymore. Everyone just googles it and conversation ends. You can't tell if someone is smart or not. It's a very scary world now and, yes, even at my age, I can relate to all of the above. For some reason I think I have to watch everything I've dvr'd, and I've been sitting on my ass doing just that all day! At least you see it, Kyle. Good job.

Thanks for commenting! Let us know how you do with this!

Thanks Cathy! We got to put technology in its place!!

All year - quite the compliment! Thanks Jonathan!

Down with the DVR!

Thanks for bringing this important issue to light. I, and others, know this to be true, but are weak willed and feel alone and powerless. This concept is empowering and could result in so many great accomplishments. You are awesome!

Kyle aka Start-Up Bro, This is absolutely brilliant... There is the term "out of the box thinking", you have no box. Thank You for sharing this!

Wow, thank you!! I'd love to know how you progress through the week

Thank you, dude. (Lebowski!)

That's a great Roosevelt quote, and StayFocusd is perfect. Many thanks. Re: information input See dopamine + mesolimbic pathway. Yes, I realize the irony of a comment on this post linking to Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine#Learning.2C_reinforcement.2C_and_reward-seeking_behavior

Thanks for sharing the goods here, Casey :) Our brains are crazy little things

I'm in, or should I say out? :) had this discussion w a few folks last week and time for output - I too love, love to read but it's stifling true learning/doing for me. Later ..... C

The force is with you!

I'm in. See you guys next Monday

Hell yeah Elliott!!! Annnnnd we're off!

Ha, Just noticed the baby success kid is eating sand.

Lol I never noticed that

If you would like to try Sensory Deprivation I would be happy to accommodate; I have a tank. Do some research about it and if you want to try, just contact me.

It all makes so much sense now...

We'll be seeing you shortly :)

So if we have questions we can emaail you or comment here ans we will get a quick reply. Meaning you didn't delete/quit email and you're gonna get distracted from it? LOL Anyways I'm up for the chaallenge starting today that I just found this article. I have stopped using facebook in the paast for like 5 months and I can tell the first 4-5 days are the most difficult to hold. After that it becomes natural and it feels really good. I really miss that time of natural-me wiithout all that digital information crap so I'm up for the challenge.

Oh yeah! I'm doing limited emailing and commenting - it's no distraction to hang out with you guys! Smartynetwork looks great, looking forward to seeing what you do with it. I've taken a similar break from Facebook with awesome results. What did you find from your break? Cheers!

Thanks Kyle, just like you, I quit the JOB scam one week ago to never return back to it alive and at SmartyNetwork I'm building a software company. From the break, more free time to reflect on my life and career endeavors. More time to spend doing things I like and hanging out more. In general I noticed I was happier than usual and not attached to any of the online stuff, kind of more independent you know. I didn't have that mind virus to login to fb several times a day just for the habit of doing so. It's a mind virus many people suffer from today :)

Congratulations Altin!! That's fantastic! I think you're going to have a lot of success with smartynetwork. It IS like a virus! There is literally a biological trigger that makes our brains need that kind of stimulation. Check out the links Casey shared in a comment above (or later, when you're done with the challenge :P): "See dopamine + mesolimbic pathway. Yes, I realize the irony of a comment on this post linking to Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine#Learning.2C_reinforcement.2C_and_reward-seeking_behavior " I love the word "independent" to describe facebook freedom. You're not tied to the highlight reels of other people's lives and spending. Thanks for the insights! Can't wait to chat more in the next few days!

hell yeah, I'm gonna succeed or die trying. that's why i cut off every other possibility for me to "create" excuses. Right now i have all the time and freedom I want so I'm working hard daily on that goal. I wish the best for you too. By the way I first visited your site about 3-4 months ago when I was dragging myself too that job and so was searchinng "how to quit your job" lol :)

Hell yeah man! Throw yourself off the cliff! That's exactly what Quentin Tarantino did - he said he never set up a plan B because if he did he probably would have taken it. That's awesome you found us with that search term! James Altucher, one of my favorite bloggers, has a post with that title. Did we appear before him in the search terms?

Oh, the irony! Missed the time frame on this challenge because of the very reason for this challenge... StayFocus'd installed. Post shared everywhere. Ready to make stuff. This was written for me. And I thought I was the only one...

No worries, Wally! You have almost half the time left to do it with us. At day 3 I was already noticing serious benefits (and dealing with serious struggle!) so hop on it now! And you can always take it to a week from today. That will be way easier to do if you get a friend on board. It's been much easier for me to do this because of all the awesome support everyone has been giving here and on email. Feel free to email me, too! And thanks A TON for sharing this. That may be the highest compliment a writer can be paid. Commenting and actually participating are up there, too :)

I'm an addict too! What a great post, thank you.

Are you going to join us for the second half?

Like I told Kyle in an email exchange, it's hard to cut yourself off completely when your livelihood depends on being online, including social media. I've been doing my best to keep everything work-related though, and spending less time with things that can be put off for a week or even a few days. Since Saturday I've come up with an idea for a new startup that's more in the non-profit vein. I've already bought domains, set up a temporary landing page and begun contacting investors and potential partners. Waiting on trademark approval and then BOOM! Let your brain do some breathing, it makes life better.

Great Wally, however I think it would be a good idea to validate your startup idea via a survey (surveymonkey.com) or fb questions and see if people actually want it. We entrepreneurs often tend to come up with an idea, fall in love with it and spend many weeks to see that at the end it doesn't get much of attention. that's why it is always recommended to validate your ides as soon as possible. best of luck you your ventures ;)

Thanks Altin! I think you are absolutely correct about the we love/they look at us blankly reaction to our own ideas. This one is a bit different, however. I don't want to tip my hand too much yet, but the idea is not new and to the right people is a definite go. I've been getting attention without even searching much, which is why I'm moving on it. Like I said, it's not an idea to make me wealthy, rather to encourage serving others. Cheers!

I can't wait to see this thing! I think testing validation is important if you're going to invest a ton into anything ( Will did a great post on how to do that a while ago https://startupbros.com/3-steps-to-validate-your-business-idea-for-free/ ) There are lots of ways to prove validation, though, and it sounds like you got somebody else to do it for you lol I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!!

hahhaha altin your site is hilarious!!

LOL thanks Kyle, that's the point. I hope you'll find it useful sometimes as much as I do lol ;)

I don't have a pithier comment to say than that I'll try it this week, starting now. Thanks for the motivation.

Great Idea. Seeing as it is already wednesday in Australia, I'll start when I finish my current project. I have a question. What do we do at night with no input of any kind? Do we just go to bed at 7pm?

I want to kiss you. I've come across two articles in one day that have slapped me in the face. This is one of them. I came across them while consuming. I've found that reading business books/self dev/blogs/etc is a form of procrasturbation for me. It makes me "feel" like I'm working because it's not as apparent as looking at cats on reddit and I feel good because it's "productive"! My lizard brain will tell myself. "It's not procrastination! I'm learning and preparing." Good ole lizzy will even pull this quote from Lincoln to support it, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Well I've been sharpening this damn as for too damn long. The tree is only growing and hell I don't even know if it's a solid tree that's hard as a rock or a tree with a rotting inside because I haven't swung my damn axe yet. That's the problem. I'm not applying what I'm consuming, I'm only consuming. Just like sharpening an axe everyday only to put it in the shed and not use it -_- lizard brain/resistance/scum bag brain/etc is tricky. I'm figuring out his tricks day by day though :) *urges to ctrl+t and type facebook/reddit are tingling very hard* It really feels like I'm a freaking crack addict. Try driving without the radio/smartphone/etc, only leaving yourself with your thoughts and driving. I get physically/mentally uncomfortable and need a fix. just a quick hit of that good facebook.... anything! just something to stimulate me!! I'm getting better though. working on the discipline muscle every day :) I'm in. This will be the most productive week of my life. -Kenny p.s. Just writing an CREATING this post feels great. it solidifies my thoughts and bring them to reality. p.s.s. the facebook and reddit urges are tingling but I slapped it in the face.

Thanks for giving it a go! I love the layout of your site, btw. Feel free to email or comment if you have any issues with the challenge! I promise - it gets HARD FAST. (That's what she!...) Either way, keep in touch, it's fascinating to see the different problems that everyone has been having and the solutions we've been coming up with!

Hey Edward! Night time is a trick for sure. If you've been working all day and your brain is fried it's going to DEMAND that you stop thinking and get some inputs. These are the three things that saved me: 1. Journal. Just take out paper (I don't like looking at digital screens at night - it fucks with sleeping) and begin writing. Don't think of things to write, just write your stream of consciousness. Don't use any brainpower, just report. By externalizing things you'll discover problems and solutions to the challenge and your life at large. 2. Go on walks. Just start walking (slowly) and fight the urge to take your phone. Notice nature or the businesses in your city. After about 45 minutes of walking slowly your brain will slow down and let you start to notice interesting things about your surroundings. That's when my best ideas come. But you got to beat out the swirling ideas by giving yourself plenty of time. 3. Talk with friends. Either go hang out with friends physically or let yourself have extended (non-purposeful) phone conversations. My week of non-inputs let me deepen my relationship with several people because I literally "had nothing better to do" than have extended conversations. Let me know if those work or if you find your own! (I usually go to bed and read for a couple hours so it was certainly weird for me to lie down in bed and have to bed and not do anything - except journal)

Curious - what's the other face-slapper? lol I love "procrasturbation" - that's basically what it is. Makes you feel better for now but you're not really building up to anything. "Well I’ve been sharpening this damn as for too damn long. The tree is only growing and hell I don’t even know if it’s a solid tree that’s hard as a rock or a tree with a rotting inside because I haven’t swung my damn axe yet." ---HELL YES! If nothing else, action tests tests the tree for what it really is. At least some of your procrasturbation was with Godin :) YES! You literally created by commenting! Not only a post but another piece of inspiration for everybody here. Thank you for that! And thank you for what you're about to make this week :) Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing with the challenge! It gets really damn hard, man. I know the support of some of the friends on this blog helped me immensely. LET US KNOW!

Also! Congrats on starting your blog - it's already badass! One maintenance thing - your social buttons at the top right don't point us where we need to be!

It's a post by one of my fitness role models, John Romaniello. He has been very successful in the fitness industry/has a very successful fitness blog and just launched a new blog dedicated to everything not fitness related. Here's his post http://www.johnromaniello.com/how-to-be-successful-online/ It all comes down to shipping and releasing things into the world to see how the world responds to it. Lean start up methodology, OODA Loop, testing, etc. It all comes down to shipping so you can test and then revising, then testing, then revising, etc. This quote from a cracked article describes why it's so hard to ship. "Also, courage. It’s incredibly comforting to know that as long as you don’t create anything in your life, then nobody can attack the thing you created." It's all about EXECUTION!! I'm going to assume you've seen this post by Derek Sivers. http://sivers.org/multiply Ideas are just a multiplier of execution!!!! An idea is worthless if it's not executed but a crappy idea executed is worth a billion+2.5 times more than that "perfect and ingenious" idea bouncing around your head. You learn 2 billion times more from executing an idea than war planning the freaking thing for years. War planning also leads to analysis paralysis and you end up finding and focusing on the holes on why the idea won't work. Then...the lizard brain smooth talks yourself out of executing and trying the idea. Then you are left at zero again and only left with self doubt and sometimes that arrogant feeling of "boy thank goodness I didn't pursue that idea. it totally would have failed. I am so smart." But in reality it's only a cover up for your self doubt, lack of confidence, fear of shipping, fear of failing, fear of success etc. IT'S ABOUT EXECUTION AND SHIPPING!!11!1!!! RAWRARWRWRWRGHAH That felt good. now back to actual work. -Kenny p.s. have you thought about instead of eliminating consumption, you schedule consumption time? ex. Say you can consume material only at 8-9pm etc. p.s.s. I'm also talking directly to my lizard brain through this post. :p

I also wanted to add that. I'm not saying that reading is bad and it's JUST about doing doing doing. ( I realized that I pushed that very hard in my last post) I'm a very avid reader as well and have half of those books you posted in that picture. I have a book case full of books that I'm sure you have as well along with a kindle filled with books. It's important to use books correctly and having a purpose for them. Not using them for my procrasturbation. I now need to make sure that when I read something, I have a purpose for it and that I will apply at least one idea from the book into the real world. If you're reading something for pleasure then do so and make that decision, but don't trick yourself into thinking you're doing something you're not. (aka procrasturbation) tldr; books have their place in business and life but only if you use them correctly.

AMEN all the way through. I love me a little Sivers :) his post on what's obvious to you was one of the keys to shouting about the things I know and love. Scheduled consumption can work for some people but that's not the point of this challenge. Input Deprivation is meant to completely reset your relationship with your information input. It's about feeling the pain/urge to consume. If you get a scheduled break then it's just not possible to really understand how you consume deeply enough. And on execution! You'll notice that most people doing really well aren't all that intellectually brilliant (that's more useful for dinner parties than building things), they just know their business/industry inside and out. They learned from flailing and failing and winning. We love to have you here talking to your lizard brain :)

Ok, I'm starting on Saturday

Hey Ellie! Can't wait to hear how it goes!

Great stuff guys! Thanks for the motivation and excitement to keep me inspired and doing! Cheers, Rich

Thanks, Rich! Glad you're enjoying the site! Are you doing the challenge?

Cool post, definitely think this is a good challenge. However, although I believe there is merit in the idea of cutting off the massive amounts of input we all find ourselves attracted to, I think doing so entirely may be a mistake. Selectively choosing which inputs are the most relevant and actionable is the key, in my opinion. So filtering out the 95% and setting aside a specific amount of time (an hour or two per day?) to intake the "force multiplier", as Tim Ferriss says. The information that will yield the most bang for your buck for your most immediate goals. I could sit for days randomly experimenting with optimizing my blog, writing posts, or learning wordpress. In the end, that would take far longer than picking up a book on one of these issues and tackling it with some guidance. That doesn't mean overwhelm yourself with information. Just choose the single most useful input (book, website, w/e), consume it with very specific goals in mind, and then immediately act on it. Cut everything else out, just focus on that one very specific idea. I could try and learn the principles of physics without any prior knowledge or informational resources and probably not understand in a lifetime would I could learn in a dedicated month with a textbook, which has compiled the work of many great minds over thousands of years of experimentation. I'm not decrying thinking for yourself, but there is a place for input. Great post, though, and I am completely on board with the spirit of the message! Best, Tom

I totally agree with you Tom. New ideas from outside our own heads are imperative! Benefiting from the experiences of others is a huge part of development. I would never suggest cutting yourself off from all input forever. It's a week-long challenge. The importance of zero input is to make obvious the intensity of our addictions to it. If we give ourself "just a little" input for the week then the transformation almost definitely won't happen (I've tried... More than once). Complete deprivation makes us more sensitive and appreciative as we introduce new inputs. It's the most effective way I've found to getting to cutting 95%. Do you have other strategies that you use?

Damn dude, you're so right! Time to o this!! Although, Its tougher for me because my business is based on FB and Twitter and Online info...hahaha, but I'm in!

It gets rough, but you'll be amazed at how much you get done!

This is good. I am totally suffering from the reading addiction. I will leave out facebook but eliminate everything else.

Good luck, Sam! ... If you can, I'd really try to eliminate Facebook as well (it often costs much more time than just the time spent on it).

Insanely awesome advice. Let's do it. Will also keep you posted on what i accomplished or at-least hoping too.

Looking forward to hearing how this goes!

Duh! Lost it. Couldn't keep up to challenge. Back to reading ebooks, self helps like crazy.

Doh! Try again! (I promise you won't miss reading those ebooks...)

I'm a proofreader, so I have to read tens of thousands of words a day - I guess I can't take this challenge? I'd absolutely love to!

Guys this is perfect for me. I quit what I did for 20 years 2 months ago and I have been stuck in a spiral of input (Blogs self help books etc) and procrastination since. I'm going to have a go at this. Many thanks I'm hoping for a breakthrough.

Godspeed, Martin. I hope you come back and let us know what happens :)

This is such an inspiring post, I have been hopping from post to post on this site after landing here in my desperation to quit my 'self help' addiction. I am unsubscribing from all my Gurus, so I shouldn't really subscribe to you either .. I will endeavour to unplug and go into action. Thanks guys :-)

Thank you ,great message and a brilliant idea . I agree with all what you said, reading to this level stops our brain from creativity .I cant do it this Monday but I need to do it next Monday . Let us use our knowledge creatively .

Godspeed!

Starting right now..thanks for the motivation, see you next week.

"procrasturbation" :-) !! you are brilliantly right! Let's see what happens, I'm IN... I guess I am far more addicted to info consumption than I thought, and that it's a wide-spread affection... There's a quote by Pablo Picasso that fits this perfectly: "I do not seek, I find" Thanks so much for this post guys! You've won a new fan Regards, Robert

Glad to have you Roberto! Let me know what your results are.

Thank you so much for posting this, Kyle. I had read this a few months ago but didn't have the guts to go through with it. I've been improving a lot in various aspects of my life lately, though (started working out, tackling lingering problems that needed/need solving, reevaluating my values in life), and I think I'm ready to try this now. I have a few questions, though: what about, say; I want to try a new cake recipe but don't know how to do it? Or some workout technique I'm not sure how to perform? Is it ok to look it up online or should I look elsewhere? Also, what about checking e-mails? I do get a lot of silly useless stuff in my inbox, but there is some genuinely useful stuff in there (i.e. work related mail and some info about courses that I'm looking into). Again, thank you so much. Wish me luck! :)

Hi Fernando, Congrats on all the huge shifts you're making. I think this piece will be helpful for you! So the general rule is: don't give yourself temptations. If you want to look for an *exact* cake recipe, then it's fine to jump online and find it--but you have to explicitly tell yourself that you are getting online to do that ONE thing. It's better if you just use the cake recipe on the back the cake mix for a week ;) On emails: The idea of input deprivation isn't that information isn't genuinely useful--it absolutely is! It's about shifting your relationship TO information. Unless you're going to lose your job, don't check your email. You can always go back next week and see what you missed. If you feel that you NEED to for work purposes, then give yourself one 20-minute period to do email a day. And be strict about it. This will focus you to ONLY deal with the emails that you actually need to. Good luck! Come back next week and let me know how it went :)

Starting right now! I'm excited to see how it goes.

Come back and let us know how it went!

OK, great post! Can relate to it and all the comments. Glad to know I'm not alone, and to give it a name. I've seen this in myself, and good to have the confirmations about just creating what I'm working on. You do know you wrote an article telling us to quit reading your article?

Yes Theresa, my general goal in writing anything is to make the thing I wrote useless... that's the only way to write anything useful! BUT we always need to come back to center. So I hope that people come back here when they're ready for another Input Deprivation Week :)

I came to this post from Art of Manliness. I could not have come at a worse time for me- I have to catch up on Netflix, I have to finish the book I'm reading so I can get back to the other book I was reading. My head wants more content. BTW, I am a compulsive gambler who hasn't gambled in 2.5 years, but I realize I consume content much like I played blackjack- the next card could not come fast enough. So, Im starting now(unless my girlfriend makes me go to the movies tonight, in which case Im starting tomorrow!) Il report back in a week. Thanks.

Godspeed!

Great post! Being a total information addict....I have been obsessively trolling the net looking for help on how to stop obsessively trolling the net! You have some great insights! Thanks for the article!

I love the idea of going entirely without information input and focusing on productivity but what if you run into a problem that requires a specific tool to use? For example, when designing iOS applications, Xcode provides a huge library of tools that would be impossible to memorize and they provide excellent documentation to get started with those tools. Is using that documentation cheating during the info abstinence week?

Here it is, 2017, and I'm about to start this. UGH, this addiction. Books, Magazines, Netflix, PODCASTS! My beloved podcasts. This is my weakness. On strengthsfinder, my number one was "Input". I'm like this dirty, gluttonous trough of information...it's making me all fat and sluggish. I'm so excited to actually have an excuse to completely detach.

this is one of the great articles i have read.....i have some query regarding it....i am a student n have examination in around 2 month....does input deprivation means i am not allowed to read my textbook, my notes as well because by reading textbook also i am consuming information.... Hoping to hear from u soon...i am planning to start the challenge in 1 or 2 days...i am really excited abt it....Thank u for such a wonderful article...

It's 2018 but I needed this if not more than needing it in 2015.

Comment #100 It's time (came here from Art of Manliness)