Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There are really two logical parts to this book, as there are to most advice books of the type. The first part tells you all about the problem. Often that's just constant repetition but this author thankfully avoided that trap, and instead presents original research and tons of interesting material about distraction, the nature of it, and why the human condition tends toward distraction. Good research and good writing, which gives us a number of clues as to how we can fight distraction or at least learn to live with it and keep it out of the way. The second part is actionable advice, some new and some more on the classic side. What's new? An interesting chapter on how culture and distraction are related in the office environment, with a case study on what to do about it. Another interesting chapter on how to train your children to be less susceptible to distraction. The classic advice is what you'd expect: ways to tame social media and other electronic distractions, and so on. That's not new but it's certainly valid, and is repeated in the context of the research presented in the first part of the book, giving it a fresh aspect. The idea of "pacts" is also introduced. These are often called "contracts" in other literature on this topic, but the idea is the same. You make a more or less formal commitment to do/not do something, with the idea that this will give you impetus to make improvements. Verdicts are mixed on this; it works for some people, not as much for others. However, there is one type of pact introduced that I think is most unfortunate in that it unnecessarily reduces the credibility of an otherwise very credible treatise. The idea, in essence, is to make a money pact. If you fail to keep the terms of the pact, you have to set fire to a hundred dollar bill. I've seen this idea before, and it just doesn't make sense. You haven't got the willpower to avoid distraction on your own, but you've got the willpower to burn a hundred dollar bill? And therein is the one failing of the book: it never really pinpoints willpower as the problem with distraction. I think this was a bit of a missed opportunity. With all of the author's fine research, he could have attacked this issue head on. So what's my bottom line on this book? It's absolutely worth reading and will give you tremendous insight into the nature of distraction. It will give you a plethora of ideas and techniques to help you avoid distraction (just ignore the money-burning thing), and those ideas are demonstrated in a number of environments. I'll go four stars on this book. (This review revised 04 October 2019 as I believe my original review was too severe.)