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5 Browser Extensions for Better Focus

Letter #77 • September 19th, 2023

→ Read on the web​

Welcome to this new edition of Digital Wellness!

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As you may have noticed, I’m switching to a more sporadic rhythm of one edition every two weeks, to compensate for the higher workload I have at the moment.

In this edition, you’ll find:

• A brand-new article with some of my favourite browser extensions to protect your focus online
• An article on phubbing: what it is and what it does to our relationships
• Insights into how digital public spaces feed a healthy democracy
• and a lot more =)

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By the way, I was recently part of a panel interview on Indie Hackers, where we tackled hustling vs. slow building. Check out our discussion.

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Enjoy the read, and I'll see you in two weeks!

- Clo

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🌻 New bloom

​5 Browser Extensions for Better Focus​

It’s September, you’re in back-to-school or back-to-work mode, and you want to create the healthy habits that will help you achieve your goals by the end of the year? You’re in the right place.

I’ve been writing about how we can leverage tech to improve our productivity for years, and here are 5 browser extensions that I recommend to help you protect your time online and get more done.

I’ve tried all of these extensions myself, and I use most of them on a daily basis!

→ Read more​

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🌳 Rooted reads

​You Probably Don’t Know What ‘Phubbing' Is, But You Do It Constantly​

I haven’t talked much about phubbing yet on the newsletter. A portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbing”, phubbing is what happens when we ignore someone to better focus on our phone. Unsurprisingly, research has found that FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) and poor self-control contributed to phubbing. Even more interesting, reciprocity plays a part: we’re more likely to phub someone if we’ve been phubbed ourselves.

Imagine: you’re trying to have a heartfelt conversation with a relative, and you’re met with someone who isn’t paying attention to you. It takes you several tries to start a dialogue. You end up frustrated and feeling less important than whatever is going on on that screen. This is what we do to people when we phub them. In essence, we signal that we’re not making the space required for them to interact with us.

If you ever find yourself on the phubber side, here’s what I recommend: if you’re really busy and need to finish something on your phone, let the person know. “Hey, I need a couple more minutes to finish this, and then I’ll be able to focus on our conversation.” However, if the dialogue is your priority, put your phone aside and be fully present with your interlocutor. The worse is not making a decision: staying in between, having a chat while your eyes are looking at your screen, half focused on both at once.

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​Opt-in for a better democracy.​

How can digital public spaces facilitate different models of democracy? This is one of the questions that the fantastic organisation New_ Public is investigating. Read this newsletter for the insightful reflections of journalist-turned-designer Victoria Sgarro. Bonus: her essay is punctuated with original examples of what it can look like to design for democracy and inclusivity.

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🌿 Featured vines

Are you neglecting your health lately? Avo Surfer is a daily 5-minute newsletter for anyone looking to improve their physical and mental well-being. It covers all things self-care from mental health, and sleep to managing stress, in a quick and entertaining way. Plus, it’s completely free! Sign up here.

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Sense is an AI-powered hub that automatically looks through all your resources (links, emails, meetings, docs, tasks, discussions) and connect them all together. They’re now launching a free personal plan for this artificial work memory, bringing all your data in one place. Try it out!​

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Meco makes your tech mindful. This iOS app (also available as a web reader in any browser) is a calm inbox to read your newsletters with the utmost chill. Check it out.

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👋 Some of the Features vines are paid sponsorships. They help me keep Digital Wellness free for you to read. Want to share your product with 1,500+ readers and support the newsletter? → Book here​

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🪴 Bolstering branches

Whenever you are ready, I would love to help you improve your tech-life balance:
→ TO GET STARTED: discover the science behind 30 healthy digital habits with the Tech Bliss workbook​
→ TO GO DEEPER: get tailored 1:1 support to enhance your focus, foster your well-being, and avoid burnout. Book a first chat for free
​→ FOR TEAMS: invite me to give a worksh​op at your company. I love to help teams with interactive presentations, to raise their awareness and help them craft better tech habits.

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🌱 Seed for growth

What do you turn to when you’re bored?

Every day we see people in “stand by” state whose reflex is to pull out their phone. Just got on the bus on our way to work? Pull out the phone. Waiting in line to get our morning café & croissant ? Pull out the phone.

Whatever we distract ourselves with during these moments of idleness, it’s present on our phone the whole time and it probably distracts us from other important things, such as paying attention on what’s going on around us, going to sleep on time, etc.

In today’s seed for growth, I invite you to answer the question: what do you turn to when you’re bored? I personally don’t have any social media on my phone because I noticed that I used to waste a lot time with these apps.

Want to explore this topic? Here is some further reading:

→ Feeling bored sucks. You may need it more than you realise​

→ From Scrambled Brain to Sunny Side Up: How to Protect your Attention and Fight Digital Overstimulation​

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→ Make a donation to the tip jar below

Want to share some feedback? A relevant resource you’d like me to feature? Let me know, I respond to every email.

See you next week!

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