One Of The Greatest Challenges

Here’s a quote, resource, and reflection to help you carry calm energy through the rest of your week.

Quote

“One of the great challenges of our age, in which the tools of our productivity are also the tools of our leisure, is to figure out how to make more useful those moments of procrastination when we're idling in front of our computer screens.” — Joshua Foer

We work, rest, and procrastinate on the same devices.

No wonder our focus frays at the edges.

The problem isn’t the screen itself — it’s the way it becomes the default place our attention drifts when our minds are tired, bored, or overstimulated.

Foer reminds us:

If we don’t learn to reclaim those tiny moments of drift, we lose the day in small, invisible slices.

Resource: NPR’s Guide to Taking Small, Realistic Smartphone Breaks

This week, I came across an NPR piece that hits right at the heart of Foer’s quote — the quiet struggle of living in a world where our phones are our planners and our escape hatches.

The story explores how even tiny breaks from our devices can reset our brains, calm our nervous systems, and improve our ability to focus — especially in moments when we’re unconsciously reaching for our phones out of habit.

A few practical ideas from the article:

Micro-Detox Moments

Instead of a full digital detox, the article recommends brief “off-ramps” throughout your day — short pauses where you intentionally step away from the screen.

Replace the Scroll

It suggests swapping the automatic scroll with something that actually feeds you:

• a breath
• a stretch
• a sip of water
• a quick walk
• a handwritten note
• a glance out the window

Small, doable, teacher-friendly.

Notice the Urge

The most powerful moment in the entire piece?

When you notice the urge to check your phone — that’s your signal.

Not to shame yourself… but to choose again.

This perfectly aligns with tomorrow’s Digital Detox focus inside The STRONG Teacher’s Lounge.

We’re experimenting with what happens when we interrupt the automatic habits that drain us.

Now Repeat…

I pause before I drift. I choose presence over autopilot. I reclaim even my smallest moments with intention.

Journal Prompt

Where in my day do I slip into automatic scrolling or digital drift? What tiny, meaningful pivot could help me return to myself in those moments?

Book Spotlight

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—And How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

A powerful, timely exploration of why our attention keeps fracturing — and what we can do about it. Hari dives into not just personal habits but the societal design of distraction.

A perfect pairing for this week’s theme on digital drift and intentional presence.

👉 Buy on Bookshop.org | Buy on Amazon | Book Spotlight Archive

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Screens aren’t the enemy.

The drift is.

This week is about noticing the pull, interrupting the autopilot, and reclaiming the small pockets of your day where your attention deserves to come home.

Today in The STRONG Teacher’s Lounge, we’ll explore a gentle Digital Detox practice to help you reset.

—Jeremy