Man...reading that post gave me a similar feeling to when I hear someone playing meditation bowls. I tell you, I've taken almost the entirely same approach over the last couple of years, slowly adding (i.e. removing) more and more things in the same way you did. It started with blocking sites at the Terminal level and uninstalling distracting apps (or using time limiters). The one thing I hadn't done, which I just did thanks to your recommendation, is the grayscale. Aside from the realization that I was giving up so much time and energy, I needed to steal more of my time/energy back because of a personal project I started last year. Though it definitely gets easier and easier over time I've had to remain vigilant because I quickly realized that it wasn't a certain site or app that was necessarily drawing me in. Often it was just "doing something" on the phone or computer. Even if I blocked something I'd just aim the browser for something else. That was when I added a lot of little psychological tactics to reduce the feelings that led to the behavior.
Another thing, the thing that really stuck out to me was this approach aimed at "boredom." I'd recently seen that video you mentioned with Arthur Brooks. In fact, last year he had another called "You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why." posted on Harvard Business Review's YouTube channel. So getting comfortable with "boring" really can be a viable approach.
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Man...reading that post gave me a similar feeling to when I hear someone playing meditation bowls. I tell you, I've taken almost the entirely same approach over the last couple of years, slowly adding (i.e. removing) more and more things in the same way you did. It started with blocking sites at the Terminal level and uninstalling distracting apps (or using time limiters). The one thing I hadn't done, which I just did thanks to your recommendation, is the grayscale. Aside from the realization that I was giving up so much time and energy, I needed to steal more of my time/energy back because of a personal project I started last year. Though it definitely gets easier and easier over time I've had to remain vigilant because I quickly realized that it wasn't a certain site or app that was necessarily drawing me in. Often it was just "doing something" on the phone or computer. Even if I blocked something I'd just aim the browser for something else. That was when I added a lot of little psychological tactics to reduce the feelings that led to the behavior.
Another thing, the thing that really stuck out to me was this approach aimed at "boredom." I'd recently seen that video you mentioned with Arthur Brooks. In fact, last year he had another called "You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why." posted on Harvard Business Review's YouTube channel. So getting comfortable with "boring" really can be a viable approach.