Pulling a Reverse UNO
How to block distractions from coming in
Happy boxing day (it’s a Canada thing) my friend, it’s your friend: jack 👋. Today we’re talking about using a metaphorical reverse UNO strategy in your very real life.
We’re going to use the reverse UNO strategy to help us scroll less and create more cool s**t. If you don’t know what a “reverse UNO” is, I’ll catch you up too in just a sec…
Creation log update (big guy update)
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It’s been 2 weeks now since my book came out! The first rating ever came in and it’s 5/5 stars 💙 31 amazing people have bought my book so far! (buy it here)
My app that I’m building to destroy TikTok has seen a massive boost in interest, I just launched it last week after recoding it all myself instead of using no-code tools. I’m very proud, It’s helping people scroll less already.
How could I forget: The first review came in for the Curiosity Quench too, 5/5 stars, we got someone to go kayaking and they said “I had time of my life thanks to your app", thank you”
My YouTube and Instagram have also been reaching new internet friends, it’s been a solid month of progress after I decided to not go on my phone or social media for the first 6 hours of my day.
2nd book I’m writing now is at 10,000 words already! 40 minutes/day adds up.
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UNO and Life Strategy
In the game of UNO there is a reverse card that allows you to pass the turn “back to you”, changing the direction of which turns take place (clockwise to counterclockwise, or vice versa).
This short letter is about how one may go about finding their own reverse uno card to play in the game of a distractible life. The concept here is the idea that we don’t necessarily need to delete the apps, or make it a monumental thing to quit our addiction to scrolling and consuming, we only need a better distraction, we only need to search the deck of cards we were dealt for our very own reverse UNO card.
How does one find such a thing? The answer is simple. Most good things tend to have simple answers, but they are often not all that easy. The answer is by following curiosity, this is hard because of the existing distractions that are deployed all around you: the news, the shows, the endless videos, the drama in which does not concern you in the slightest, the gossiping.
It’s all one big, juicy, mouth watering melon of distractions. The things that make you feel good now but have no thoughts about the future version of you. These things on their own may not be so bad, they may be genuinely innocent and fun, but in isolation they are also death eaters of your attention for things on a longer timeframe, for things such as your curiosity. They want a bite of it, and they won’t stop munching, ever, so long as you allow them to.
To pull the reverse UNO we must first fall flat on our face, probably end up being in some state of despair, or boredom: and then eventually rise to the occasion that is our own realization of “hey! things aren’t so bad on this side of the fence, they are actually quite nice, there is a lot of peace in finding your own distractions as opposed to being assigned short lived hits of dopamine”.
Using the internet with curiosity to me is a skill that must be honed like any skill, it will take many years for someone to be fully optimized for curiosity while on social media or other consumptive media. It will take a lot of conscious effort to make following curiosity subconscious. If you want to optimize for curiosity though, you can.
If you want to change the direction in which you’re going, if you want to say… reverse it, you can.
To pull the UNO reverse on distraction is to say NO to the things you did not set out on, and YES to following the lingering and lasting questions in you head that will have you enjoying the process of learning.
Thank you for reading,
go create the cool sh*t I know you are entirely capable of creating,
your friend,
jack ♠️
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Whenever you're up for it, there are 2 ways I can help you:
You Were Built To Create Cool S**t : Click to start, or don’t… (this is a link to my book)
Curiosity Quench: Quench your curiosity, destroy your scroll —addiction— and get on a roll. (PUBLIC VERSION JUST LAUNCHED!)