I set up AI agents to run tasks while I step away from my desk.
The idea was simple. Let the agents work. Go cook. Clean up. Listen to a podcast. But each time an agent finishes a task, a chime plays. And each time I heard that chime from the kitchen, I’d walk back to my desk to check the output. Two minutes later I’m back at my desk working on something I told myself I’d step away from.
The chime is supposed to help. It tells me when progress happened. But the same sound that keeps me informed during work hours pulls me back during off hours. It trained me to return.
Then I noticed the screen. The display was just there in my peripheral vision. A lit screen in my line of sight is an always-on invitation. I’d look over, see it and walk right back.
So I hacked it. I figured out how to turn off the display while keeping the laptop lid open. The agents keep running. The chime still plays. But there’s nothing to see when I walk over. And turning the screen back on takes an extra step. That small friction is enough.
You can manage attention inside a well-designed environment. You can’t manage it inside one that hijacks it. Every strategy that asks you to outmuscle a trigger that’s always present is a losing bet.
Removing the trigger means the fight doesn’t start. Remove the stimulus. Remove the glow. Remove the chime. Make “checking” boring because there’s nothing to check.
When you want something, remove friction. When you don’t, add it.
The easiest way to stop doing something is to make it harder to start.
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What habit would change if it were harder for you to start it?
