Delegate Control, Get Something Done

Evgeny Morozov is a technology writer with a system to keep himself for wasting time on the internet: he locks his phone and his router cable in a safe with a timed lock. And that’s not all: “To circumvent my safe I have to open a panel with a screwdriver, so I have to hide all my screwdrivers in the safe as well. So I would have to leave home to buy a screwdriver — the time and cost of doing this is what stops me.”

That sounds extreme.

“It’s not that I can’t say ‘no’ to myself. I just waste too much energy having the internal conversation. I’d rather delegate the control to my safe and use my remaining willpower to get something done. I find it a very effective system.”

But that sounds extremely smart. DELEGATE CONTROL. Like uh, give your credit cards to a trusted friend. Bring only the amount of cash you’re allowed to spend. Automate payments and savings. It’s not weakness. It’s effective.

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