He Locked His Social Media in a Box to Protect His Focus
He says keeping a phone out of reach frees up mental effort for focus.
The a16z Show · Andrew Huberman’s Three Rules for Better Health and FocusWhen Andrew Huberman wants to check social media, he cannot just reach for his pocket. The health podcaster keeps X and Instagram off his everyday phone and on a second phone, and that second phone lives inside a lockbox on a timer.
He gives himself about an hour online, then the phone goes back inside. He jokes that it is a super max prison lockbox, one he cannot code his way out of early.
He brought it up when asked what he recommends to others but struggles to follow himself. He said the social media habit might be the biggest one.
He said he set it up because time would pass once he opened the apps. Huberman said "the algorithms have gotten so good" and called them so entertaining.
He moved the apps so that if people send him things, he cannot open them on his main phone. He also uses the apps in a pretty active way, posting and interacting, so there is always more to check.
The oddest pull is personal. Huberman described going online and seeing people saying things about him, then "trying to explain things and trying to figure out if" they are acting in good faith.
That back and forth can suck a lot of time, he said. He said needing a lockbox is a little embarrassing and carries a little shame, because he feels he should be able to control his behavior.
He said keeping the phone out of reach helps his mind focus. He cited a study that found people could focus just as well with a phone nearby, even in a bag under a chair, but only by spending extra mental effort to do it.
With the phone in another room, he said, that effort is freed up. For him, the lockbox adds another level of distance, and he says it frees up mental effort for focus.
Questions people ask
Does just having a phone nearby really hurt focus?
Huberman did not name a study in the episode. Separately, a widely cited study asked people to take memory and reasoning tests with phones on the desk, in a pocket or bag, or in another room. Those with phones in another room scored highest, even though all the phones were silenced.
How long does he let himself use social media?
By his account, about an hour at a time. He keeps the social apps only on a separate phone, opens that phone for an hour, and then puts it back in the lockbox. The lockbox controls when the hour ends.
Why keep the apps on a separate locked phone?
He said he uses the apps in a pretty active way, posting and interacting, and people send him things he might otherwise open. Keeping the apps on a separate phone in a lockbox means he checks them in a short stretch. The rest of the day, they are not on his everyday phone.