Why Humans Can't Focus Anymore - Jared Henderson

What I learned from speaking with Jared Henderson.

"You'd be surprised how much control you have over your own life when you simply just refuse to always take the easy option." – Jared Henderson

Hey, it's the Jona Digest,

This week, I spoke with Jared Henderson, a Ph.D. philosopher turned writer & YouTuber, about the most pressing problems our minds are facing today. Here are 3 lessons I took from our conversation:

1. Ask "Is This Worth Doing?" Before "How Can I Do This Better?"

I learned that much of my past productivity obsession is just another form of "amusing myself to death." It's easy to avoid the fundamental question of whether the work you do actually matters when you spend more time thinking about "how?" rather than "why?".

As obvious as this point might seem to you, thinking about it, I've found that there is a generally accepted oblivion in the productivity space. It's accepted that doing more in less time has to be a good idea.

AND this is not the creators', writers', or gurus' fault.

If they started each piece with a massive preamble about how listeners should spend more time thinking about their "why", I believe people would feel rather patronized & deceived. They signed up for advice on how to get more shit done, usually because they already have something they mean to do.

I want to use this space to highlight that, especially when you're young, your idea of a good "why" will change often, and for the better.

Before I started this channel, I spent hundreds of hours growing Instagram theme pages to tens of millions of views and selling ads on them. I know... Kind of fun for a 16-year-old, though. However, it didn't take much time to realize that getting more productive at repurposing brain rot wouldn't be a good way to spend any more months.

What made my next mission more meaningful? It was harder and had a more positive influence on others.

2. Fiction Makes You More Interesting Than Self-Help

When someone recommends Atomic Habits for the hundredth time, nobody cares. But if you can recommend a novel they'll love, "that's the kind of thing that for years they'll remember it for years and they'll pass that recommendation on." He also highlighted that fiction develops skills you can't get elsewhere. Specifically, the ability to understand human motivations.

I'm reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky right now, and got halfway through the Dune Series recently. I recommend both of them, especially as something to read before going to sleep.

3. AI Companions Will Make Loneliness Worse, Not Better

AI relationships have no real stakes. If you piss off your AI companion, you reboot them. But if you upset a real friend, you have to see them around campus or at the grocery store, and that social pressure is what can actually make you a better person.

I wish you much love & success,

Jona

PS: Reply to this email with thoughts, disagreements, and worries! I'll get back to you.

PPS: Guest and podcast suggestions are always welcome. Either reply to this email or comment on Substack! I'll get back to you, too.

Here is the full episode with Jared: