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Comment by stevenkkim | Hacker News Reader

I agree with your points about distraction, and I think "Deep Work" is a critically important book. That said, it's easier said than done.

I only have one iPad and I do use it for many things including work, and it is shared with family members. That makes it full of distractions.

I have thought about getting a second iPad dedicated to reading, but since you can't uninstall Safari, I feel I'm going to end up getting distracted by the Internet. I'm not confident I have the self-discipline to never go on the Internet when it's just a tap away.

I do think having an iPad-like device with no functions except a book reader would be an interesting product.

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But aren’t you talking about an ebook reader like a Kobo or a Kindle then? They exist already.

I have both, and they are just too slow. I think if I were reading fiction page by page, it would be fine. When I read non-fiction for learning, it's very difficult to skip forward/back, re-read sections, highlight/annotate, flip to the footnotes and back, jump to the table of contents and back, etc. All of these actions are frustratingly slow on the Kindle or Kobo. The iPad is fast enough to make a good reading experience. But the distractions.

Annotating on the Kindle is a real pain but looking up footnotes is quicker than a book with end notes. Highlighting is a bit slower but has the advantage that you can export all your highlights in a pdf or spreadsheet.

I want to second the sibling comment about screen time. I used this to “remove” mail and safari from my phone for a long time, and found that it completely changed the way I use the phone. It’s pretty easy to go to settings and toggle allowed apps, so I didn’t think it would work, but what I found is the added step of having to toggle safari on before I could use it meant I would mindlessly unlock my phone, find nothing to tap on, and then think “oh yeah, I don’t really want to mindlessly surf the web right now.”

You can disable Safari using the "Screentime" restrictions. Having to go into Settings, find the Screentime section, enter a passcode and find the setting to re-enable Safari may provide enough of a effort barrier that you don't bother with whatever thing it was that sprang to mind as a potential distraction.

For even more effective control, let someone else set your Screentime passcode :)

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