Science · Similar reads

Books like The Distracted Mind

The best books like The Distracted Mind are Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, Hyperfocus, and Deep Work. The Distracted Mind by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen is about attention, distraction, neuroscience. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
    Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

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    Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

    Nir Eyal · Self-help

    Indistractable is Nir Eyal's argument that distraction is not a technology problem — it's a psychology problem.

    Shares attention and distraction with The Distracted Mind.

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  2. Hyperfocus
    Hyperfocus

    02

    Hyperfocus

    Chris Bailey · Self-help

    Hyperfocus is Chris Bailey's second book, narrowing in on the attention piece of his earlier productivity triad.

    Shares attention and distraction with The Distracted Mind.

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  3. Deep Work
    Deep Work

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    Deep Work

    Cal Newport · Self-help

    Deep Work is Cal Newport's case that the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task is becoming both rarer and more valuable, and that people who cultivate it will thrive while everyone else stays stuck in shallow busywork.

    Shares attention and focus with The Distracted Mind.

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  1. Digital Minimalism
    Digital Minimalism

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    Digital Minimalism

    Cal Newport · Self-help

    Digital Minimalism is Cal Newport's argument that most people's relationship with smartphones and social media is not freely chosen but engineered — the product of business models that monetize attention and design interfaces for compulsion rather than value.

    Shares attention and technology with The Distracted Mind.

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  2. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
    The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

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    The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

    Nicholas Carr · Science

    The Shallows is Nicholas Carr's argument that the internet — and the way we habitually use it, skimming hyperlinked text, watching short videos, checking feeds — is reshaping the neural circuits responsible for deep reading and sustained concentration.

    Shares attention and neuroscience with The Distracted Mind.

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  3. Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again
    Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again

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    Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again

    Johann Hari · Psychology

    Johann Hari's argument is that the collapse of attention is not a personal failing but a political crisis.

    Shares attention and technology with The Distracted Mind.

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  4. The Organized Mind
    The Organized Mind

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    The Organized Mind

    Daniel J. Levitin · Science

    Daniel Levitin's argument is that the human brain's organizational architecture was built for a very different world — one with far fewer decisions, far less information, and far lower cognitive demand than the environment most people now navigate daily.

    Shares attention and neuroscience with The Distracted Mind.

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  5. Make Time
    Make Time

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    Make Time

    Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky · Self-help

    Make Time is a practical guide from two former Google Ventures designers who grew frustrated watching their own attention get swallowed by the default rhythms of the modern workday.

    Shares distraction and focus with The Distracted Mind.

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  6. Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body
    Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body

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    Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body

    Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson · Science

    Altered Traits is a careful assessment of what neuroscience actually knows about meditation, written by two researchers who have spent their careers at the intersection of contemplative practice and empirical science.

    Both dig into neuroscience.

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  7. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
    Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

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    Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

    Robert M. Sapolsky · Science

    Behave is Robert Sapolsky's attempt to explain why humans do what they do — the violence, the altruism, the tribalism, the heroism — by working through every layer of biology that contributes to a single act.

    Both dig into neuroscience.

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  8. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
    Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

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    Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

    Charles Petzold · Science

    Code is Charles Petzold's explanation of how computers work, built from first principles.

    Both dig into technology.

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  9. How to Change Your Mind
    How to Change Your Mind

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    How to Change Your Mind

    Michael Pollan · Science

    Michael Pollan came to psychedelics late in life, as a skeptic.

    Both dig into neuroscience.

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Books like The Distracted Mind: quick answers

What are the best books like The Distracted Mind?

The best books like The Distracted Mind by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen are Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal, Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, Deep Work by Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Distracted Mind, such as attention, distraction, neuroscience.

What should I read after The Distracted Mind?

A natural next read after The Distracted Mind is Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal. Shares attention and distraction with The Distracted Mind. Other strong choices are Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, Deep Work by Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.

What books are similar to The Distracted Mind by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen?

The Distracted Mind centers on attention, distraction, neuroscience. Books with a similar feel include Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal, Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, Deep Work by Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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