Escaping the YouTube abyss

A few nights ago, after my kids went to bed, I sat down to read Cal Newport's newsletter. In it, he linked to his latest YouTube video on organizing his life. Wanting to organize my life better as a hands-on dad and founder, I clicked on the link to check it out.

Then, I dropped into an abyss.

Instead of looking at Cal Newport's video, my eyes landed on YouTube's recommended video, which took up as much space on mobile as the actual video I wanted to watch.

Street Fighter | New Trailer (2026 Movie)
20m views • 2:49

As a 90s kid who played Street Fighter growing up, how could I not watch it? And it was only two minutes!

But then, I watched another video.

I have sunk entire evenings watching useless videos on YouTube. I know it's not a great use of time. But the abyss is engineered to pique my curiosity and pull me in. That night felt like it was going to be another wasted evening.

As I thought about that, I felt guilty enough to stop. I locked my phone, tossed it aside, and picked up my new favorite book, The Notebook: The History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen. Just one paragraph in, I was reminded of how I had always wished for more time to read all the books on my reading list. I read for another half an hour before turning in.

I narrowly won this battle, but the war is ongoing. I know I cannot depend on my willpower alone to fight the temptations of YouTube. I had already deleted the YouTube app on my phone and signed out from YouTube on the Safari app. I might have to put my phone outside my room, like Craig Mod does. But I believe the more I choose my books over YouTube, the less I'll desire YouTube.

I did, after all, climb out of the abyss last night. I can do it again, and again, and again.