Two ex-Google workers share with us a method for regaining control of the time that is slipping away from us. Programmed to seek instant gratification, we have fallen into the traps of a culture that values hyperactivity and distraction at the expense of our true priorities. Ironically, after dedicating more than 10 years of their lives to developing useful, effective and addictive applications, they encourage us to fight the automatisms engendered by these applications by putting up barriers to reduce their accessibility and reconnect with our human nature.

This book, like many American books, aims to be a simple manual of “pre-tested” recipes. It succeeds, because even if there is nothing new under the sun, it is an effective and common sense reminder. But beyond that, it generates a deep reflection on our relationship with time, the taking in hand of our agendas, the essential challenge of living our projects fully in the present.

“Physical activity means sitting, human interaction means screens, food means plastic, and sleep means whenever we can. How did we end up like this?”