Out of Autopilot — field notes https://alejandrocarbajo.com/ Why we do things we don’t want to do, why we’re so often not there while we do them, and how to catch it while it’s happening. By Alejandro Carbajo. en © 2026 Alejandro Carbajo Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://alejandrocarbajo.com/social-card.png Out of Autopilot — field notes https://alejandrocarbajo.com/ Am I addicted to my phone? A more useful question. https://alejandrocarbajo.com/am-i-addicted-to-my-phone/ https://alejandrocarbajo.com/am-i-addicted-to-my-phone/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000 A quiz can’t tell you and neither can I — “addicted” is a clinical word and I’m not a clinician. But the question underneath is answerable: what the habit is doing for you, what it actually costs, and the honest line where this belongs with a professional rather than an app. Do app blockers actually work? Yes — for about a week. https://alejandrocarbajo.com/do-app-blockers-work/ https://alejandrocarbajo.com/do-app-blockers-work/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000 An honest answer from someone who builds the other thing. Why blockers have a great first week and a bad second month, when a wall is genuinely the right tool, and the one thing a blocker can never see: the job the habit is doing. Why you scroll at night — and why “just go to bed” never works https://alejandrocarbajo.com/why-i-scroll-at-night/ https://alejandrocarbajo.com/why-i-scroll-at-night/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000 The late scroll isn’t keeping you from sleep. It’s buying back the only hours of the day nobody else had a claim on — which is why removing the phone moves the night shift into your head instead of ending it. You were at dinner. You were also on your phone. Neither one happened. https://alejandrocarbajo.com/the-blend/ https://alejandrocarbajo.com/the-blend/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Screen-time reports count the minutes. They can’t see what the scroll landed on — and that’s the half that actually cost you. Why divided attention takes down the activity underneath it, and the one question that gets a half back. Why do we do things we don’t want to do? https://alejandrocarbajo.com/manifesto/ https://alejandrocarbajo.com/manifesto/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 You already decided not to. Your hand did it anyway. A field note on the job a habit is doing for you, the ten seconds between impulse and action, and the second half of the question: were you there?