Stories

What people think

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1272358892144439296/zgL0RCw__400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  When I cracked open my first edition I felt like it had been grown in a
  lab just for me. The perfect digital detox.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/wateryone">Jenn, librarian</a>.</span
>

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/970835043554856960/6lr_2cbH_400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  I'm about to get my third curated edition of Walden Pond and I'm really
  looking forward to receiving it. Reading online articles in a physical
  book has been wonderfully relaxing, especially over a cup of coffee or
  breakfast in the morning. This service has not only helped me to reduce my
  screen time, it's been a welcome reminder that there are articles, ideas,
  and stories "past me" wanted to read, but didn't have time to do so. Now I
  can incorporate my reading into self-care time and really enjoy exploring
  topics that piqued my interest and keep me inspired.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/angelajgreco">Angela, Learning Designer</a
  >.</span
>

<img src="./img/julz.jpg" class="blurb-mugshot" />
<p>
  I read on a screen all day for work, so taking time to read on a physical
  zine custom curated by me makes my leisure reading really enjoyable. Great
  quality printing and integrates really well with my pocket.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name">Jülz, engineer.</span>

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1049961165156159488/-CLBtk5Z_400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  With Walden Pond, I no longer need to email articles to myself to (never)
  read later. Now I get a surprise pick of articles I've saved to pocket. It
  comes in a perfectly sized paper format - which is just right for
  squeezing in a bit of reading whenever and wherever I have time.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/RonieWalters">Ronie, PhD student</a>.</span
>

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1260675067601657856/n64Ef2st_400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  Walden Pond is one of those genius ideas because it is so simple - why
  hasn't anyone thought of this before? For me, it straddles a difficult
  dichotomy between wanting to disconnect from digital media and desiring to
  stay in touch, connected and up to date. I find reading on paper helps me
  to assimilate information better and being able to annotate helps
  formulate my ideas. Oh and it's beautiful, too!
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/he4therlouise">Heather, teacher</a>.</span
>

<img src="./img/ben.jpg" class="blurb-mugshot" />
<p>
  I take mine to a cafe, and leave my phone at home. If I take the phone it
  takes two hours to read, without the phone it takes an hour. If I try
  reading long articles on the Pocket app, I don't know how long it would
  take, I always get distracted!
  <span class="testimonial-name"
    ><a href="https://twitter.com/notionparallax">Ben, developer</a>.</span
  >
</p>

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/946097475156189185/qt7YBjTM_400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  Walden Pond removes all distractions and relieves my FOMO by delivering
  exactly what I want to read... when I'll actually read it. I'm obsessed.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/derekflanz">Derek</a>.</span
>

<img
  src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/605406492242550786/zewV3Vkq_400x400.jpg"
  class="blurb-mugshot"
/>
<p>
  I've been trying to reduce my screen time and this is a great way to do
  that while still keeping up with things I know I want to read. It's like a
  personalized magazine so it's easy to pick up and jump into an article
  quickly without having to search. The physical production quality is also
  very well done.
</p>
<span class="testimonial-name"
  ><a href="https://twitter.com/kraudel">Ryan, learner</a>.</span
>

Why is it called “Walden Pond”?

When it comes to unplugging and digital detoxes, some of the more loony self-help gurus preach an all-or-nothing doctrine that’s not that helpful if you live in the real^* world. (^*Whatever that actually means.)

Henry Thoreau wrote Walden while shacked up in a cabin by Walden Pond (the lake). He was making a show of being far from the madding crowd, but was only 2 miles away from town, and would get his mum to do his laundry. This isn’t taking a swipe at Thoreau for being disingenuous, I think it was smart. He was managing his attention, not living in a state of nature, and not living in a state of perpetual hyperstimulation.

Walden Pond the zine is named after the technique, not the place. (See: Against Waldenponding.)

The quick story

There’s a lot of good content online, but I can’t martial my attention to engage with it properly. My limit is about 4 minutes before a notification breaks my focus, or I get sucked into checking my phone. Maybe you’re a bit like me? The idea here is that you can just save articles to Pocket, and then once a month you’ll get a little magazine with over an hour of reading.

The long story

In 2018 Venkatesh Rao wrote a piece in his newsletter called Against Waldenponding.

“There is valuable info at all levels from twitter gossip to philosophy books. You should stay plugged in. You can manage anxiety and beat the House without resorting to shaming social platforms into managing attention for you.”

Which is exactly what Walden Pond is for; it lets you manage your attention yourself. It keeps you plugged into the “Giant Social Computer in the Cloud” but in a way that allows you to manage the flow of disruptions across your brain-cloud barrier.

It’s fashionable (and obvious in hindsight) to work out what part of the day you work in what ways, and to do the work that fits that work style best. Richard Hamming scheduled “Great Thoughts Time” on Friday afternoons. Lots of people try to avoid meetings in the mornings. Whatever you need to do to manage your connection to the world is the right thing to do, as long as it optimises for what you want out of life.

In Deep work Cal Newport suggests that you should attack the task with every free neuron until it gives way under your unwavering barrage of concentration., which is pretty hard to do if you’re getting group WhatsApp messages about nothing in particular. Even the buzz of the phone causes a burning FOMO that eventually forces me to look at it and break my attention.