As a romance writer,
one of my tasks
is to design my books
(products)
so the readers
(customers)
continue reading
…forever.
I have hooks
at the end of chapters
to prompt readers
to read the next chapter.
I have excerpts
at the end of books
to prompt readers
to buy and read
the next book.
Some writers
put cliffhangers
at the ends of their books,
leaving characters hanging off
the story equivalent of cliffs.
Almost every entertainment business
does something like this.
Casinos don’t have clocks
in their structures
because they want their customers
to stay there forever.
Video games have cumulative scores
which encourage us
to play longer.
One of my tactics
for dealing with diversions
(and we all need some sort
of diversion
to help us relax)
is to know that industry’s tricks
for prompting me
to spend longer
with their products
than I had planned.
Then I try to eliminate those.
I will wear a watch to the casino,
for example.
Or I will deactivate the save function
on the video game.
Or I will stop reading
on a random page number,
not the end of the chapter.
Learn how to limit
your diversions.
It will allow you
to enjoy them
guilt-free.