The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Moment 149: Why You Are Easily Distracted & How To FIX it! Nir Eyal

Feb 16, 2024

Nir Eyal, an expert in behavior design and author of 'Indistractable,' shares his insights on overcoming procrastination and distraction. He emphasizes the power of understanding internal triggers, linking them to feelings of discomfort. By identifying these emotions, you can regain control over attention. Nir introduces the '10 Minute Rule,' allowing scheduled distractions for a limited time to improve focus. The conversation dives into the psychology behind procrastination and suggests techniques like time boxing for better productivity.

18:55

Episode guests

Nir Eyal

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Quick takeaways

Understanding internal triggers is crucial for behavior change, as it helps identify underlying sensations driving unwanted behaviors.

Implementing techniques like the '10-minute rule' and scheduling specific worry time can help manage distractions and delay gratification effectively.

Deep dives

Understanding Internal Triggers and Behavior Change

One of the main lessons from this podcast is the importance of understanding internal triggers when it comes to behavior change. The speaker discusses how our brain often sends us cravings for things we know are bad for us, like sugar, and how distractions like spending time on social media can feel instinctively bad but still be difficult to avoid. To adopt behavior change, it is crucial to delve deeper and identify the underlying sensations driving these behaviors. For example, someone who overeats may not do so out of hunger but rather to soothe feelings of loneliness or boredom. Recognizing these sensations is the first step towards managing them and finding healthier ways to cope.

Mastering Internal Triggers and Making Time for Traction

01:36

Effectively Manage Work Priorities with Time Box Calendar

01:37

Intro

3min

Understanding Distraction: Harnessing Internal Triggers for Productivity

3min

Mastering Internal Triggers to Combat Procrastination

2min

Mastering Distraction Through Control Techniques

5min

Mastering Focus in Creative Work

5min

In this moment, behaviour and habit design expert, Nir Eyal discusses how to beat procrastination and distraction. One of the first major steps is being able to master the internal triggers that are trying to pull your attention away. Nir believes that to do this you need to try and understand the underlying feelings behind these urge. As he says, time management is pain management, and all human behaviour is about trying to escape discomfort. Nir says that finding these underlying feelings can be achieved by writing down the sensations you feel just before distraction, this allows you identify them and then reframe them to your advantage. Because, if you don’t master these internal triggers, they become your master. Another major step to beat procrastination is by actually scheduling time to be distracted. Nir calls this ‘The 10 Minute Rule’, which allows you to give in to any distraction in your scheduled time, but only for 10 minutes!

Listen to the full episode here - https://g2ul0.app.link/osVkcTMLbHb

Watch the Episodes On Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos

Nir:

https://www.nirandfar.com

https://www.instagram.com/neyal99/?hl=en

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