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Episode Description:

Is your phone the first face you see each morning? Do notifications interrupt meals, meetings—even your thoughts? Tired with no hard work to blame? Your attention didn’t disappear—it was taken.

Dr. Zelana Montminy holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, trained in nutrition at Cornell, wrote 21 Days to Resilience, and advises Fortune 500 companies. She exposes how modern life trains your brain for distraction, and shows you how to take your focus back without more apps, hacks, or guilt.

Here’s what you’ll discover inside this episode:

The truth about “phone addiction”: Why you’re not addicted to the device—you’re addicted to escaping discomfort, and how to break that loop.
The 23-minute switch cost: What task-switching really does to your brain and nervous system—and simple monotasking resets that restore clarity.
From fight/flight to calm: How pings, tabs, and notifications keep you dysregulated—and practical ways to downshift your physiology fast.
Boredom as a superpower: Why doing nothing can be more powerful than meditation for rebuilding attention—and how to practice it daily.
Morning priming, fixed: The single habit that hijacks your focus before your feet hit the floor—and a three-minute alternative that protects your day.
Rewriting your reward loops: Dopamine, novelty, and cravings—how to design “friction” and set a realistic dopamine budget that sticks.
Environment by default: Notification triage, home-screen layout, and workspace cues that make focus automatic (and distraction annoying).
Attention training that works: Short, science-backed micro-exercises to lengthen your focus span and reduce the urge to check.
Boundaries that hold: Simple scripts to protect dinner, date night, and deep work—without becoming “that person” glued to their phone.
Real-world playbooks: The habits Dr. Montminy teaches in companies and schools to restore mental bandwidth—adapted for your life.

This isn’t more willpower. It’s behavioral science meeting practical, humane habits. Walk away with a clear plan to reclaim your focus, calm your nervous system, and feel genuinely rested again.

Don’t miss this conversation. Join the rebellion against digital distraction and start getting your attention back today.

Find Zelana Montminy here:

Instagram

Website

0:00 - Introduction

2:17 - Rapid Fire Questions

4:29 - The Hidden Truth: We're Addicted to Escaping Being Human

12:10 - Digital Addiction is Actually Escapism Addiction

15:06 - The 23-Minute Rule: Why Task Switching is Exhausting Your Brain

23:49 - The Lost Art of Boredom: Why It's More Powerful Than Meditation

29:26 - Morning Phone Habit

35:36 - Parenting in the Digital Age

49:22 - Practical Strategies: Reclaiming Your Attention Without Apps or Hacks

54:02 - The Power of Micro-Boredom

1:00:00 - Modeling Focus for Kids: What You Do Matters More Than What You Say

1:05:02 - Hope for Phone Addicts

Grant Faulkner

The AI-powered Podcast Player