If you want to work towards success, you need to start living a life that’s indistractable. 

We know we need to be focused. Yet, how many times a day do you get distracted from doing your most important work? It's easy to get sucked into hours of scrolling through social media or mindlessly skipping channels. These external triggers often take the blame when we get distracted. However, did you know that a more dangerous form of distraction is one where we think we're being productive? The secret is that the opposite of distraction isn't focus: it's traction.

Behavioural designer Nir Eyal joins us to talk about how to form good habits and break bad ones. He discusses the four steps to becoming indistractable and staying on top of your goals. We also learn how to change our mindsets around self-limiting beliefs and pessimistic thoughts. Finally, Nir shares his expertise in creating effective habit-forming products and building an engaged community.  

You have the power to become indistractable. Tune in if you want to know about how to create a distraction-free life! 

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Discover the four steps you need to take to become indistractable.
2. Understand the true meaning of distractions and why we need to let go of limiting beliefs. 
3. Learn how to make habit-forming products and services along with a strong community engagement.

Resources

• Gain exclusive access and bonuses to Pushing the Limits Podcast by becoming a patron! 
• Harness the power of NAD and NMN for anti-aging and longevity with NMN Bio. 
• A new program, BOOSTCAMP, is coming this September at Peak Wellness! 
• Listen to other Pushing the Limits episodes with Dr Elena Seranova: 
• • #183: Sirtuin and NAD Supplements for Longevity 
  • #189: Understanding Autophagy and Increasing Your Longevity  
• Connect with Nir: Website I Twitter I LinkedIn
• Books by Nir: 
• • Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
  • Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
• Steven Kotler and The Flow Collective
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Factfulness by Hans Rosling
• Peter Diamandis and his books

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Episode Highlights [04:57] Nir’s Background

• As a behavioural designer, Nir helps companies build products and services that encourage individuals to develop healthy habits.
• The same strategy and technology addictive platforms like Facebook use can help people form good habits. 
• Nir has written Hooked to help people build good habits. Meanwhile, Indistractable teaches people how to break bad habits.
• People often know what to do to create a better life but don't take action. As such, Nir believes that learning to be indistractable is the skill of the century.

[06:25] On Indistractable: Understanding Distractions

• The opposite of distraction isn’t focus; it’s traction. 
• Traction is any action that will bring you closer to your goals and values. 
• Therefore, distraction is any action that will pull you away from your goals and values. 
• The most dangerous form of distraction is the one where we think we're being productive. 
• We often prioritise the urgent and easy work over the hard and important ones. 

[10:40] Social Media and Addiction

• There’s a widespread belief that social media will make you addicted. But in reality, this is learned helplessness. 
• When people believe that they’re addicted, they often don’t do anything about it. 
• There’s nothing wrong with social media. The problem is how we use it. 
• We are not powerless against technology. 

[13:22] How to Gain Back Control

• People don't accomplish a goal because they quit early and don't feel like doing the work.
• We often blame our distractions on external forces. However, around 90% of these are due to internal triggers. 
• Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotions that we want to escape. We do this by distracting ourselves. 
• In reality, time management is about pain management. 

[17:43] Letting Go of Limiting Beliefs

• Nir warns against anchoring our autonomy on neurotransmitters. When we believe we have a specific nature, we limit our agency.
• Before labelling yourself a certain way, do the work. 
• People find success when they act before they make excuses. 
• Believing in ego depletion is also harmful. Find out why in the full episode! 

[24:49] The Indistractable Model: Steps One and Two

• The first strategy to becoming indistractable is mastering your internal triggers through visualisation. 
• Don’t envision the outcome. Doing so can be harmful because it makes you feel like you’ve already done the work. 
• Visualise what you'll do when you're tempted to go off track.
• The second step is to make time for traction. You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what you’re distracted from. 
• Having a to-do list can be harmful; plan daily schedules instead. 

[27:44] The Indistractable Model: Steps Three and Four

• The third step is to decrease external triggers. 
• Finally, prevent distractions with pacts or pre-commitments. 

[30:40] What You Should Measure 

• We have a lot of self-limiting beliefs. You need to distinguish whether these are things you cannot do or just ones you don't want to do. 
• When doing something, the consistency of your actions contributes more to your success than the intensity. 
• Understand that accomplishing your goals takes time. 
• Instead of looking at your output, learn to measure your progress through your inputs, such as time and effort.   

[37:57] Be Willing to Put in the Hard Work 

• There’s no magic pill for our problems and goals. Everything takes time and work. 
• Keep showing up and doing the hard work. 
• We now have access to so much information; you just need to get out there and learn. 
• Remember that if you’re looking for distraction, it will come. 

[41:58] Adapting to Changes Around Us

• All new things have consequences. The good thing is, we humans are highly adaptable.
• In the same vein, you have the power to adapt and control how you consume ‘addictive’ social media. Not the other way around. 
• Nir believes that the world is getting better. However, good news does not get much media coverage. 
• Try to be more optimistic. Only then can you seek solutions to problems and not resign yourself to the situation.
• You don't need to worry about everyone's problems. Your human capital is best directed toward issues where you can make the easiest and most significant impact.

[50:48] How to Make Habit-Forming Products

• Use habit-forming products frequently and soon. It should be something that you use within a week or less. 
• First, tap into internal triggers and specify which uncomfortable emotion your product wants to solve. 
• Second, reduce friction. Make your product as easy as possible to use. 
• Third, create variable rewards. Uncertainty is what excites people and gets them hooked.
• Finally, it helps to make people invest in the experience. Listen to the full episode to dive deeper into making habit-forming products!  

[55:19] The 3 C’s of Engagement

• Fostering engagement can be done through content, community, and conversation. 
• Curate content that will give value to others. 
• Empower people to help one another so you can create a strong-knit community. 
• Lastly, have conversations with people to share knowledge and wisdom. 

7 Powerful Quotes from This Episode

‘The opposite of distraction is not focus. If you look at the origin of the word, the opposite of distraction is traction. You'll notice that both traction and distraction end in the same six letters, a-c-t-i-o-n.’

‘Traction, by definition, is any action that pulls you towards what you said you were going to do. Things that you do with intent. Things that move you closer to your values and help you become the kind of person you want to become.’

‘We have this model in our heads: traction, distraction, internal, external, right? Now we know that the four big parts of the Indistractable model. So now, we work our way around these four steps like the points on a compass.’

‘One of my life mantras is: “Consistency over intensity”. I think that's how we change.’ 

‘We want that instant relief. We want that instant solution. Look, the things that are worth having in life, they take time.’

‘What's going to lead us out of our problems is not running away from these problems, not throwing up our hands and giving up. But rather, engaging with these problems, right?’

‘[Habit-forming products] appreciate in value, meaning they get better and better the more we interact with them because of what I call stored value.’

About Nir

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. He helps companies create behaviours that benefit the users and educates people on building healthful habits in their lives.

Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. He is the bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He also shares his insights with his newsletter at Nir and Far and has written for Psychology Today, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, and the Harvard Business Review. 

Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies, such as Eventbrite, Kahoot!, and Anchor.fm. 

Interested in learning more about Nir's work? You check out his website. You can also reach him on Twitter and LinkedIn.       

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To pushing the limits,

Lisa

The information contained in this show is not medical advice it is for educational purposes only and the opinions of guests are not the views of the show. Please seed your own medical advice from a registered medical professional.