Strategies for becoming less distractible and improving focus | Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal is the author of two best-selling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. He writes, consults, and teaches at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. His books have sold over 1 million copies in more than 30 languages; he has taught at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and its Design School; and he has started and sold two startups since 2003. In our conversation, we discuss: • Strategies for becoming less distractible and improving focus • The difference between distraction and “traction”• Reactive work vs. reflexive work and why you should book time in your calendar • The 10-minute rule to overcome internal triggers and stay focused • The problem with to-do lists, and what to do instead • The value of creating a timebox schedule that aligns with personal values and priorities • The use of pacts as a last line of defense against distraction • How to develop a high-agency mindset • Advice for leaders on helping employees improve focus in the workplace — Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams: https://atlassian.com/lenny/?utm_source=lennypodcast&utm_medium=paid-audio&utm_campaign=fy24q1-jpd-imc | Teal—Your personal career growth platform: http://tealhq.com/lenny Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/strategies-for-becoming-less-distractible Where to find Nir Eyal: • X: https://twitter.com/nireyal • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/ • Website: https://www.nirandfar.com/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Nir’s background (04:20) How to become less distractible (07:43) Understanding distraction and traction (12:52) The four steps to becoming indistractable (13:53) Mastering internal triggers (18:49) Surfing the urge with a 10-minute timer (23:20) Making time for traction with a timebox schedule (25:02) How to turn your values into time (28:36) Booking deep work time (29:22) Making pacts to prevent distraction (31:00) The problem with to-do lists (34:31) The drawback of deadlines (36:08) Distraction is an emotion regulation problem (39:54) Hacking back external triggers (45:03) Preventing distraction with pacts (48:18) Specific tools to hold you accountable (53:42) Managing emotions and discomfort (56:37) Taking responsibility and being high-agency (01:00:09) Becoming indistractable at work (01:05:04) Schedule syncing to align with managers (01:09:36) We are not as hooked on technology as people think (01:16:00) Life purpose and personal responsibility (01:17:38) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.