Episode 50: How to Beat Distraction and Still Enjoy Life (ft. Nir Eyal)

About the Episode

Why can’t we just do the things we know we should do? It’s a simple question with a very complex answer.

To help us answer it, I sat down with my old friend, Nir Eyal, a behavioral design expert and author of the best-selling book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

I love Nir’s approach because he doesn’t linger on the surface of the problem of distraction by hocking the latest app or hack or fancy new time management method. Instead, he dives right into the thorny emotional realities we all face in trying to lead productive, meaningful lives.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to be “indistractable” and how it’s probably the most important skill of the 21st century. We also get Nir’s take on the role of social media in our lives (his views on this might surprise you). And finally, he answers that timeless question: Why don’t we just do what we know we should do?

Enjoy.

Nir Eyal Quotes From the Episode

For the first time in human history, we are inundated with so much abundance… But if you can’t focus long enough to turn that information into wisdom, it might as well not even exist.

Distraction isn’t something that happens to you. It’s an action you take. Traction pulls you towards your goals. Distraction pulls you away.

Time management is pain management. If you don’t learn to manage discomfort, you’ll always be distracted.

You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what you got distracted from.

Everything worth having in life is on the other side of discomfort.