4-step framework to work without distraction

3 truths about change leadership

LEARNING TO FAIL BETTER: NEW RESEARCH BY HARVARD PROFESSOR AMY EDMONDSON

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

When tech entrepreneur Nir Eyal's daughter was asked this question during their planned father-daughter time, he missed her answer – he was too busy checking his phone.

**“I’m embarrassed that this happened”**

At our in-person event An Evening with Nir Eyal in Sydney, he shared the story.

“I was busy looking at my phone checking on email, or whatever other distraction I was interacting with, instead of being fully present with her.

“And, by the time I looked up, she was gone. She left the room because she had gotten the message that my phone was more important than she was, and I'm really embarrassed that this happened.

“I'm also embarrassed by the fact that it didn't happen just once - that it happened many times.”

Today, after years of research and personal struggle, he knows exactly which superpower he'd pick: the ability to _**do what he says he's going to do.**_

In other words, becoming "indistractable." Here we set out some of his tricks and tools for successfully doing so.

Choose Your Superpower

As our devices become more persuasive and our notifications more persistent, this superpower is becoming essential for career success, even survival.

As Nir told us in a recent Book Club interview, knowledge workers need to solve complex problems and generate innovative solutions, and that requires them to maintain focus.

Yet many of us find ourselves constantly interrupted.

"Knowledge workers come up with solutions to novel problems," Nir Eyal explained, "but if you don't have time to think, if you don't have time to reflect, because you're constantly reacting to meetings and emails and group chat channels, your work output suffers."

The former video game designer knows all about these interruptions, because he actually used to design them _into_ habit-forming products, the subject of his bestseller _“Hooked.”_

From Game Designer to Distraction Fighter

But, while it's easy to blame our devices, Nir told this week’s event participants that distraction actually starts from within. We often turn to digital distractions to escape uncomfortable feelings:

*   Workplace stress
*   Anxiety about complex tasks
*   Uncertainty about priorities
*   Fear of missing out

“We are motivated by the desire to escape discomfort,” he says.

“It’s ALL pain management.”

Nir says we use these tools to feel relief from some kind of uncomfortable sensation.

We feel workplace stress anxiety, so what we do to relieve that anxiety? We check email for a minute. We go on a group chat channel. We call a meeting. We do these things because it makes us feel productive even if it's not a good use of time.

"The Real Problem Isn't Technology"

Nir has developed a Four-Step Framework for Becoming "Indistractable."

**Step 1: Master Internal Triggers**

· Recognise when you're using technology to escape discomfort

· Develop healthier ways to cope with stress and anxiety

· Accept that occasional dissatisfaction is normal and even useful. Surf the urge; wait 5-10 minutes before soothing your discomfort

**Step 2: Make Time for Traction**

· Schedule focused work time in your calendar. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’ll do the hard work “when I feel like it.” Use timeboxing to allocate set blocks of time for tasks

· Align your calendar with your values and priorities. If your value is spending time with family, block time out on your calendar for doing this. Ask yourself “How does the person I want to bcome spend their day?”

· Remember: "If you don't plan your day, somebody else will"

**Step 3: Hack Back External Triggers**

· Manage notifications strategically. Nir says two-thirds of people have never changed their phone’s notification settings

· Create barriers to workplace interruptions. Nir used the example of nurses wearing hi-vis vests to indicated they were not to be interrupted/distracted when filling patient prescriptions

· Set clear boundaries with colleagues. Put a “do not disturb” note on your monitor

**Step 4: Use Commitment Devices**

· Create accountability systems. Use the Forest app or the Cold Turkey app. Nir also spoke of a focus partner website called “focusmate.com” which he’s invested in

· Set up consequences for not following through. Nir shared that he’d told his friend and fellow author Mark Manson that he’d pay Mark $10,000 if he (Nir) didn’t complete his manuscript on time

· Use "price pacts (as above)," “identity pacts” (“I’m a non-smoker”) or “effort pacts” (focus partners) or other commitment strategies

Nir also shared that his young daughter had set up a precommitment pact, where she’d nominated the time (45 mins) she would spend on her device. Then, she set the microwave to keep her accountable. Later, she asked Amazon’s Alexa to do this for her.

The Four-Step Framework for Becoming "Indistractable"

In our interview, Nir had also shared this technique that helped his friend and fellow author Shane Snow reduce his email time by 90%:

*   Only touch each email twice
*   When first opening an email, ask: "When does this need a reply?"
*   Categorise emails into "reply today" or "reply this week"
*   Schedule dedicated time blocks for email responses
*   Wait before responding – many issues resolve themselves

Nir also shared that meetings are for consensus ONLY. "If there is no agenda then there is no need for a meeting," he says. 

Before each planned meeting the organisers should ask themselves, "What consensus are we trying to gain?" 

Briefing notes should be sent out before each meeting, to give participants time to think/respond outside their allocated focus time

Practical Steps for Managing Email and Meetings 

**Audit Your Time**

· Track how you actually spend your working hours

· Identify your most common distractions

· Note which internal triggers lead to distraction

**Design Your Ideal Schedule**

· Block out time for deep work

· Schedule specific times for email and communications

· Include time for learning and skill development

**Create Your Focus System**

· Set up your physical workspace to minimise distractions

· Configure your digital tools to support focus

· Communicate your availability to colleagues

**Develop Your Skills Intentionally**

· Use your newly-found focus time for deliberate learning

· Practice new skills without digital interruption

· Build expertise in areas that require deep thinking

Action Points for Controlling Your Attention 

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.

Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Review as, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”

He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. His books have resonated with readers worldwide, selling over 1 million copies in over 30 languages.

About Nir Eyal 

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4-step framework to work without distraction

Nir Eyal’s technique for becoming “indistractable”

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4-step framework to work without distraction

Nir Eyal’s technique for becoming “indistractable”

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired