In his book 'In-distract-able', author and behavioural designer Nir Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving you to distraction.
Nir Eyalm states that distraction is usually preceded by a period of discomfort ..When we feel discomfort in the form of boredom, social anxiety or stress our mind craves relief and seeks distraction from the discomfort that we are experiencing.
Eyalm explains how his findings have led him to believe that every urge that leads to distraction doesn’t last more than 10 minutes so if we can learn to handle the discomfort during those 10 minutes, then we can learn not to let technology, temptation, or whatever else is distracting us, wasting our time or thwarting our efforts diminish our lives and we can create better responses and habits and in so doing can then design our time, realise our ambitions and live the life we really want and flourish.
One technique Eyalm employs is the use of three simple pacts:
An effort pact (making an intentional pre-commitment to your goal by e.g. not buying chocolate and having it in the house if you want to not binge on chocolate. I.e. If it is not in the house then you would have to go out to buy some and the effort involved might be enough to dissuade you from doing so , thereby making your intention to not binge chocolate easier to keep to)
A price pact (where you make a public commitment such as not checking your phone whilst someone is talking and then paying a financial penalty if you do so)
An identity pact ( Tell the world who you are and what you don’t do e.g. I don’t eat cakes...then people are less likely to offer them to you or will challenge you if they spot you doing so)
For more in depth examples about this book and the various techniques in it why not watch this YouTube video: INDISTRACTABLE by Nir Eyal | Core Message
