Nir EyalSpeaker on Behavioral Science, NYT Bestselling Author, Former Stanford Lecturer

This is How to be Less Distracted By Having Fun in Tedious Tasks

Name: This is How to be Less Distracted By Having Fun in Tedious Tasks
Uploaded: 2020-09-07T13:00:19+00:00
Duration: 53 s
Channel: Nir Eyal
Description: A short talk advising viewers to reduce distraction by changing how they view tedious tasks. The speaker argues that distractions (e.g., phones, social…

7 Sept 2020 · 1 min

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A short talk advising viewers to reduce distraction by changing how they view tedious tasks. The speaker argues that distractions (e.g., phones, social media, TV) are symptoms of a desire to escape discomfort—boredom, fear, anxiety—and recommends reframing tasks rather than abstaining from enjoyable distractions.

Chapters

Want to be less distracted, Try this Find the fun, tedious tasks from comic books and radio programs to TV shows and Atari games, the world has always been full of things that distract us. Today, most of us blame our phones or more specifically, social media, Words With Friends or Netflix as the reason we can't get anything done. Yet. These aren't the real culprits. Instead, our distraction is usually driven by our desire to escape discomfort, including boredom, fear, and anxiety. When you binge on the office rather than doing your taxes, watching Michael Parn and Dwight is your understandable way of avoiding an activity you deem to be a tedious task. The secret to staying focused at times like these is not to abstain from the office. You'll just find another distraction, but to change your perspective on the task itself.