Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things (Productivity Series Book 1)

by Thibaut Meurisse

In today’s world where distractions are everywhere, our ability to focus has become a scarce commodity.

We’re constantly being stimulated, feeling restless, often without knowing why. When the time comes to focus on the key tasks that would enable us to make progress toward our goals, we can often find a plethora of other things to do.

Dopamine gives us the desire to take action to earn the exciting reward that’s waiting for us. It is the force that makes us act.

Contrary to what many people believe, dopamine is not a pleasure chemical. Simply because an event triggers the release of dopamine doesn’t mean it is something we like or get pleasure from. In fact, when you pay close attention, you’ll notice that as soon as you obtain the expected reward, you’ll often feel empty and unfulfilled.

The truth is that no amount of stimulation will ever bring you the sense of fulfillment you’re seeking.

Now, look at your own life. What are you addicted to? What do you crave? What are your main sources of stimulation? Do these things really make you happy?

Under such a state of stimulation, any task that requires concentration becomes much harder to perform. As a result, you will procrastinate. You delay writing that book you’ve always planned. You put off starting that new venture, or you’ll postpone that key project you’re in charge of.

By continuously triggering the release of dopamine through different means—such as drug or alcohol consumption—addicts actually strengthen their tolerance to such stimulation. As a result, they need stronger and stronger stimulus to experience the same sensation of pleasure.

If you can’t spend a day without engaging in a certain activity, it means you’re probably a little addicted to it.

How many times have you opened an app just because a red notification pops up on your screen? And how much time did you waste subsequently? I wouldn’t be surprised if it ran into hundreds of hours each year.

In a sense, instead of using the internet to find information or communicate with loved ones, the internet has become the one using you. It does so by hijacking your focus and making you unproductive and, as a result, restless.

Social media notifications are a great example of how your brain is being hijacked. Whenever you see a notification, you anticipate the reward you’ll receive when clicking on it, which triggers the release of dopamine in your brain. However, this doesn’t make you happy or fulfill you—at least not for long.

Remember, dopamine is not a pleasure chemical; it is a neurotransmitter that is activated when you anticipate a potential pleasure. A...

Whoever has succeeded in staying away from the internet or social media for a few days, understands what a waste of time and focus such activities can be.

Dopamine and constant stimulation can impair your ability to think long term

Studies have shown that one of the best predictors of success is the ability to think long term. People who repeatedly focus on where they want to be in the future, make better decisions in the present. They tend to eat healthier food, be more productive at work and save and invest more money than others.

long-time perspective, “was the most important determinant of financial and personal success in life.” He defined “long-time” as the “ability to think several years into the future while making decisions in the present.”

We know we should eat healthily but binge-eat on sweets or sugary beverages more than we should.

We understand we should study, but we procrastinate by watching yet another series on Netflix.

We can see the benefits of exercise, but we’d rather be sitting and chatting with...

social media, and the internet as a whole, have negatively impacted our ability to both think long-term and to focus ...

By receiving constant feedback, whether through likes, comments, or immediate replies to our messages, we condition ourselves to expect fast results with everything we do.

As we demand more and more stimulation, our focus is increasingly geared toward the short term and our vision of reality becomes distorted. This leads us to adopt inaccurate mental models such as: Success should come quickly and easily, or I don’t need to work hard to lose weight or make money.

We have to hurry before we miss the opportunity. We have to find the secret that will help us become successful. And, in this frenetic race, we forget one of the most important values of all: patience.

No, watching motivational videos all day long won’t help you reach your goals. But, performing daily consistent actions, sustained over a long period of time will. Staying calm and focusing on the one task in front of you every day will.

The point is, to achieve long-term goals in your personal or professional life, you must regain control of your attention and rewire your brain to focus on the long term. To do so, you should star...

Build the foundations for success one brick at a time. Build them strong so that they won’t collapse at the first obstacle or setback.

Remember, long-term thinking is the “secret” to achieving your goals.

You must develop the art of patience an...

Remove the external stimulations that prevent you from focusing on t...

When you are calm and focused, doing your main work can be surprisingly easy. You might even be excited, looking forward to making progress toward your biggest goals each day.

Trick #1—My mind convinces me going back to work is easy. Trick #2—My mind tells me I can do it later. Trick #3—My mind makes me believe that excitement is similar to fulfillment. Trick #4—My mind tells me opportunities are limited.

Reflect on your goals. What goals are you pursuing? Are they the right ones for you? Are you making progress toward them each day? And if you keep doing what you’re doing, will you reach them?

Assess how you’re using your time. Are you being truly productive each day? Do you spend time on things that matter? Which activities or projects do you really need to focus on? Which ones do you want to stop doing?

Self-reflect. Are you where you want to be in life? What inner work could you...

If you have any problems or worries, write them down alongside potential solutions. Just putting your thoughts on paper can help you declutter your mind and gain clarity. This is because it’s difficult to address thoughts that stay in your mind.

More generally speaking, dedicating time to thinking each week can make a major difference in your life. It can prevent you making big mistakes and save you a great deal of time and energy. Therefore, refuse to let busyness be an excuse to avoid reflecting on your life.

our never-ending search for stimulation is often an attempt to hide our fears. Being busy enables us to avoid having to face unpleasant feelings and scary truths about ourselves.

Being intentional with your day is an effective way to boost your productivity.

To set short-term goals, reverse-engineer what you must do to reach your long-term goals. For instance, if I want to write a book in the next ninety days, one goal could be to create an outline. Another could be to complete the first draft. And to hit that target, I could establish a specific daily word count.

Focus is your ability to maintain your concentration and avoid distraction or procrastination while working on your tasks.

Consistency means developing the habit of working on your key tasks every day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.

Impact means identifying your key tasks (the ones that have the greatest impact on your long-term success) and work...

Productivity can then be defined as having consistent focus on your ...

By focusing on your key tasks consistently for just forty-five minutes daily, you can make more progress than you can with almost anything else you could be doing instead.

a simple daily routine will help you condition your mind, help you feel more in control, and lower your stimulation. As a result, starting work will become easier.

One thing that will strengthen your routine is to be at the same place at the same time each day. The famous writer, Stephen King, sits at his desk every day at the same time and writes. He doesn’t wait for inspiration to come. Instead, he starts, knowing that inspiration will come as he immerses himself in his work. Do the same thing. Choose a time and place where you’ll be tackling your major tasks each day.

productivity is nothing more than focusing on your most impactful tasks and doing so consistently.

Once you have created your routine and identified your trigger, get started. If you can start work on your tasks for a few minutes, you’ll likely build enough momentum to keep going. You might even experience flow.

the “flow” is a mental state in which you’re so fully immersed in an activity that you become hyper-focused, while experiencing a sense of underlying enjoyment).