How to Control Your Dopamine for Maximum Productivity

Summary

In this insightful video, Ali Abdaal, a doctor turned entrepreneur, delves into the science of dopamine, exploring its role in reward and motivation. He discusses the impact of social media and technology on our dopamine levels and how they can be manipulated to our detriment. Drawing from Dr. Anna Lembke's work, Ali offers four actionable strategies to control dopamine, including the 'Rule of Pain Before Pleasure' and embracing boredom, aiming to improve productivity and well-being without succumbing to addictive behaviors.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in reward and motivation, acting as the 'currency' in our brain's reward system.
• 🔊 Dopamine works through two mechanisms: tonic transmission, which is a constant low-level release, and phasic transmission, which is a surge in response to rewards or novel stimuli.
• 📲 The concept of dopamine detoxing is about abstaining from activities that induce high dopamine release, such as excessive social media use, to reset our dopamine levels and avoid addiction.
• 🎯 Dopamine 'detox' does not mean eliminating dopamine but rather reducing the activities that cause a spike in dopamine, helping us to enjoy simple pleasures and less stimulating environments.
• 🤔 Dr. Anna Lembke's book 'Dopamine Nation' offers insights into the science of dopamine and strategies for finding balance in a world of instant gratification.
• 📉 Dopamine release can be unpredictable; unexpected rewards lead to increased dopamine, while expected rewards do not trigger additional release, and unmet expectations can decrease dopamine levels.
• 🚫 The idea of a dopamine detox involves resetting the balance between tonic and phasic dopamine release, which can help us appreciate the simple joys of life more.
• 🏋️‍♂️ The 'Rule of Pain Before Pleasure' suggests that experiencing discomfort first can heighten the pleasure derived from subsequent enjoyable activities.
• ⏰ The 'Rule of Avoidance' encourages creating barriers to high dopamine activities, like setting time limits or avoiding triggers, to help reset dopamine levels.
• 🚫 'Rule of Barriers' involves setting personal rules to limit high dopamine activities, such as using apps to restrict access during certain hours or avoiding certain诱人 foods or activities.
• 🤹‍♂️ Embracing 'The Rule of Boredom' can lead to increased creativity and appreciation for less stimulating activities, as it allows the brain to engage in daydreaming and reflection.

Q & A

What is dopamine and why is it significant in the context of the video?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain's reward system, influencing motivation and pleasure. In the video, it is discussed in the context of how it can affect our behaviors, particularly in relation to technology and social media use, and how understanding it can help improve productivity and well-being.

What are the two main ways dopamine works in the brain according to the video?

The two main ways dopamine works in the brain are tonic transmission and phasic transmission. Tonic transmission is the continuous, random release of small amounts of dopamine, setting the baseline level, while phasic transmission is a surge of dopamine release in response to a stimulus, such as a reward or an unexpected event.

What is the 'dopamine detox' as discussed in the video?

The 'dopamine detox' is not about detoxing from dopamine itself, but rather abstaining from activities that cause a surge in dopamine release, like excessive social media use or video gaming. The goal is to reset the balance between tonic and phasic dopamine release, which can help reduce addictive behaviors and improve overall well-being.

What are the three potential outcomes when someone receives a notification on their phone, as explained in the video?

The three potential outcomes are: 1) Receiving more likes than predicted, leading to a dopamine surge due to the reward prediction error. 2) Receiving the exact number of likes predicted, resulting in no additional dopamine release as there is no prediction error. 3) Receiving fewer likes than predicted, causing a decrease in dopamine levels due to the unmet expectation.

How does the video explain the manipulation of dopamine by social media companies?

The video explains that social media companies use algorithms to provide random, intermittent rewards, such as likes or comments, to keep users engaged for longer periods. This manipulation leverages the dopamine release associated with unexpected rewards, creating a cycle that can lead to excessive use of these platforms.

What is the 'rule of pain before pleasure' strategy mentioned in the video and how does it work?

The 'rule of pain before pleasure' strategy suggests that by first engaging in an activity that causes a bit of discomfort or pain, one is more likely to experience pleasure afterward. This approach is meant to balance the dopamine levels by creating a contrast between the discomfort and the subsequent pleasurable activity.

What does the video suggest as a method to help control dopamine levels?

The video suggests several strategies to control dopamine levels, including the 'rule of avoidance' which involves phasing out high dopamine activities, 'rule of barriers' which involves setting personal rules and limits, and the 'rule of boredom' which encourages embracing boredom as a way to reduce reliance on high dopamine stimuli.

What is the significance of the 'type one fun' and 'type two fun' distinction made in the video?

The video distinguishes between 'type one fun', which is immediate and pleasurable, and 'type two fun', which may be challenging or uncomfortable at the time but provides a deeper sense of satisfaction and joy afterward. This distinction is used to illustrate the value of enduring some discomfort for greater long-term pleasure.

How does the video relate the concept of 'boredom' to dopamine control?

The video suggests that embracing boredom can be a strategy for controlling dopamine levels. By allowing ourselves to be bored, we can reduce our reliance on constant stimulation and learn to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, which can help balance our dopamine responses.

What is the role of the 'default mode network' in the context of the video?

The 'default mode network' is a part of the brain that becomes active when we are not focused on the outside world, such as during boredom or daydreaming. The video suggests that allowing this network to activate can lead to increased creativity and appreciation for less stimulating activities.

What is the book 'Feelgood Productivity' by Ali Abdaal about, as mentioned in the video?

The book 'Feelgood Productivity' by Ali Abdaal is about how to do more of what matters to you in a way that is enjoyable, effective, and sustainable. It provides practical advice on improving productivity while maintaining a balance with one's well-being.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Dopamine and Productivity

The video script introduces the topic of dopamine, its role in reward and motivation, and the concept of dopamine detoxing. The speaker, Ali, a doctor turned entrepreneur, shares his personal interest in dopamine due to his background in medicine and psychology. He discusses the importance of understanding dopamine for boosting productivity and well-being, referencing Dr. Anna Lembke's work on finding balance in the age of indulgence. The script outlines the plan to explore what dopamine is, how to control it, and provides four actionable tips for improved productivity.

05:00

🚀 Understanding Dopamine Transmission

This paragraph delves into the scientific aspects of dopamine, explaining it as a neurotransmitter involved in movement, sleep, mood, and particularly, reward and motivation. The explanation differentiates between tonic and phasic transmission, using the analogy of a restaurant's background noise and someone calling your name, respectively. It further illustrates how dopamine responds to rewards, particularly the unexpected ones, which cause a surge in dopamine levels, referred to as reward prediction error. The paragraph also discusses how social media companies exploit this mechanism to manipulate user behavior and keep them engaged on their platforms.

10:01

🔄 Dopamine Detox and Addiction

The script addresses the misconceptions around dopamine detoxing, clarifying that it involves abstaining from activities that induce dopamine release, not detoxing from dopamine itself. It presents scenarios to illustrate how repeated exposure to addictive substances or behaviors can lead to increased baseline dopamine levels, necessitating higher stimuli for the same pleasurable effect, a cycle that can be broken through a dopamine detox. The concept of a chronic dopamine deficit state is introduced, where individuals struggle to enjoy simple pleasures due to a heightened tonic level of dopamine, leading to anxiety and depression.

15:01

🛡️ Strategies for Dopamine Control

The final paragraph presents four actionable strategies for controlling dopamine levels. The first strategy, 'Rule of Pain Before Pleasure,' suggests experiencing discomfort before indulging in pleasurable activities to enhance the pleasure derived from them. The second strategy, 'Rule of Avoidance,' recommends phasing out high dopamine activities to reset the dopamine balance over four weeks. The third strategy, 'Rule of Barriers,' involves setting personal rules and barriers to limit high dopamine activities. Lastly, the 'Rule of Boredom' encourages embracing boredom as a way to appreciate the simple pleasures of life without constant stimulation. The script concludes by emphasizing the value of these strategies in taking control of one's dopamine levels and using technology as a tool rather than being controlled by it.

Keywords

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a crucial role in the reward and motivation system. It is often referred to as the 'feel-good' hormone because it is released in response to pleasurable activities and helps reinforce behaviors by creating a sense of satisfaction and desire. In the video, dopamine is central to the discussion on how it influences our behaviors, particularly in relation to technology and social media use.

💡Dopamine Detox

Dopamine detox refers to the practice of abstaining from activities that trigger the release of dopamine, with the aim of resetting the brain's dopamine levels and reducing addictive behaviors. The video script discusses the misconception that dopamine detox means detoxing from dopamine itself, when in fact it's about detoxing from activities that cause a surge in dopamine, such as excessive use of social media or gaming.

💡Tonic Transmission

Tonic transmission is the continuous, low-level release of dopamine by neurons, which sets the baseline dopamine level in the brain. This concept is introduced in the script to explain the background level of dopamine that is always present, as opposed to the phasic release that occurs in response to specific rewards or stimuli.

💡Phasic Transmission

Phasic transmission is the sudden, event-driven release of dopamine that occurs in response to a reward or a novel stimulus. The script uses the analogy of hearing one's name called out in a noisy restaurant to illustrate how phasic transmission stands out against the background noise of tonic transmission, signaling an important event or reward.

💡Reward Prediction Error

Reward prediction error is a concept in the script that describes the discrepancy between the expected and actual rewards. When the actual reward exceeds the expectation, it results in an increase in dopamine release, creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces the behavior. This concept is used to explain how unexpected rewards can lead to heightened feelings of pleasure and motivation.

💡Intermittent Reward

Intermittent reward is a psychological concept where rewards are given at random intervals, which can lead to increased engagement and addictive behaviors. The script mentions how social media algorithms use this principle to keep users engaged by providing unpredictable rewards, such as likes or comments, thereby stimulating dopamine release.

💡Dopamine Deficit State

A dopamine deficit state, as described in the script, is a condition where individuals have a heightened baseline level of dopamine due to constant exposure to high-reward stimuli. This can lead to a decreased ability to enjoy modest or natural rewards, causing individuals to seek out more intense stimuli to achieve the same level of satisfaction.

💡Pleasure and Pain Seesaw

The pleasure and pain seesaw is a metaphor used in the script to illustrate the balance between pleasurable activities and discomfort. It suggests that by first experiencing a bit of discomfort or 'pain,' one can increase the perceived pleasure of subsequent activities. This concept is part of the strategy to control dopamine levels by managing expectations and experiences.

💡Rule of Pain Before Pleasure

The rule of pain before pleasure is a strategy mentioned in the script that encourages individuals to engage in an uncomfortable or challenging activity before indulging in a pleasurable one. This approach is intended to reset the dopamine balance by making the pleasurable activity more rewarding and satisfying after experiencing some discomfort.

💡Avoidance

Avoidance, in the context of the script, is a strategy for controlling dopamine levels by consciously staying away from activities or stimuli that trigger excessive dopamine release. It is part of the dopamine detox process, where individuals abstain from addictive behaviors for a period to reset their dopamine levels and reduce dependence.

💡Boredom

Boredom is presented in the script as a valuable state to embrace, as it can lead to increased creativity and self-reflection. The script suggests that by allowing ourselves to be bored, we can tap into our default mode network, leading to daydreaming and potentially generating creative ideas. This strategy is part of a broader approach to managing dopamine by reducing reliance on constant stimulation.

Highlights

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in reward and motivation, acting as a 'currency' in the brain's reward system.

Dopamine operates through tonic and phasic transmission, setting baseline levels and signaling rewards, respectively.

Unexpected rewards lead to increased dopamine release, creating feelings of pleasure, while expected rewards do not trigger additional dopamine.

Dr. Anna Lembke's book 'Dopamine Nation' provides insights into managing dopamine levels for improved productivity and well-being.

Dopamine detoxing involves abstaining from activities that induce high dopamine levels to reset the brain's reward system.

The concept of a 'dopamine deficit state' describes a condition where high baseline dopamine levels reduce the enjoyment of everyday activities.

Social media algorithms exploit the dopamine system by providing random, intermittent rewards to keep users engaged.

The 'Rule of Pain Before Pleasure' suggests experiencing discomfort before indulging in pleasurable activities to enhance dopamine response.

The 'Rule of Avoidance' recommends phasing out high dopamine activities to reset the brain's dopamine balance over four weeks.

Triggers associated with addictive behaviors release small amounts of dopamine, which can initiate cravings.

Creating barriers such as chronological, geographical, and categorical limits can help manage dopamine-inducing behaviors.

The 'Rule of Boredom' encourages embracing the state of being unoccupied to foster creativity and reduce reliance on dopamine hits.

Balancing tonic and phasic dopamine release can help individuals enjoy simple pleasures without constant high stimulation.

The video offers a free 'Focus Crash Course' for strategies to improve focus and control dopamine levels.

Ali Abdaal, the author of 'Feelgood Productivity', emphasizes the importance of making work enjoyable and sustainable to enhance productivity.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to leave a review on Amazon for 'Feelgood Productivity' if they found the content valuable.

Transcripts

so in The Last 5 Years there's been a

lot of stuff online about

dopamine and how it causes us to be

addicted to things like our phones and

in particular the idea of dopamine

detoxing today I'm talking about

dopamine detoxing dopamine detox

dopamine detox you do not control

dopamine dopamine controls you and so

given all these Trends I wanted to

better understand the actual science

about what dopamine is but also how we

can manage our dopamine levels to

improve our overall productivity and

well-being so me and my team spent

absolutely ages reading a bunch of

research papers listening to tons of

podcasts and going through some books to

try and figure out exactly what is going

on with dopamine now in particular this

involved going through Dr Anna ly's work

she's a psychiatrist at Stanford

University School of Medicine and she

recently published a book called

dopamine Nation finding balance in the

age of indulgence and she's got some

really helpful takeaways that I hope

will be genuinely needle moving for your

productivity so in this video we're

going to be looking at what dopamine is

the science behind how to control

dopamine and four actionable tips that

will hopefully help boost your overall

productivity and by the way if you're

new to the channel then hello my name is

Ali I'm a doctor turned entrepreneur and

I'm the author of the book Feelgood

productivity which is about how to do

more of what matters to you in a way

that's enjoyable effective and

sustainable and I've actually got a

personal interest in dopamine given that

a I went through med school B I did an

extra degree in Psychology with some

modules on cognitive Neuroscience which

featured dopamine pretty heavily and so

exploring dopamine for this video was

kind of fun because it was sort of

revisiting some of the stuff I did at

University but with more of a focus on

how understanding dopamine can genuinely

help us boost our productivity and

ideally improve our lives as well

part one what is

dopamine okay so this is dopamine it is

a small molecule called a

neurotransmitter that works in our brain

mostly and it helps our neurons or our

nerve cells communicate with each other

now dopamine is involved in a bunch of

different things including movement and

sleep and mood but most importantly for

this video it's involved in reward and

motivation and the way we can think of

it is that in our brain's reward system

dopamine is the major currency that

motivates us to actually do stuff okay

so how do they do that well there are

Broly two different ways in which

dopamine works in the brain there is

tonic transmission and then there is

phasic

[Music]

transmission so to understand these

let's imagine that you're in a

restaurant now tonic transmission is

like the constant hum of the people who

are chattering around you it's basically

background noise and you can't really

make out any individual conversations

and tonic transmission is when your

neurons are randomly but continuously

releasing small amounts of dopamine and

this sets your Baseline dopamine

[Music]

level and then you can think of phasic

transmission as if someone is calling

your name out in the restaurant which

you can make out and respond to even

though there are lots of other people

talking and this represents a surge of

dopamine which is sort of the signal

above the noise this by the way is

sometimes called the cocktail party

effect where you're in a cocktail party

there is a hum of chatter in the the

background and if someone says your name

oh hey Alie you'll be able to hear it

now here's how this might work in

reality so imagine getting an Instagram

notification on your phone for some

likes on a new Instagram post that

you've just posted now at first your

dopamine is set at its Baseline because

of tonic transmission but then when your

phone buzzes and lights up with a

notification this is called a Q and this

causes a phasic release of dopamine

because we expect to open Instagram to

find a message from someone and that is

the reward and this short burst of dope

creates this feeling of wanting or

craving and it m moates us to do

something so in this case we feel the

urge and we feel motivated to unlock our

phone and open

Instagram now at this point there are

three potential different outcomes

outcome number one is that we get more

likes than we predicted so in this post

I got 11,000 likes and maybe I predicted

only getting 5,000 likes and so when I

open this post and I see 11,000 likes I

get a release in dopamine so here in

blue we've got the tonic release of

dopamine we get a little bit of phasic

release of dopamine when I see the Q I.E

the Ping and the buzz of the

notification and then once I open my

phone and I get the reward which is more

likes than I thought I would get

suddenly we get an increase in dopamine

and that is the surge of dopamine and

this is called a reward prediction error

our brain made a prediction of how many

likes we're going to get we made an

error in that prediction and we ended up

getting more likes than we thought and

this unexpected reward is what causes

that increase in dopamine that is option

number one now we've got option number

two which is let's say we get exactly

the same amount amount of likes as we

predicted so I predict I would get 5,000

likes for this picture and I got about

5,000 likes for this picture now I still

get the increase in dopamine from the

que I seeing the notification pop up but

in this case because the reward was

expected I got exactly the same number

of likes as I expected my brain did not

make an error in the prediction the

prediction was correct and I get no

dopamine release so when you get an

unexpected reward you get an increase in

dopamine but when you get an expected

reward a reward that you knew was going

to come you don't get any dopamine

release that's very interesting now

option number three is what if you get

fewer likes than you predicted what if I

predicted 5,000 likes and I only got

1,000 likes now in this context I still

get the increase in dopamine from the Q

I.E the buzz of my notification because

that's the QED dopamine release but then

the reward is absent I made a prediction

error I predicted 5,000 likes I only got

1,000 likes and this very interestingly

causes a decrease in dopamine levels now

as you might appreciate from this

example when dopamine is released we

feel pretty good when dopamine is at its

Baseline we feel like m whatever that's

pretty normal but when dopamine is

decreased we feel pretty bad which is

why it feels kind of bad to get fewer

like than you expected and feels kind of

good to get more like than you expected

now in a lot of cases this relationship

between dopamine prediction reward and

feeling good or bad is actually quite

good like when we get hungry dopamine

motivates us to find food if that food

is particularly tastier than what we

predicted I.E unfortunately if it has

more sugar and fat in it than what we

potentially predicted we're going to

release dopamine that's going to make us

feel good and obviously this sort of

thing is very useful for the survival of

our species but in other cases like

social media for example our dopamine

system can be manipulated by social

media companies to change our behavior

and keep us on these apps for way longer

than we should so for example these

companies know that we release more

dopamine when we don't expect something

so sometimes you'll be scrolling through

Instagram reals or whatever and none of

them will seem particularly interesting

but suddenly you're hit with something

super funny or you might have been

browsing Instagram for some time and

then it randomly will send you a

notification telling you how many likes

you got on your most recent post and

this is what is called a random

intermittent reward where you are shown

something rewarding at random intervals

and social media algorithms use this to

keep giving us hits of dopamine and it

keeps us on the apps for longer and the

rise of social media and gaming and

other addictive stuff is why dopamine is

becoming an increasingly bigger topic of

discussion oh by the way on route to

being able to control your dopamine

figuring out all this stuff you might

like to check out a really helpful app

called rise who are very kindly

sponsoring this video rise is a really

good automatic time tracker so what you

do is that you install it on any device

and what it does is that in the

background it figures out what app

you're using or what website you're on

or whatever and it will then categorize

things into work or entertainment or

emails or communication and a bunch of

different categories you can create

custom categories as well I've been

using rice for the last 2 and 1 half

years now and it's just super helpful to

see exactly where my time is going so I

can see things like last month I spent

an ungodly amount of time watching

random Youtube videos during working

hours where I sort of intended to work

but then I ended up getting distracted

by YouTube it's also got a built-in

pomodora timer which is just kind of

nice for being able to time your work

sessions and the other nice thing about

it is that it pops up with these like

distraction reminders so if it senses

like for me if I'm on Google Docs cuz

I'm working on a writing project and

then I open a new browser window to go

on a news site or YouTube or something

like that it will recognize hang on

that's probably a distraction will pop

up with a big popup asking hey are you

getting distracted and then you can say

yep thanks for the reminder or you can

say nope this is not a distraction and

even just that it's just like a oh yeah

I getting distracted whoops thanks for

the reminder let me go back to the thing

that I was actually trying to do if

you're interested in checking it out you

can get a free trial at rise. i/ Al

abdal and that will be linked down in

the video description as well thank you

so much rise for sponsoring this video

okay so now that we know all of that

let's talk about how can we control our

dopamine and use it potentially to our

advantage rather than becoming a slave

to the social media

algorithms part two how to control your

dopamine okay so one thing that's fairly

common here on YouTube around how to

control your dopamine is the idea of a

dopamine detox and the general idea here

is that if you're feeling particularly

addicted to social media or video games

or porn or whatever the thing might be

then by completely abstaining from those

things and going cold turkey for a

period of days or weeks you can in

theory reset your dopamine levels and

you can stop the addiction to that

specific behavior now a lot of people

don't understand the term dopamine detox

they think it means detoxing from

dopamine but you can't detox from

dopamine because you need dopamine to

like live and move and survive and it

would be very bad if you tried to detox

from dopamine instead dopamine detox is

when you detox from dopamine inducing

activities like The Addictive behaviors

or the social media or the video games

or whatever the thing might

be so let's let's imagine two different

scenarios we've got scenario 1 and

scenario 2 and scenario 1 is someone who

tries drugs for the first time the blue

is their tonic background level of

dopamine release and then at some point

they try a drug and they get a phasic

release of dopamine and this feels

wonderful because you get lots of

dopamine and dopamine feels good and

this makes you want to continue using

the drugs or whatever addictive behavior

the thing might be but then the problem

is if you use the addictive thing the

drug the video game whatever the thing

might be if you use it too often you

actually increase your tonic levels of

dopamine transmission and that means the

next time you know after a while if you

take the drug you get a phasic release

but this phasic release doesn't really

stand out compared to the tonic

background level of dopamine and so to

get the same hit of euphoria you need to

increase the dose you need to take

double the dose of the drug or play

video games for even longer or go even

more extreme and whatever the thing

might be to get any sense of feeling

good and when you're in this cycle of

constantly having to seek out more to

get that same sense of feeling good this

is sometimes called a dopamine deficit

State I believe that what's happening is

that we as both individ ual and nations

are exposed to so many high reward

substances from our coffee in the

morning to that first text that we read

to our Netflix binge at night that were

all in a chronic dopamine deficit State

barely able to enjoy the modest rewards

of life and experiencing more and more

anxiety and depression that was Dr Anna

lmy who we mentioned before is a

dopamine expert and the author of this

book dopamine Nation why our addiction

to pleasure is causing us pain and so

really in this chronic dopamine deficit

State the problem is that things that

don't release a lot of dopamine like

reading or watching a slow TV show or

taking a walk in the park or hanging out

with friends those things no longer make

us feel good cuz we've got such a high

tonic level of dopamine that we need an

enormous signal to feel anything at all

and that's one of the reasons why a lot

of us find it hard to watch a TV show or

a movie without checking our phone

because we kind of need that extra hit

of dopamine to feel anything at all

which is kind of scary and so if you

want to do a dopamine detox the idea is

that really it's about resetting the

balance between tonic and phasic

dopamine release and you can almost

think of it as resetting your Baseline

levels of enjoyment we actively want the

phasic signals to be heard above the

tonic background noise of dopamine again

and to do this we need to stop doing too

much of the things that give us those

big spikes in dopamine and those instant

feelings of pleasure things like

scrolling Tik Tok for too long or video

gaming or gambling or eating too much

sugary food late at night and really in

short a dopamine detox is kind of just a

fancy way of saying that we need to

learn to enjoy The Simple Pleasures in

life and the idea is that by resetting

this balance between tonic and phasic

dopamine release we will learn to become

happier in a less stimulating

environment oh by the way if you're

enjoying this video so far you might

like to check out my completely free

Focus crash course it's at Focus

crashcourse tocom it's a 7-Day series of

emails where each day I'll email you

some actionable strategies and tools

that you can use to improve your focus

and to really help take control of your

dopamine it's completely free you can

unsubscribe whenever you want there's a

link down below or head over to focus

crashcourse

tocom part three four actionable

strategies for controlling your dopamine

strategy number one the rule of pain

before pleasure

so there's this nice diagram in Dr

Anna's book that shows this seesaw

between Pleasure and Pain if you press

too much on the pleasure side the brain

will want to achieve homeostasis and go

back towards pain it wants these things

to be level but crucially if you press

on the pain side then you're more likely

to then experience pleasure and that's

why this strategy is the rule of pain

before pleasure because if you can get

yourself to feel some sort of pain or do

an uncomfortable thing first you're more

likely to then experience the pleasure

of doing the more pleasurable thing

afterwards like for example when you've

just finished watching an episode of

your favorite Netflix show then you're

going to want to watch another one and

then another and then another but if you

decide at any point not to continue

watching that episode that next episode

you're going to start to feel the sense

of pain and so the way that I personally

think about this is that if I'm about to

do something that's highly dopamine

inducing or highly pleasurable I'll sort

of think how can I pay for this upfront

by experiencing a little bit of

discomfort so on the weekends for

example I've got the whole day to myself

and I know I want to play some Horizon

forbidden West on the PS5 on the days

where I just play Horizon forbidden West

all day I actually don't feel that great

but if I can talk myself into to the gym

first or getting my 10,000 steps by

walking around the park first and then

it's almost like I'm rewarding myself

for experiencing that discomfort with

the video game the video game feels

better and then also like going to the

gym or going for a walk in the park

those generally low dopamine activities

also start to feel good and there's an

interesting way of thinking of this

which is sort of separating out two

types of fun there's type one fun and

then there's type two fun type one fun

is the pure fun type of fun like playing

a video game or whatever but type two

fun is the fun that sort of fun in

hindsight like running a marathon or

like going on a on a big challenge hike

those are also fun but they're like kind

of painful in the moment but they give

you this incredible feeling of Joy

afterwards and that's this idea of the

pleasure pain seesaw tipping in the pain

Direction so that you get more pleasure

afterwards all right strategy number two

is the rule of voidance so we talked

about how always having these high

dopamine activities like social media or

videos or whatever always having them on

increases our tonic levels of dopamine

and so the rule of avoidance is

basically to cultivate moments where you

are not doing a high doine activity and

you're ideally slowly phasing out those

activities now it's worth appreciating

that it takes about 4 weeks to reset our

dopamine balance according to Dr Ana lmy

and in those four weeks we need to avoid

the addictive behavior altogether if we

can this is the idea of dopamine

detoxing and one of the best ways to do

this is to avoid anything that reminds

you of the thing that you find addictive

and triggers are things that make us

want to go back to using our drug and

the key thing about triggers whatever

they are is they also release a little

bit of dopamine right so just thinking

about whatever the trigger is that we

associate with drug use or just thinking

about drug use can already release this

anticipatory DOP mean this little mini

Spike so for example if you find

yourself scrolling on Tik Tok too much

at night then you might need to turn off

your notifications entirely or just

uninstall the app and get rid of

notifications so that you don't have any

cue or craving to open the app now

breaking this cycle will take a bit of

effort and you're definitely going to

feel worse before you feel better

because you'll experience this almost as

withdrawal symptoms and this might

include feeling agitated feeling angry

and sometimes even not being being able

to sleep but the idea is that over this

4 weeks as we explicitly avoid that

behavior or detox from it we need to

learn to enjoy ourselves without relying

on those things that release lots of

dopamine next up we have the rule of

barriers so avoiding something entirely

can be really hard especially if you

feel kind of addicted to it so another

way to help with this is to put up

barriers and personal rules and this is

more about creating a healthy balance of

these kind of high dopamine behaviors

rather than necessarily cutting them out

completely and there are these three

types of barriers that Dr analy talks

about there is chronological

geographical and categorical now

chronological barriers are time barriers

like limiting the amount of time you

spend on social media apps or on your

phone or in video games for example one

thing that I personally do is I use the

app opal which is a very good

distraction blocker and it blocks all

social media apps from 9:00 p.m. at

night all the way through to 9:00 a.m.

in the morning which means I just don't

end up scrolling whoops which means I

just don't end up scrolling on my phone

at night time now geographical barriers

are simply physical barriers like if

you're addicted to chocolate just not

buying the chocolate and putting in your

house in the first place it's a lot

easier to avoid chocolate if there's

none in the house and then categorical

barriers is placing rules or limits on

yourself for the types of games or the

types of activities that you do so for

example you might put a categorical

barrier that you're no longer going to

drink any sugary drinks for

example and then finally we come to my

favorite one which is the rule of

boredom so we live in a world where

actually being bored is ridiculously

rare you always have your phone with you

there is always something that you could

be doing but the idea behind this

strategy is that boredom is something

that we should learn to become more

comfortable with what people in recovery

from addiction talk about is to some

extent having to learn to live with

things being a little boring a lot of

the time right so trying to avoid some

of this intensity and thrill

seeking and escapism that really is at

the core of addictive Tendencies now I

really like this rule uh one thing I

often say to myself is if I'm going for

a walk in the park or if I'm driving I

will often tell myself the goal here is

to be bored so I don't then put my air

pods in and start listening to an audio

book at triple speed or listen to a

podcast or watch a YouTube video in the

background with YouTube premium blah

blah blah and when boredom is the goal

then it's like all right cool well if

bedm is the goal I would just take a

stroll in the park and not really think

about too much and ironically or perhaps

expectedly when I do that you know

there's a part of the brain called the

default mode Network that becomes active

we start daydreaming and then often like

a lot of my most creative ideas happen

when I am not experiencing like the

stimulation of an audiobook or a podcast

or Instagram or YouTube all of that fun

stuff and so really for me after

thinking about all of this dopamine

stuff the main takeaway is that there is

incredible value in allowing ourselves

to appreciate the pleasures of the small

things we don't have to go on that fancy

holiday to have fun we don't have to

play those ridiculously addictive video

games we don't have to be always

scrolling on social media to feel

something and if we're in that position

already it's not really our fault it's

more like you know the social media

companies are hijacking our minds and

attention blah blah blah blah blah blah

but there is definitely stuff that we

can do to control our own dopamine

levels and to you know use the phone as

a tool rather than as something that

controls us and if you enjoyed this

video then I think you'll get a lot of

value out of my book it's called

Feelgood productivity it's about how to

do more of what matters to you in a way

that's actually enjoyable meaningful and

sustainable and really it's a practical

actionable guide on how to enjoy your

work a little bit more anything boring

that you're doing you know even though

we've got the rule of boredom you can

find ways to make it a little bit more

interesting for you and if you do that

you're more likely to be productive

you're more likely to be creative you're

less likely to be stressed and you're

also going to have more energy to give

to the truly important things in your

life it's available everywhere books are

sold it's translated into like 34

different languages available all around

the world so you might like to check it

out and if you have already read the

book then Amazon reviews are my love

language so if you enjoyed this video I

would love it if you could please leave

a review on Amazon for the book and if

you're struggling with all this derine

stuff then chances are you're also

probably struggling to focus and in that

case you might like to check out my

three-part video series over here which

is all about the actionable philosophies

strategies and tools that you can use to

improve your ability to focus so thank

you so much for watching hope you got

value out of this video and I'll see you

hopefully in the next one bye-bye