DEEP DIVE w/Ali Abdaal | The Science Of Productivity
George’s Podcast Reflection Notes. Listened on January 6th 2025
All these clips and short segments are made with the help of Snipd, the AI-powered podcast app for knowledge seekers.
Understand that the right path to stop a behavior is not always abstinence.
If you can remove external triggers from your environment, abstinence might work.
However, you often cannot remove triggers for technology or food because they are essential parts of modern life.
In these cases, telling yourself ‘no’ can backfire.
The 10 minute rule suggests delaying a distraction for 10 minutes, which can be shortened to 5 if needed.
This demonstrates agency and the ability to control impulses.
Abstinence can backfire due to psychological reactance, the tendency to rebel when told what to do.
Instead of strict denial, acknowledge the choice to delay, disarming reactance.
By saying ‘I can do whatever I want. I’m a grown human being. I can make my own choices. I choose to delay this by 10 minutes’, you are much more likely to succeed.
Traction and distraction are opposites derived from the Latin root ‘trahare,’ meaning ‘to pull’.
Traction is any action that pulls you toward what you intended to do, aligning with your values and goals.
Distraction pulls you away from your intentions, values, and desired self.
Intent is the key difference between traction and distraction.
Planned time for leisure is traction, as long as it aligns with your intentions.
Unintentional distractions are more dangerous because people are not aware of the issue.
