Building an "Indistractable" Household and Forming Healthy Habits | Nir Eyal (father of 1, author of Hooked & Indistractable)

Startup Dad

Nir Eyal writes, consults and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology and business. He is the best-selling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Earlier in his career he co-founded and sold two tech companies. In addition to his books and his blog his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology today. He is a husband of 23 years and the father of one teenager. In today's conversation we discussed:

• Lessons learned from both Hooked and Indistractable
• What parents specifically can do to avoid distraction and build healthy habits in themselves and their kids
• Examples from his life and books on building an indistractable household
• Habit formation and the role of extrinsic vs. intrinsic rewards
• Limit setting
• Why kids reach for phones and technology today
• Self-determination theory and the science of motivation
• Actions you can take right now to reduce distraction in your family

—

Where to find Nir Eyal

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nireyal

- Website: https://www.nirandfar.com/

Where to find Adam Fishman

- FishmanAF Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

—

In this episode, we cover

[1:56] Welcome

[2:33] Childhood

[5:16] Family now

[5:40] Lessons from Indistractable as parents

[19:19] How partners align on strategy

[23:44] Teaching kids how to make time for traction

[30:35] Self determination theory

[37:02] Age restrictions as protection for kids

[43:51] Rewards as a parent

[48:36] Most surprising thing as a dad

[51:49] What is your favorite thing to do with your daughter?

[53:06] Recharge batteries

[54:56] Follow along

[55:25] Rapid Fire

[59:14] Thank you

—

Show references:

Empire of the Sun: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092965/

Back to the Future: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Dungeons and Dragons: https://dnd.wizards.com/

Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/

Nir’s book Indistractable: https://www.nirandfar.com/indistractable/

Nir’s book Hooked: https://www.nirandfar.com/hooked/

Hasso Plattner: https://engineering.stanford.edu/get-involved/support-engineering/funding-initiatives/hasso-plattner-institute-design-dschool

Fortnite: https://www.fortnite.com/

Minecraft: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us

World of Warcraft: https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/

Fitbod: https://fitbod.me/

—

For sponsorship inquiries email: [e-mail].

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com

Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/