Dopamine Detox - Notes

Introduction

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. Instead of working toward our goals, we might pop out for a walk, grab a coffee, check our emails or reorganize our files instead. Everything seems like a great idea—everything except the very thing we should be doing.

PART I - DOPAMINE AND THE ROLE IT PLAYS

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which makes us anticipate rewards such as having sexual relationships or eating nourishing food. 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. As such, it is a very useful neurotransmitter that has helped us survive and reproduce—and probably one of the main reasons you and I exist today.

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. Yet, many of us are constantly overstimulated, looking for the next source that could trigger a release of dopamine. It seems as though we always want more and are never satisfied. And the more we seek stimulation, the worse it becomes.

You’re addicted to highly stimulating activities (such as watching video games, immersing yourself in social media or reading emails). When you undertake these activities, you start losing self-control—you want more and more stimulation. And even though they may not give you any real pleasure or lasting fulfillment, you keep doing them. After all, you need the next hit of dopamine, don’t you?

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.

To sum up, from an evolutionary perspective, dopamine’s role is to encourage you to act to earn the anticipated reward needed for your survival or reproduction. This is dopamine’s primary role. Unfortunately, in today’s world, the process has been hijacked, which leads to many unintended consequences, as we’ll discuss in the next section.

PART II - THE PROBLEM

The neurotransmitter of more

You can think of dopamine as the “molecule of more”. This is because the more our environment or actions trigger the release of dopamine, the more we’ll want our next “shot” of dopamine. In fact, this self-reinforcing mechanism is also how many addictions work.

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.

Your dopamine neurotransmitters are being hijacked

Your focus is a scarce asset, which is why marketers spend billions of dollars to attract your attention. Many apps are designed to hook you. Social media companies like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram know that the more time you spend on their platforms, the more money they make through advertising. Perhaps one of their greatest recent discoveries is the use of notifications.

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. And that pleasure is usually temporary.

Below are some other ways your dopamine neurotransmitters are being hijacked:

• Whenever you check your email, you’re expecting a reward, which could be a message from a friend or some exciting news.
• Whenever you check stats, such as investment portfolio or website traffic stats, you expect a reward from seeing encouraging numbers. The unpredictability makes it more exciting.
• Whenever you visit YouTube, you expect to watch interesting or exciting videos.
• Whenever you visit social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you’re anticipating rewards such as likes or comments on your posts, messages from friends, or interesting content.

When you engage in any of the above activities, you risk becoming not only overstimulated but also distracted and, as a result, you will lose your ability to focus. 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.

Unfortunately, these days, focusing on our long-term goals isn’t an easy feat. Many external forces lead us to become caught up in short-term thinking and encourage us to fall for immediate gratification. While we often know what we should be doing, we fail to do it.

Social media, and the internet as a whole, have negatively impacted our ability to both think long-term and to focus deeply on the task in front of us. It is no surprise, therefore, that Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, prohibited his children from using phones or tablets—even though his business was to sell millions of them to his customers!

The billionaire investor and former senior executive at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya, argues that we must rewire our brain to focus on the long term, which starts by removing social media apps from our phones. In his words, such apps, “wire your brain for super-fast feedback.”

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. And this feeling is certainly reinforced through ads for schemes to help us “get rich quick”, and through cognitive biases (i.e., we only hear about the richest and most successful YouTubers, not about the ones who fail).

As we demand more and more stimulation, our focus is increasingly geared toward the short term and our vision of reality becomes distorted.

Ultimately, this erroneous concept distorts our vision of reality and our perception of time. We can feel jealous of people who seem to have achieved overnight success. We can even resent popular YouTubers. Even worse, we feel inadequate. It can lead us to think we are just not good enough, smart enough, or disciplined enough. Therefore, we feel the need to compensate by hustling harder. 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.

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 start by staying away from highly stimulating activities.

You’re overstimulated

While there are many reasons to procrastinate, the most important one—and the one overlooked most often—is overstimulation. It often starts first thing in the morning when you grab your phone. Then, it continues when you check your emails. But it doesn’t stop there. You then decide to visit social media sites for “a few minutes”. By that time, emails, notifications, and likes will have already triggered the release of dopamine into your system. In short, you’ve become overstimulated.

The problem with overstimulation

When you’re engaging in highly stimulating activities, your brain will keep demanding more and more stimulation. As your level of stimulation rises, regular tasks will appear increasingly dull and unappealing. You’ll ask yourself, why work on my book, write a report or create a marketing plan when I could be doing something far more exciting?

The gap between your current high level of stimulation and the lower level of stimulation needed to tackle difficult tasks leads you to procrastinate.

Now, the key question is, what can we do about it? How can we lower our level of stimulation to make our major tasks appear more appealing and even exciting?

The stimulation traps

Now, the key question is, what can we do about it? How can we lower our level of stimulation to make our major tasks appear more appealing and even exciting?

As soon as you enter a state of overstimulation, your mind will play tricks on you to convince you there is no need to leave that “trance”. Instead, your mind encourages you to embrace it and seek even more stimulation. After all, we have to enjoy life, right?

In this section, let’s go over four tricks your mind plays on you to keep you overstimulated.

• Trick #1—returning to work is easy

  The first trick your mind will play on you is to pretend that returning to work will be easy. It will try to convince you that you can start work whenever you choose, that you’re in control of your actions. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. In most cases, you won’t be able to get back to work for hours. You might even find yourself postponing your key tasks until the next day

• Trick #2—you can do it later

  Another trick your mind will use is to tell you that you can do your task later. It will convince you there is plenty of time in the afternoon or that you can always do it tomorrow, next week or next month. However, if you don’t fight back, putting things off will become a habit. And five years from now, you’ll be angry at yourself for having accomplished so few goals.

• Trick #3—excitement is not the same thing as fulfillment

  When you’re engrossed in stimulating activities, your mind will sell you on how much fun and enjoyment you are having. You should do more of it. Don’t worry about anything else for now. Just enjoy yourself. Or so your mind says.

  But whatever your mind says, excitement doesn’t equal fulfillment. Once your level of stimulation reverts back to normal, ask yourself the following questions:

  How much did I actually benefit from watching YouTube videos, scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, or checking my emails repeatedly? In hindsight, was the time spent in a meaningful way? Did it enhance the quality of your life?

• Trick #4—you’re missing out

  Checking emails or news every thirty minutes gives you the illusion of having some control over your environment. You don’t want to miss an urgent email or the latest breaking news, right?

  This way of thinking results from the fear of missing out. And this fear reflects a scarcity mindset, which is based on the idea that there might be a limited number of opportunities available to you. As such, you should seize each opportunity while you still can, shouldn’t you?

  But opportunities are everywhere. There will always be more in the future. Sure, I wouldn’t recommend you miss the birth of your children or the wedding of your brother or sister, but for most events, it doesn’t matter.

As you go through your day, take note of whenever you fall into these traps. Awareness will help as you start to work on lowering your level of stimulation and becoming more focused on your goals.

PART III - THE BENEFITS OF A DETOX

What is dopamine detox?

The reduction of stimulation to prevent overstimulation and put you in the proper state of mind to tackle major tasks.

Scientifically speaking, the term “dopamine detox” is incorrect as it seems to imply that you’re releasing too much dopamine into your system. In truth, when you’re overstimulated, you simply need more external stimuli for the same amount of dopamine to be released.

A dopamine detox helps reduce stimulation, thereby allowing you to revert to a more natural state. When you need less stimulation, seemingly challenging, boring, or tedious tasks will become more appealing—and easier to tackle.

Now, let’s have a look at the different types of dopamine detox available. In this book, I will introduce you to three distinct types as below:

• The 48-hour complete dopamine detox.
• The 24-hour dopamine detox.
• The partial dopamine detox.

The 48/24-hour dopamine detox

You must eliminate most or all sources of external stimulation for a total of 48/24 hours. Doing so will help you reduce your overall level of stimulation and revert to your natural state. You will feel much calmer and find it easier to focus on any specific important task.

By “eliminating all external sources of stimulation”, I mean you need to remove the following things from your life for 48/24 hours:

• Drug/alcohol consumption
• Exercising
• Internet
• Movies
• Music (except perhaps for relaxation music)
• Phone
• Social media
• Sugar/processed foods
• Video games

Each of the above activities stimulates you, some more than others. Now, you might wonder:

If I eliminate these distractions, what should I be doing instead?

Here are some suggestions:

• Going for a contemplative walk
• Journaling
• Meditating/relaxing
• Practicing awareness exercises
• Reading (except stimulating reads perhaps)
• Stretching exercises

The partial dopamine detox

This type can be highly effective when maintained over a longer period of time. It entails removing your biggest source of stimulation. Usually, one specific activity acts as your greatest distraction.

PART IV - A THREE-STEP METHOD FOR A SUCCESSFUL DETOX

Step #1. Identify your biggest distractions

The first step to implementing an effective dopamine detox is to identify your biggest temptations and distractions. To do so, take a pen and a sheet of paper, and create two columns, “Cans” and “Can’ts”.

In the first column write down all the activities you will allow yourself to engage in. For instance, it might be going for a walk, journaling, working on a project, or reading books. In the second column, write down all the things you must avoid doing during your dopamine detox. For instance, it might be watching YouTube, checking your emails, or using social media.

Step #2. Add friction

Generally speaking, the harder something is to access, the less likely you are to do it and vice-versa. This is why you must redesign your environment to make undesirable behaviors more difficult to engage in while making more desirable behaviors easier to conduct.Adding friction might sound overly simple, but it works. This is because, as humans, we’re fundamentally lazy. We hate wasting energy unless we are forced to.

Conversely, make your desired behaviors as frictionless as possible. For instance, to facilitate writing in the morning, I avoid checking my phone or my emails and leave my word processor open.

Remember, your mind is lazy. Use this to your advantage.

Step #3. Start first thing in the morning

The third and final step is simply to get started. I recommend you start first thing in the morning before becoming overly stimulated. I’ve noticed that if I check my phone or access the internet upon waking up, I will probably become distracted.

Tips to make the most of your dopamine detox

• Take notes

  During your dopamine detox, I encourage you to take notes. If you feel restless, write it down. If you experience an urge to check your phone or to watch videos, write this down too. That way, you’ll be able to identify your biggest sources of stimulation and learn more about the way your brain works.

• Reflect on your life

  When we’re constantly busy and overstimulated, we sometimes fail to take a step back. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Use your dopamine detox as a way to zoom out. To do so:

  • 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 do to improve yourself?

• Solve your problems

  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. You tend to ruminate on them.

  On the other hand, writing them down makes them more concrete. It helps clarify your thinking. By giving words to your thoughts (or worries), you can address them more easily.

• Identify your fears

  Finally, 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. Thus, if you notice certain disempowering thoughts or underlying fears, write them down too.

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.

PART V - DOING THE WORK (AND OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION)

Plan your day

Being intentional with your day is an effective way to boost your productivity. When you take time each day to decide what you want to accomplish, you limit the risk of distraction. Consequently, the more intentional you are, the better.

How to plan your day

You don’t need fancy tools to plan your day. Instead, you can use a secret technique forgotten by many—pen and paper. Simply write down a few key tasks you must achieve today. Three to five tasks might be ideal. Place them in order of importance and start working on your first task. Once you complete it, proceed to the next. Repeat the process until you have completed all the tasks on your list.

You’ll notice that your most important tasks are often the ones you want to do the least. Perhaps, it’s because they are challenging. Perhaps, you don’t know where to start. Or, perhaps, they’re boring. But your dopamine detox will help make these tasks easier to tackle.

Schedule one major task to work on each morning

While there are thousands of books on productivity, only a few principles matter. I believe the most important one is to identify your key task and tackle it first thing in the morning—and do this consistently.

Even though you might have a never-ending to-do list, there are always a few major tasks that, when completed, will skyrocket your productivity. Unless you can complete them, nothing else will really matter.

The key to productivity can be summarized in three words:

• 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 working on them as often as possible.

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

Building Focus and Completing Your Key Tasks

• Be at the same place, at the same time every day
• Choose a trigger
  • As you create your routine, choose a specific trigger. It could be making tea and sitting at your desk. Or it could be completing your meditation session. Try to select a trigger that will help calm your mind. When you are relaxed, you’ll find it easier to begin work.
• Get started
  • Just get started and don’t worry about completing your task perfectly. It’s okay if you don’t feel motivated or creative, taking action will generate motivation and stimulate your creativity.
• Eliminate distractions
• Work without interruptions
  • Now that you have eliminated distractions, work continuously, without interruptions. I recommend forty-five minutes of intense work as a maximum. If you want to do several sessions, take a five- to ten-minute break between each work block.

PART VI - AVOIDING “DOPAMINE RELAPSE”

If you’re not careful, you’ll inevitably relapse. Old habits die hard. That’s why, in this section, we’ll describe a few specific things you can do to avoid reverting back to your never-ending stimulation loop.

1. Be aware when you start relapsing

   • Self-awareness is the key to making lasting change. The first step to avoid or limit relapses is to notice whenever you find yourself becoming overstimulated. When you struggle to work on an important task, stop for a moment. Then, recommit to your daily routine.

2. Understand the battle between you and your mind

   • When it happens to you, the key is to accept it and avoid feeling guilty. Beating yourself up won’t help you build a successful daily routine—it will only make things worse. Therefore, don’t dwell on it. Don’t feel guilty or ashamed of yourself. Simply restart your routine and do it one day at a time.

3. Understand that the world is against you

   • In today’s world, maintaining focus has become incredibly difficult. That’s because everybody is vying for our attention. And I’m not just talking about our family members, friends, or colleagues. I’m also talking about marketers, YouTubers, or bloggers.

   However, your focus is also worth a lot of money to you.

   • Here’s my point. The world is working against you. There will always be someone trying to grab your attention. As such, you have two choices. You can protect your focus by building habits and systems, or you can remain unprepared and let anyone distract you from the important things you should be doing with your time.

4. Prepare a contingency plan

   • An effective way to avoid relapsing is to create a contingency plan. To do so, think of all the ways you are likely to lose your focus and revert to your previous behaviors, and guard against them by creating a contingency plan.

5. Put a sustainable system in place

   • The key to lowering your levels of stimulation is to implement a simple and sustainable system. This system doesn’t necessarily entail a complete shutdown from distractions, but it does require putting in place habits that will help you stay focused.

6. Cultivate the here-and-now neurotransmitters

   • To prevent overstimulation, cultivate the “here-and-now” neurotransmitters, which include endorphin, oxytocin, or serotonin. These neurotransmitters are the opposite of dopamine neurotransmitters in that they make you feel calmer and more present. To activate these neurotransmitters, incorporate activities that ground you in the present such as:
     • Meditation
     • Stretching
     • Mindfulness
     • Contemplative walking
     • Deep social interactions
     • Boredom