Phone Addiction Scientist: Doing This Gives You An Hour Back Every Day! | Dr Sahar Yousef

About this episode

Are you trapped in a cycle of digital distraction, and brain fog despite working harder than ever? Dr. Sahar Yousef reveals how to take back control of your attention, stop digital addiction, and unlock your true cognitive potential. Dr. Sahar Yousef is a renowned cognitive neuroscientist, professor at UC Berkeley, and the founder of the Becoming Superhuman Lab. She specializes in cognitive neuroplasticity, human performance, and optimizing the biological operating systems of the brain. Her ground-breaking research focuses on building practical frameworks that help high-performers achieve extreme focus, strategic automaticity, and deep workflow mastery without burning out. Join Steven for the first ever live streamed DOAC Workshop, and apply now at https://doacworkshops.com/. In this episode, she explains: ■ The Attention Trap: Technology platforms are deliberately engineered by behavioral neuroscientists to maximize engagement and exploit your brain's survival wiring rather than support your productivity. ■ The Grayscale Hack: Switching your phone's color to grayscale significantly reduces neurological stimulation and can instantly reclaim hours of your scrolling every single week. ■ The Focus Sprint: Breaking your major goals down into granular execution lists with strict time blocking allows you to leverage anticipatory brain networks and double your output. ■ The Myth of Multitasking: Task-switching creates severe attentional baggage that drains your cognitive energy and makes you up to 60% slower than monotasking. ■ The Power of Boredom: Why allowing your mind to wander is the vital mechanism that activates neural network problem-solving and produces your best creative insights. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:27 What's Holding Us Back Today? 00:06:48 Why Should We Listen To You? 00:08:20 What's Stopping Us From Being Productive? 00:12:14 The Productivity Toolkit 00:14:17 Why Is Focus Essential For Your Health? 00:17:34 Does Productivity Software Actually Work? 00:21:50 Why Do We Feel Pressured To Reply Instantly? 00:24:58 How To Separate Signal From Noise 00:27:20 Why The Modern World Fights Our Biology 00:29:11 How To Stop Avoiding Discomfort 00:32:40 How Big Tech Hijacks Your Brain 00:43:52 How To Break Phone Addiction 00:53:17 Ads 00:55:19 The Focus Sprint: How To Double Your Productivity 01:00:48 How To Prioritise Tasks: MITs Vs. LITs 01:04:29 How To Find Your Goals: Finding Your Everest 01:08:42 What Creates True Human Connection? 01:13:52 Why Small Steps Work Better 01:17:46 How To Avoid Distractions: Should You Work To Music? 01:19:58 Do Productivity Timers Actually Work? 01:24:50 Why Boredom Is Good For You 01:30:49 How To Spark Creative Ideas 01:33:17 How To Stop Overthinking And Negative Thoughts 01:36:18 Ads 01:37:27 How To Find Your Chronotype 01:46:11 How Big Tech Manipulates The Public 01:51:21 What Tech Companies Hide About AI 01:55:44 Why Is Thinking For Yourself Getting Harder? 01:59:52 Why Multitasking Doesn't Work 02:05:52 How To Become Luckier In Life Follow Dr. Sahar Yousef: YouTube - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/1wlOOZy Instagram - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/8bkc1Uq LinkedIn - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/9DlHLga TikTok - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/FyYDi72 Facebook - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/1zDXa74 Go to MMM Institute - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/t7Wy1O to take the Digital Dependence Index, test your attention span, and more. You will get your personal results and see how you compare to others, while contributing to global open research. Go to MyChronotype - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/51zrfNX to take the chronotype assessment for free use the code: DOAC Independent Fact Check: https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/DOAC-Dr-Sahar-Yousef-Independent-Research-Further-Reading.pdf The Diary Of A CEO: ◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK ◼ Shop The Diary Of A CEO collection: https://thediary.com/collections/shop ◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E ◼ Follow Steven - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AGU9QP4 Sponsors: Ketone - https://ketone.com/STEVEN for 30% off your subscription order Linkedin Talent Solutions - http://linkedin.com/DOAC