This chemical in your home is destroying your productivity — 3 ways I beat it (and you can too)

There’s a dangerous chemical in your home that’s affecting your productivity. 😲

If you are wondering:

• How to improve your productivity?
• How to work from home and still get work done?
• How to manage unwanted disruptions?

This article is for you.

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I’m going to share what this little-discussed chemical is and how it’s silently destroying your productivity (and yes, it’s in the room with you right now).

I’ll also share my unique methods for dealing with this chemical as well as tips and tricks to help you get more done in a day and reach your full productivity potential.

The last hack is very extreme, but it works.

Who am I?

My name is Lester, but you can call me Les. 🤓

I am the founder and president of a DTC brand group.

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I spend my days managing a relatively large team, talking to customers, and driving vision for marketing and strategy.

Oh, and somewhere in there, I spend time with family and friends. ❤️

Trust me, I understand how hard it is to stay productive, especially when it feels like you’re running in circles and getting nowhere.

Invisible chemicals are stealing your focus

I hope you are ready for this…

The sneaky culprit in your home that is silently sabotaging your productivity is…

Dopamine! 💉

It’s streamed through every screen in your home and packed with big tech to keep you hooked. 😡

The urge to check social media or your messages…that’s your body craving another sweet hit of dopamine.

If you’re not familiar with dopamine, you know that feeling when you find money in your pocket. That’s dopamine.

In a word, it’s intoxicating!

Here’s why it’s dangerous not only for your productivity but also your health:

You always pursue higher goals

Dopamine keeps us hooked on immediate rewards like checking our phones, visiting social media, and chasing likes. Our brains run from one shiny thing to the next, making it impossible for us to focus on anything meaningful.

Your focus is on the toast

the Normal people can only be locked up for 40 seconds before something catches their attention. That’s barely enough time to read this sentence. If you pause or think about checking your phone while reading, it’s not hard to see how addictive this chemical is.

Stuck in a loop

Here’s the starting point: dopamine rewards what triggers it, so you keep coming back for more. More scrolling, clicking and swiping in the cycle.

Meanwhile, the things that really matter, like long-term goals, get pushed aside because they don’t provide the same pleasurable feeling that a dopamine rush gives us.

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This endless loop causes us to prioritize quick gratification over real progress on our long-term goals. That’s why we spend our days feeling busy but end up questioning what we’ve actually accomplished.

You may wonder why I am sharing all of this.

I share it because understanding what was happening to me was how I achieved my first breakthrough, so stay with me; this is very important.

How I became more productive

My journey towards taming my focus probably started the same as yours…

Google and watch videos on YouTube.

But for whatever reason, most suggestions end up wasting more time or are just another thing to manage.

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One day my phone had no service during a flight and I wasn’t about to pay the high price to stay connected. 😤

I realized how productive I am without phone service.

For some reason, that plane noise makes me feel calmer.

Then it dawned on me: I should take more flights to be productive.

I quickly realized how unsustainable that would be, laughing, so I thought there must be this noise on YouTube.

What I discovered next shocked me. I’ve come across some videos that have millions of views. It turns out this is true and I found my person!

This video is my goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7KgV2edvI

(Spoiler, I’m listening to this.)

PRO TIP: Use an ad blocker or YouTube Premium so you don’t get ads.

These tips have taken me to the next level

I quickly realized that I couldn’t be trusted with my phone so the best thing to do was not to carry it with me.

To lock the door, I leave my phone in the car. The idea is simple: I won’t go back to get it.

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If you live in a city or area where your car might be broken into, try leaving it in another room.

Here are some other things I do.

1. My secret weapon!

I bought one Digital kitchen timer on Amazonand let me tell you, this little device is clutch 🏆. It’s become an important part of my daily routine.

What I like most is that I can use it as a countdown timer or track how long it takes me to complete a task.

Here’s how I use it: I set a timer for 30 minutes to an hour (depending on what I’m doing) and during that time, it’s a game. If I deviate from the mission, I will lose.

Yes, I replaced one dose of dopamine with another… I’m a genius! 😏

In all seriousness, the clock is important, but what really makes this work is the mental game I play.

2. Tangible to-do list

One thing about me is that I love a pen and a piece of paper. For me, writing things down has a different effect. There’s something about “writing it down” that makes you feel better than using a digital Kanban board.

So every night, I sit down and think and plan what to do for the next day, then I block the time. It usually looks something like this:

• 9:00 – 11:00: Create productive posts 📝
• 11:15 – 12:00: Create LinkedIn post 💼

I always give myself a little buffer between tasks.

PRO TIP: It’s easy to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day. I do it all the time. To fix this, I create a list of up to 5 tasks. The first few tasks focus on driving revenue, while the last two are typically administrative tasks. A mentor once told me, “Do the things that make the most money first.”

3. The only app I need to stay focused

The only app I use doesn’t let me use other apps.

Believe me, the irony does not occur to me. 🤦‍♂️

Let me tell you about Opal. It’s a screen time management app that helps people like you and me reduce distractions and improve focus.

It blocks access to selected apps and websites.

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I like to call it notification prison because, as we’ve established, I leave nothing to chance.

Here’s how Opal works: you select the apps you don’t want to access and set sessions for when you can access them. 🚫📲

I’m on a paid plan that doesn’t allow me to cancel a session while it’s in progress, and honestly, it works.

BTW, if you’re using a productivity app that you think is better or you have tips to share, Connect with me on LinkedIn.

My final thoughts

Often, experts paint a picture of productivity as an incredible utopia where they crush it every second of every day, but that’s not the case.

Dopamine is a terrible drug and you will have good days and bad days.

Managing our distractions isn’t about perfection; it’s about becoming a better version of yourself.

Simply put, it’s a journey, not a destination. 🎯

Find what works for you because that’s the only way to stick with it.

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Set realistic goals, don’t be too hard on yourself, and focus on the basics. 🫶

• Have a clean workspace
• Prioritize what really needs to be done
• Get enough sleep
• Create a routine
• Practice saying no and protecting your time

And yes, I know I’ve been a bit dramatic, but trust me on this, if left unchecked, the pursuit of dopamine can quietly rob you of your time and your future.

😇 Hope this helps; I’m cheering for you.

PS Want more insights into data-driven marketing or more content like this? Sign up for my free newsletter, There’s nothing wrong, just the truth. I share what’s going on in the world of digital marketing, the latest trends and regular talks to inspire you. If this sounds like you and you want to be best friends forever, Click here to register It’s completely FREE!