Nir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain

Latest Episodes:

How to Design for 'Normals'-Nir&Far May 25, 2020

Show notes

Note: This post originally appeared in Techcrunch. I’m proud to have co-authored this post with Katy Fike, PhD. Dr. Fike is a gerontologist, systems engineer and Partner at Innovate50, a consulting firm helping companies create products and services for the 50+ market

As web watchers, entrepreneurs, and investors search for the next big thing, they’d be wise to focus on innovations that can be easily adopted by technology novices. A recent string of companies, including Groupon and Pinterest, have found success outside the early-adopter digerati by building products simple enough to be used by just about anyone. Designing with tech novices in mind can mean the difference between staying niche and going mainstream. Here are three principles for how to design software for people Silicon Valley too often disparagingly calls “normals.”

You can read the Nir And Far blog post on: How to Design for 'Normals' https://www.nirandfar.com/go-ask-grandma-how-to-design-for-normals/

Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave an iTunes review. It will greatly help new listeners discover the show. Please visit my website Nir and Far for other info about my writing, books and teaching: http://www.nirandfar.com/

How to be More Productive and Focus (+ Free Schedule Maker)-Nir&Far May 18, 2020

Show notes

Many people bristle at the idea of keeping a schedule. They don’t want restrictions and prefer the freedom to tackle things as they come up.

While an open day is wonderful on a vacation when you have nothing to do but relax, vacations eventually end. In the real world, there is work to finish, people to meet, and a family to nurture.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How to be More Productive and Focus (+ Free Schedule Maker) https://www.nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/

How Bad is Tech Use for Kids, Really?-Nir&Far May 11, 2020

Show notes

It feels impossible to tell if the technology our kids use should be celebrated or feared. A few years ago I wrote a book, Hooked, about how technology can be used to change our habits. I intended the book to teach startups how to build healthy habits, but now I’m not so sure. With headlines telling us technology is hijacking our brains, I started second guessing the impact of our devices, especially when it comes to our kids.

How alarmed should we be? Is this a crisis or a fear frenzy? I wanted to understand what the studies really tell us about the effect personal technology is having on our children.

You and read the Nir and Far blog post on: How Bad is Tech Use for Kids, Really? https://www.nirandfar.com/social-media-depression-potatoes/

How Apps Can Shape Your Future Self-Nir&Far May 04, 2020

Show notes

Nir's Note: This guest post is written by Jeni Fisher, a London-based Googler who consults startups on applying behavioral insights to achieve business and user goals.

Early on in my role as an Apps partner manager at Google Play, I was drawn towards the Self-Improvement apps space because their persuasive influence transcends screen-level interactions. Their mission is to persuade people to take real-life actions that lead to long-term behavior change and ultimately shape how they live their lives.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How Apps Can Shape Your Future Self https://www.nirandfar.com/apps-shaping-future-self/

Here's How Fortnite 'Hooked' Millions-Nir&Far Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Patricio O’Gorman, technology consultant and professor at Universidad de Palermo.

If you have kids, you’ve likely heard about Fortnite. The wildly popular online battle game has amassed over 125 million players and hosts more than 3 million concurrent players. The game “has brought in more revenue in a single month than any other game of its kind,” according to industry watchers, grossing over $1 billion so far this year.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Here's How Fortnite 'Hooked' Millions-Nir&Far https://www.nirandfar.com/fortnite-hooked-millions/

Here Are The 4 Simple Introspection Steps That Will Boost Self Awareness-Nir&Far Apr 20, 2020

Show notes

When faced with a challenge, where do you find the insight to move your life forward? Last year, over fifteen million books were sold in the self-help genre.1 That doesn’t account for the videos, courses, and workshops that fuel this multibillion-dollar industry. Include business and diet books, and that number balloons to over $1.7 billion spent on advice-seeking books.2 But there’s a secret the gurus don’t want you to know—many of the answers to life’s most important questions can be found inside of you, for free. It's called introspection.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Here Are the 4 Simple Introspection Steps That Will Boost Self Awareness https://www.nirandfar.com/introspection/

This is What Most People Get Wrong About Willpower-Nir&Far Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

You come home after a long day of work and you immediately curl yourself up on the couch and binge the latest Netflix craze for hours, while you scroll and scroll through your social media feeds and snack on potato chips even though you're "on a diet." You look around and see that the garbage needs to be taken out, laundry needs to be folded, and your child's toys are strewn across the living room floor. The list of productive things you could be doing seem endless, yet you can't seem to find the willpower to peel yourself off of the couch to do them.

Is this a regular occurrence for you? Do you realize that you are in this rut but can't seem to find the willpower to overcome it? You're definitely not alone in this situation. This is called ego-depletion. Ego-depletion is a theory that willpower is connected to a limited reserve of mental energy, and once you run out of that energy, you're more likely to lose self-control. This theory would seem to explain your post-work defeat.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: This is What Most People Get Wrong About Willpower https://www.nirandfar.com/about-willpower/

Is Tech Ruining Kids? How to Safely Manage Screen Time-Nir&Far Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

Our fears about what technology and smartphones are doing to our kids has reached a fever pitch. Articles with headlines like “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” and “The Risk Of Teen Depression And Suicide Is Linked To Smartphone Use” have, ironically enough, gone viral online.

“It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades,” writes Dr. Jean Twenge in The Atlantic. “Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones.”

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Is Tech Ruining Kids? How to Safely Manage Screen Time https://www.nirandfar.com/manage-screen-time/

Fundamental Attribution Error: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices-Nir&Far Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

Nir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored by Nir Eyal and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting and distinction bias.

There I was, sitting in a packed movie theatre. I waited two years for this sequel and I’ve got enough popcorn and diet soda to last me a full three hours. Fifteen minutes into the movie, the hero and villain are facing off for the first time when a lady bursts into the theater. Trying to find a seat, she awkwardly tries to squeeze into the middle of the row in front of me blocking the best part of the movie. “What a rude and inconsiderate person!” I think to myself as I dodge her body when she scuffles by.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Fundamental Attribution Error: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices https://www.nirandfar.com/fundamental-attribution-error/

[Focus Guide] How To Make The Most Out Of Your Time And Your Life-Nir&Far Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote that “few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.”1 Why don't we do what we know needs to get done? Why is it so hard to concentrate and finish what we start? In our digital age, is there any hope of “mustering enough energy” to stay focused on what really matters so we can live the lives we want? In this article, you’ll learn tools and strategies to finally get, and stay, focused. This guide is for people who want to harness the power of focus, but don’t have a lot of time.

You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: [Focus Guide] How To Make The Most Out Of Your Time and Your Life https://www.nirandfar.com/focus/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Nir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected