Behaviors

Pre-negotiate a break protocol outside conflict: explain that you get flooded, specify the break duration, say when you'll return, and if needed text or call to renegotiate. Use about 15–20 minute breaks, then return; if still not regulated, communicate rather than disappearing.

Avoid heavy use of high-THC cannabis in young men, as it has been associated with apathy and problems with regulation.

Drink a lot of water before getting into the sauna.

Do not drink alcohol when using the sauna.

Talk to a physician before sauna use if elderly and prone to low blood pressure, after a recent heart attack, or with certain heart disease.

Avoid sauna use during pregnancy.

Set out running shoes and running clothes before bed to reduce friction for the next day's run.

Sleep in running clothes so you can get up, put shoes on, and get out the door with minimal friction.

Even if motivation or time is low, do a minimal workout rather than skipping; for example, a couple sets of squats and done in about 20 minutes.

If needed, cap gym time at five minutes initially and focus on becoming the kind of person who goes consistently, e.g. four days a week.

Alternate periods of intense effort with real rest across hours, weeks, or seasons; balance is turning it fully on and fully off rather than staying at 50%.

Leave the phone behind or in the car during hikes to create untethered reset time and be present with the person you're with.

Use running as a way to reach a wordless, reset-like state.

Use swimming as a way to reach a wordless, reset-like state.

As a general rule, do important habits earlier because fewer interruptions accumulate earlier in the day; identify which hours are most under your control and stack habits there.

Use a workout as a linchpin habit that improves the rest of the day; for James Clear, usually in the morning around 10–11 a.m.

For a couple hours in the morning, keep the phone in another room, typically from about 9 a.m. to noon or until after a workout.

Put the app that supports the habit you want on the home screen so it is the first visual cue when you open your phone, and move distracting apps off the home screen to reduce their salience.

Delete email from the phone; only download it temporarily if truly needed, then delete it again.

Exercise is framed as taking good care of yourself and helping you be around longer for others and yourself.

Skip some lower-value sessions if needed to get a workout in during conferences.

Get up around 5 or 6 a.m. to swim; described as a diligent parental habit.

Read to children before they can talk; extensive early reading was linked to very early vocabulary.

Use family history as a practical risk screen for alcohol problems; specifically ask whether a parent was alcoholic or whether problem drinking runs in the family.

Strong caution against starting substances during adolescence or earlier because the brain is highly plastic then and addiction risk is much higher.

Recommended over ketamine by the guest for treatment-resistant depression; described as accelerated rTMS over five consecutive days, with people coming in five days in a row for 10 minutes on and 50 minutes off all day long using a theta-burst setting. rTMS was also discussed as an approved, noninvasive option for depression and promising for addiction.

General recommendation across nicotine, cannabis, and opioids: ride out the withdrawal period if possible rather than repeatedly using the substance to treat withdrawal symptoms; withdrawal can mimic the problem people think they are treating. Treatments can also be used to make withdrawal easier.

General recommendation that withdrawal from different drugs can be made easier with treatment support.

Encourages speaking up early about a possible addiction problem because early-stage recovery odds are much higher.

Do a behavioral analysis of where you use, how much you use, what you use, and what cues trigger use. Also identify places or days where you naturally abstain, such as your mother's house or a holy day, and use those contexts and techniques as clues for recovery strategies; for example, visit your mom more often if you never use there, or apply the techniques from naturally sober days on other days.