Michael Long on Taming Dopamine: Regain Focus and Productivity

Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

Erik Fisher

Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Careers, Education

4.5 • 875 Ratings

🗓️ 18 August 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Michael Long is a bestselling author and speechwriter who co-wrote Taming the Molecule of More, the follow-up to the hit book The Molecule of More. In this conversation, we dive into how dopamine—the brain’s “molecule of more”—drives distraction, craving, creativity, and productivity, and how we can train it to serve us instead of sabotage us.

In this episode, we cover:

What Dopamine Actually Does: Michael explains the two dopamine systems—desire and control—and how they influence everything from addiction to ambition.
Why Modern Life Overstimulates Us: From doomscrolling to shopping, we unpack why the digital world hijacks our dopamine and attention.
How to Tame Your Dopamine Urges: Michael offers realistic, science-based ways to break the cycle of overstimulation—including dopamine fasting and behavioral resets.
The Power of Presence: We discuss how returning to the “here and now” neurotransmitters (like through music, sunshine, or human connection) can help balance the dopamine system.
Why Meaning Matters: Michael shares how understanding your values and aligning your work with them can bring lasting motivation and joy—not just temporary dopamine hits.
Tools and Therapies That Help: From CBT and ACT to promising medical treatments like GLP-1 drugs, Michael explores practical supports for change.

Michael’s insights offer a fascinating look at how your brain’s reward system can either keep you stuck in distraction or fuel your best creative work—depending on how you manage it.

Learn more at TamingTheMolecule.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co.
0:05.5	That's audible.co.ukeslustwondery. Hello and welcome back to Beyond the To Do List, a podcast about productivity.
0:33.1	I'm your host, Eric Fisher, and in this episode, I am excited to bring you a conversation with Michael
0:38.1	Long. He's a best-selling author and speechwriter who co-wrote, Taming the Molecule of More,
0:45.0	the follow-up to the hit book, The Molecule of More. And in this conversation, we're diving
0:49.1	into how dopamine the brain's molecule of more drives distraction, craving, creativity, and productivity,
0:57.6	and how we can train it to serve us instead of sabotage us. Michael is sharing his insights into
1:03.6	how the brain's reward system works and how it can either keep you stuck in distraction or
1:08.7	fuel your best creative work depending upon how you
1:12.0	manage it. So if you're looking to tame the molecule of more dopamine, you're going to love
1:17.6	this conversation with Michael Long. Well, it is my privilege to welcome to the show. Michael Long,
1:26.6	Michael, welcome to Beyond the to-do list.
1:29.9	Eric, thank you for having me. I'm excited to talk to you. And here's the thing. You've got a brand-new
1:35.4	book called Taming the Molecule of More, but it's a follow-up to a best-selling book,
1:46.3	The Molecule of More.
1:52.1	And so I guess we kind of need to unpack that first before we talk about taming something or even the why behind needing to tame something.
1:56.2	So, you know, without scaring us too much about why we need to tame something and what that
2:00.2	something is,
2:01.3	what is the molecule of Moore?
2:04.4	Oh, man.
2:05.2	Well, that's an invitation.
2:07.1	I'll take it.
	...

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