EP355: Dopamine Management and Time-Boxing for Nurse Solopreneurs with Steven Puri

Steven’s career started as a newscaster/interviewer for the #1 youth news show in the DC/Baltimore market (on WTTG-TV) and then as a junior software engineer & Thomas J. Watson Scholar at IBM. After attending USC in Los Angeles, he began working in film production and produced computer-generated visual effects for 14 movies including Independence Day which won the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Steven’s first tech company was Centropolis Effects that produced those CGI effects, and he eventually sold it to the German media conglomerate Das Werk when he was 28.

Steven then produced some indie films and eventually went studio-side to develop and produce live-action features as a VP of Development & Production at 20th Century Fox (running the Die Hard and Wolverine franchises) and an EVP at DreamWorks Pictures for Kurtzman-Orci Productions (Star Trek 11, Transformers 1&2, Eagle Eye, Transformers: Prime, et al.).

After Fox, Steven returned to building tech companies and had two failed start-ups before founding The Sukha Company – ‘sukha’ means ‘happiness from self-fulfillment’ in Sanskrit. The Sukha is a focus app that bundles all the tools necessary to enter into a Flow State and a have healthy, productive workday.
Steven now lives in Austin, TX.

Dopamine Management and Time-Boxing for Nurse Writers

Today on the Savvy Scribe Podcast:

• Why modern tech platforms are intentionally engineered to steal your attention—and how to reclaim your life through effective dopamine management
• What actually happens in your brain during a flow state, including fascinating neuroimaging findings from FMRI scans.
• How to conquer the “cold start problem” in the morning and stop reaching for quick digital hits when your work gets frustrating.
• Unforgettable stories from blockbuster Hollywood screenwriters on using physical environments and personal chronotypes as focus triggers.
• How a busy high school vice principal and dad used just one focused hour a night to complete his PhD dissertation.
• The brain science behind why your best ideas strike while doing laundry, walking, or taking a shower.
• How to harness time-boxing and Parkinson’s Law to get more done in two hours than you used to get done all day.
• The surprising power of ambient audio triggers, from 60–90 BPM focus tracks to real Himalayan rain and Viennese coffee shop sounds.
• Steven’s simple 30-day challenge that will completely transform your daily momentum before you even check your phone in the morning.

Mentioned Resources:

• Sukha (Flow State App
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• The Net and the Butterfly: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack

More Episodes You’ll Love:

• EP35: Batching Work — The Optimal Way to Productivity
• EP287: Brain-Friendly Writing Routines for Neurodivergent Writers with Arianna Smith
• EP311: Time-Blocking for Writers: The Secret to a Sane Schedule
• EP310: Tips to Manage Your Freelance Business with ADHD with Shelby Dennis
• EP272: Personal Report: Finding Balance and Focus with the Report Method
• EP256: How to Harness Consistency With Guest Michal Stawicki
• EP207: Work Smarter — Tips to Maximize Time + Get More Done with Rachel Wynn
• EP291: Work-Life Balance But Not Fluff with Tarra Stubbins