Episode 49: Steven Puri on flow, focus and productivity: brain hacks from Hollywood and tech
Published on 9 September 2025 • Hosted by Dr Lisa Colledge
Steven Puri’s career has taken him from producing Academy Award-winning visual effects to leading tech startups. Along the way, he’s discovered something crucial: we can hack our brains to reliably create the conditions that enable us do our best work.
Today, through The Sukha Company, Steven shares the productivity hacks that help people escape distraction, find their flow, and actually finish the work that matters to them.
What Hollywood taught Steven about tenacity
In film, Steven has seen over and over again that talent alone isn’t enough. The people who have made it as actors, writers or executives weren’t those with the raw talent; they were the ones who kept showing up, improving little by little, and staying focused on what mattered to them.
Steven shares that success depends less on natural gifts, and more on habits that keep you moving forward when distractions try to pull you back.
The flow advantage
Steven describes flow as the moment when time disappears and your best work gets done. It can feel magical, but it’s not a mystery.
Research shows flow happens when three things align:
Focus: distractions are blocked.
Meaning: the work feels worthwhile.
Feedback: you can see progress as you go.
Get these conditions right, and you don’t just feel better at work: you produce better work.
Brain hacks for flow
Steven turns those principles into simple, everyday guardrails in Sukha:
Hide the long list. You can’t do 17 things today. Multi-tasking isn’t real. Pick three to focus on, and conceal the rest.
Guard your attention. Notifications and doomscrolling aren’t “breaks.” They’re cleverly designed to steal your time.
Design your space intentionally. The right cues, whether it’s a desk, a smell, or a coffee shop, can help you slip into flow.
If you do nothing else, do this: begin with intention. Decide who you want to be today — and let that guide everything else.
These hacks transform scattered, draining days into focused, fulfilling ones.
🚀 From Hollywood to your team
Steven’s hacks help us stop the leaks of energy and focus that pull us away from the work that matters. But in a team, those leaks multiply: each person’s distraction amplifies the others.
That’s why I work with leaders on a new playbook.
The old one says: apply more pressure, set more rules, and “motivate” harder.
The new Neuro-InspiredTM playbook designs teams for focus, energy, and flow.
👉 Book your free Performance Leaks Audit to see your team’s performance drains, and start building your new custom playbook.
And if you’d like to explore Steven’s work, check out The Sukha Company and his productivity app here: https://www.thesukha.co.
