Episodes

On this episode, we chat about how we like to go “novelty hunting,” especially in the digital world. Topics covered include: What “novelty hunting” is; The connection between novelty and dopamine; The three dopamine factors; The “novelty bias”; How novelty hunting is more stressful than we give it credit for; Superstimuli; How novelty changes our perception of time; Awareness of our novelty hunting; How novelty hunting used to look a lot different before the internet; What to do about i...

On this episode, we chat about the science of “savoring”—the process through which we enjoy our lives. Topics covered include: How “savoring” is the process of converting positive experiences into positive emotions; The productivity benefits of savoring; How savoring helps us become less anxious; The psychological and neurological benefits of savoring; The balance between striving and savoring; How scarcity leads us to enjoy something more; The five ways we can savor everyday life; The “s...

On this episode, we chat about ideas from Chris’s new book, How to Calm Your Mind! Topics covered include: How a calm mind can make us significantly more productive; How anxiety shrinks our cognitive performance; What calm actually is; How anxiety is a spectrum; How presence is the key to productivity, and how to find it; The “accomplishment mindset”; The various drafts of How to Calm Your Mind; How we need dopamine, and also how it can lead us astray; Our brain’s “acquisition mentality”...

The third annual holiday spectacular!

This episode was originally published on May 7, 2019. In this episode, I chat with David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, about his book—and how we can carve out more space for having ideas. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My interview with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about what burnout is and how to overcome it., Topics covered include: Our own experiences with burnout; The three characteristics of burnout; The stepping stones to burnout; The two types of stress we face throughout the day; Whether burnout is a primarily workplace phenomenon; The six factors of our work that contribute to burnout. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How to Calm Your Mind The Maslach Burnout Inventory test (paid) You can listen (and subscrib...

On this episode, we chat about our GTD-inspired weekly reviews—and what we include in them. Topics covered include: What a “weekly review” is; The steps to doing a weekly review; How flexible to be with your review; What we each review every week; Including an “accomplishments list” in the review; Working reflections into the weekly review; The weird way Chris manages his daily schedule; The confidence a weekly review can give you; The payoff of a weekly review over time. Links mentione...

A few of our favorite writing tips—and the ones we use every day

On this episode, we briefly chat about Chris’s new book and then dig into the main topic: self-talk. Topics covered include: Chris’s next book, How to Calm Your Mind; The proportion of our internal monologue that’s negative; How self-talk can get in the way of productivity; How universal having negative thought patterns is; How meditation helps tame negative self-talk; How to not zero in on negative thought patterns; The idea of “task-unrelated thought”; How learning to focus helps comba...

On this episode, we chat about why we take certain habits for granted, including the ones that actively provide us with dividends. Topics covered include: A brief recap on “focus modes” and “focus filters” on iOS; Why habits become invisible; Habits that are actively providing us with dividends; The great habits we each have that we regularly check up on; Why some habits can work too well; How to reflect on habits you want to sustain in the long run. You can listen (and subscribe) to the p...

My interview with James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits.

How to become a more productive university student.

Practical, tactical ways to measure your daily productivity.

On this episode, we chat about task switching—how to get better at it, and the costs of switching tasks too often. Topics covered include: Why multitasking is so fun; How often we switch between tasks as we work; Attentional residue—what it is and how to minimize it; How task switching affects our working memory; How meditation clears our working memory; Our brain’s “novelty bias”; The multiple levels of multitasking; The reminders that come from our digital world. Links mentioned in th...

How we plan our weeks—and a few favorite books we recently read on vacation.

On this episode, we chat about how the best productivity advice helps us live in a way that’s more true to what we value. Topics covered include: The assumptions embedded within traditional productivity advice; Values-based productivity; The ickyness of hustle culture; The addictive nature of achievement; The difficulty of determining our primary values; The 10 primary values; How to reflect on what your deeper values are. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Why We Love Article: Ther...

On this episode, we chat about the best sources of caffeine—the ones that provide the longest lasting energy. Topics covered include: How caffeine produces a stress response; How our body adjusts to our caffeine “baseline”; The countless sources of caffeine that are out there; The magic of L-theanine; Avoiding the post-lunch caffeine crash You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The best caffeine vehicles appeared first on Chris Bailey.

How long your work breaks should be—and how to take them.

Where motivation comes from, and how to find more of it.

Reviewing the Timeular and the reMarkable 2.

The power of chunking your day into blocks of time.

On this episode, we chat about how to define productivity—and how what productivity means has changed over time, especially with the advent of knowledge work. Topics covered include: The misconceptions we have about productivity; How time management is less important than it used to be; How the productivity landscape has shifted; How most productivity advice falls into three categories: time, attention, and energy; The power of intention; Asymmetries of importance in our work and life; A ...

On this episode, we chat about how to embrace—and even enjoy!—change. Topics covered include: How expectations influence our relationship with change; The relationship between catastrophizing and change; How change affects the “learning loop” in our mind; The relationship between dopamine and change; Developing strategically low expectations; Focusing on what we can control (and giving up control); Other practical, tactical strategies for dealing with change Links mentioned in this episo...

On this episode, we chat about how to use simple economic principles to become more productive and intentional. Topics covered include: What economics even is; What an “economic tradeoff” is; The “opportunity cost” of our time; The costs associated with our decisions; Recognizing our “sunk costs”; How to “think along the margins.” Links mentioned in this episode: “Bakeonomics” blog Thinking on the Margin & Birthday Cake You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podc...