Time and Attention

On this episode, we chat about how to step back from work over the holidays, yet still get things done when you need to. Topics covered include: Whether or not we should even try to be productive over the holidays; The “opportunity cost” of how we spend our time; How the “productivity mindset” can creep into every part of our life; Defining “Productivity Hours” every day—at work and at home; Avoiding guilt, doubt, and worry about how you spend your time. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The Second Annual Holiday Spectacular appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about getting help from others. Topics covered include: The difference between collaboration and asking for help; When we should ask for help at work and at home; Getting help through asking for feedback; How to get good feedback from others; How exactly to ask for help; The power of anticipating obstacles ahead of time; Outsourcing getting help; The importance of respecting the time of others; and How great it feels to help others. Link mentioned in this episode: Honey, I Swept the Floor! via The New York Times You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to lean on others appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, Annie Murphy Paul and I chat about her fantastic new book, The Extended Mind. Topics covered include: The “brainbound” way of thinking—and why it’s broken; How our body can be more rational than our brain; How to practice “interoception”; How physical activity, of varying intensities, can support thought; The power of nature in supporting thought; How to externalize information to think more clearly; How open offices affect how we think; The importance of people and thought. Link mentioned in this episode: Andy Clark and David Chalmers’s extended mind theory You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to extend your mind appeared first on Chris Bailey.

If you subscribe my podcast, today you’ll notice a new show name (and artwork!) land in your podcast player: (If you’re not subscribed yet, here are links to do so! Of course, if podcasts aren’t your thing, zero pressure.) Since the launch of the previous show, Becoming Better, we’ve kind of outgrown the name. The old title felt a tad self-helpy—and the new one feels right at home. Hope you enjoy the fresh coat of paint! If you’re looking to dabble, the back-catalog of episodes is a great place to dive into. Around half of the episodes feature an interview; the other half feature my co-host (and wife!) and I chatting about productivity, how we structure our lives, and the science of betterment. Here are a few of our conversations on: Our favorite productivity books Tactics for working from home Our favorite productivity rituals Our favorite productivity habits: Part 1 and Part 2 Deciding what to put into your mind And a few of our favorite interviews with authors about their books, including with: Cal Newport: On Digital Minimalism, and A World Without Email David Allen: On Getting Things Done James Clear: On Atomic Habits Oliver Burkeman: On Four Thousand Weeks Laura Vanderkam: On Off the Clock Cait Flanders: On The Year of Less Neil Pasricha: On You Are Awesome Michael Greger: On How Not to Diet Henry Emmons: On The Chemistry of Calm Kelly McGonigal: On The Upside of Stress .. and more. Hope you enjoy, and have a nice week! Chris The post Same podcast, better name! appeared first on Chris Bailey.

This week I interview Oliver Burkeman for the podcast. Oliver is the author of the fantastic new book, Four Thousand Weeks. In the episode, we have a fun, wide-ranging conversation about a bunch of topics, including: The idea of “finitude,” and why it matters; Our “future-chasing mindset,” which prevents us from enjoying things; How trying to achieve a perfect mastery over our time can make us miserable; Where impatience comes from; The usefulness of productivity advice; The costs of hoarding our time; ..and more. Four Thousand Weeks is an incredible read. It covers not just how we should manage our time, but also the place time management should have in our life in the first place. I highly recommend it. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My interview with Oliver Burkeman appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this super tactical episode of the podcast, we chat about time management. Topics covered include: What time management is, and why it matters Becoming more aware of how you spend your time Scheduling time commitments around your energy levels The broader picture of time management The Pomodoro technique, and shrinking your “resistance level” Time blocking, and limiting distraction How many breaks to take throughout the day How to time breaks for optimal creativity How autonomy matters with time management Creating artificial deadlines Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The purpose of time management appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how slowing down can help us in work and life, without compromising our performance (if that’s something you care about). Topics covered include: How busy times make slowing down more important—but also lead to more guilt A new definition of the word “productivity” How slowing down helps us savor, experience more meaning, and also creates more opportunity for reflection How to fit slowing down into a busy scheduling, especially by minding the gaps in your day The productivity benefits of meditation The power of “scatterfocus” Links mentioned in this episode: Study: A wandering mind is an unhappy mind Study: Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The productivity benefits of slowing down appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about stress relief strategies that have been proven to lower the level of stress hormones in our body. Topics covered include: How to think about the stress in your life from 10,000 feet The differences between chronic and acute stress Our body’s stress response How more stress is preventable than we think How stress can provide us with meaning The neurochemicals that underlie stress How stress relief is often an active process A bunch of stress-relief strategies that actually work Links mentioned in this episode: Book: The Upside of Stress Article: 9 stress relief strategies that actually work The World Health Organization’s definition of burnout You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Stress relief strategies that actually work appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to actually recharge while taking some time off. Topics covered include: How work can be meaningful—but also a pretty big source of chronic stress Identifying hidden sources of chronic stress in our live How vacations can make us more productive overall How stress both drives us to burnout, but also provides us with meaning How to find things to engage with, and things to savo How to best prepare for time off, to make the time even more rejuvenating Link mentioned in this episode: Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions   You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to take a proper vacation appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to more deliberately deal with email, to both think about it less, and make it a less stressful element of your day. Topics covered include: How much we should think about email in the first place How to conduct “email sprints” The two types of work that we all do How to better organize your email messages Creating different “email environments” The “Five-Sentence Rule” for answering email The intention-interpretation gap with communication How to take an email vacation How to shrink time on email through disconnected hours and pre-defined boundaries Creating the illusion of responsiveness Link mentioned in this episode: IBM Study: Am I wasting my time organizing email?   You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Our favorite email habits appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about the importance of saying no to unimportant things. Topics covered include: Becoming more deliberate about saying no What we should be saying no to—in our work and personal lives Comparison tasks that put “saying no” in perspective The relative meaning and productivity of tasks Knowing the value of your time—and saying no to things accordingly The importance of people in productivity Thinking about what to say yes to You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to say no (and what to say no to) appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to properly celebrate the milestones we hit. Topics covered include: How we rarely celebrate our accomplishments How the “Zeigarnik effect” leads us to just move onto the next thing The milestones we’re celebrating What it means to have closure with a project The Need for Closure scale The Post-Portem ritual Our favorite rewards for finishing stuff Celebration guilt The right time to celebrate! Links mentioned in this episode: The The Need for Closure Scale, and a link to do the test (PDF) (Chris scored 113, Ardyn scored 135) You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to celebrate your big milestones appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about obstacles that get in the way of our habits—including the habits we’re in the middle of forming, and the ones we already have. Topics covered include: The payoff of anticipating obstacles ahead of time Some common obstacles that get in our way How to identify the obstacles that’ll get in the way of our specific habits The types of obstacles we face: Environmental, time-based, temptations, and situational The five cues that trigger habits Minding our time, attention, and energy Links mentioned in this episode: Book: The Power of Habit My New Year’s Guidebook You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The importance of anticipating obstacles appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we count down our all-time favorite productivity habits—this week we cover numbers 5-1! Topics covered include: Keeping a “Waiting For” list—and what to capture on it How to organize the items you’re waiting on The importance of “scatterfocus” Where ideas come from—and where our mind wanders to How to recharge, generate ideas, and generate plans The three types of scatterfocus How to conduct a weekly review How to determine your most important tasks Understanding how much time tasks and projects take How to make a daily plan, while including the rule of 3 The ways meditation makes us more productive Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Hyperfocus Audible Original: How to Train Your Mind Focusmate You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My favorite productivity habits (part 2) appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we count down our all-time favorite productivity habits—this week we cover numbers 10-6! Topics covered include: The point of becoming more productive How productivity can make us more human Earning back time, enjoying the journey, carving out time for what’s meaningful Keeping an accomplishments list The “Zeigarnik Effect” How often to review your accomplishments Email/message sprints “Time confetti” The two types of work: focus work vs. collaborative work Your “biological prime time,” and how to calculate it Working around your energy level fluctuations Taking only the productivity advice that works for you (and leaving the rest) Keeping a distractions list Remembering to remember things Shrinking the tasks you find most aversive Links mentioned in this episode: Wikipedia: The Zeigarnik Effect Caveday (for work sprints) Focusmate (for instant accountability) Article: 3 Ways to Calculate Your Peak Energy Time of Day You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My favorite productivity habits (part 1) appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to organize all of the projects you’re in the middle of, to feel more in control and less overwhelmed by them all. Topics covered include: What a “project” even is The importance of seeing all of what you have going on in one place How to feel in control of your projects Projects lists—and how to sort them Managing shared projects with a team Capturing next steps, “waiting for” items, and reference items The (all-important) Weekly Review   Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Getting Things Done Article: Which of your projects need space, and which need focus? You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to organize your projects appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode of the podcast, we chat about how to crowd out bad food habits—as well as how food habits of abundance are far more helpful than habits of deprivation. Topics covered include: Which food habits to eliminate and double down on How to approach deciding what to eat with an attitude of abundance—not deprivation The “all or nothing” effect with food Introducing dependencies to combat negative habits Our limited reservoir of willpower The Frozen Berry Train What “real food” even is Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How Not to Die Book: How Not to Diet Book: Salt Sugar Fat Book: Hooked Book: The Dorito Effect You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! Enjoy :-)   The post Podcast: Some food habits that will help you out appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:The processed food industry has become incredibly sophisticated in the way it gets us to eat more of what it makes. Estimated Reading Time:1 minute, 37s. For this week’s podcast episode I sat down with Michael Moss, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Salt Sugar Fat and now, Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. Hooked is an incredible book: a deep dive into the processed food industry and a look at how highly-processed food can be even more addictive than hard drugs. My main takeaway from the book is how we shouldn’t see processed food as food: it’s more of a Frankenstein-esque lab creation. Michael illustrates this with the example of pumpkin spice—one of the coziest-feeling flavors I can think of: “In our kitchen cabinets, pumpkin spice is made of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and maybe ginger. Not so in processed food. Its pumpkin spice is simulated through the deployment of as many as eighty elements.” Companies have learned to isolate flavor compounds and add them to our food—without our knowledge or permission—to make what we eat taste like something it’s not. Our latte may taste like pumpkin, but in reality, it’s a cocktail of other ingredients concocted in chemical laboratories. Flavor is the main lever processed food companies use to hook us on their products. According to Michael, the others are: Calories. We have a natural drive to maximize our calorie intake. If two foods taste identical, but one has more calories, that’s the one we’ll choose. Cost. The cheaper something is, the more likely we are to buy it. Variety. We crave variety—and the novelty that comes along with it. That’s why there are so many flavors of Oreos and sparkling water! Convenience. We gravitate towards what saves us time—hence the appeal of ready-to-heat or ready-to-eat meals. In our conversation, linked below, Michael and I dig deeper into the levers processed food companies use to get us to eat more of what they sell. He’s a fascinating interview—and I highly recommend the book as well. The post The 5 things that make processed food addictive appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about the power of novelty—and how this one ingredient influences our perception of time and how meaningful our life feels. Topics covered include: How novelty has affected our perception of time during the pandemic The ways that novel moments serve as markers in time Our brain’s “novelty bias” How novelty, surprise, and dopamine work together How novelty can help us build habits and memories How to make your days more novel “Memory sinkholes” Who is the “Chuck Norris” of the podcast You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The Power of Novelty appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, I chat with Cal Newport about his fantastic new book, A World Without Email. We chat about: How the cost of email is higher than we realize The differences between “asynchronous” and “synchronous” ways of communicating, and why they matter Cal’s idea of the “hyperactive hive mind” How email scrambles our thoughts and makes us anxious How to identify the parts of our work we can move outside of email How Cal manages his own email Key mindset shifts to make with email Overcoming the guilt of not checking email How to automate email scheduling How to set up “email office hours” Links mentioned in this episode: Cal’s new book: A World Without Email Cal’s book Deep Work Cal’s New Yorker article, Was E-Mail a Mistake? Trello boards Neal Stephenson’s essay, Why I Am a Bad Correspondent Meeting schedulers ScheduleOnce X.ai Calendly You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: A World Without Email appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about five productivity experiments you can try out while stuck at home—including how to wake up early, reset your caffeine tolerance, and replace TV time with books. Topics covered include: How our wakeup time doesn’t affect our income or success level The downfalls of caffeine How to optimize your caffeine consumption The ways we borrow energy from tomorrow How many years of our lives we spend watching TV How mental stimulation has become the enemy of focus Identifying your keystone habits Creating a cycle of positive change Mini productivity experiments to try out in quarantine: Different wakeup times A caffeine reset Cutting out booze Replacing TV with books New workout regimens Links mentioned in this episode: TED Talk: that mentions socioeconomic standing and sleep Article: 3 ways to identify your “keystone habits”, habits that change everything Book: The Power of Habit TED Talk: How to Get Your Brain to Focus Article: How to gain back 13.6 years of your life, in an instant Study: Alcohol Use and Breast Cancer Risk Fitness Apps: Peloton Digital Apple Fitness+ Beach Body On Demand Pop Sugar Fitness Yoga with Adrenne You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Mini Productivity Experiments appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to avoid “all or nothing” thinking—also known as the “eff it” effect, or the abstinence violation effect, if you want to get technical about it. Topics covered include: ⁃ Not being satisfied by partial success⁃ How the effect plays out across different time scales⁃ The idea of “sunk costs”⁃ How awareness is key to behavioral change⁃ The downfalls of black and white thinking You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: All or Something Thinking appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Some problems are best solved by continuously chipping away at them. For others, there’s a real benefit in letting your mind wander. This allows us to connect the future, past, and present and come up with new ideas and be intentional about our goals. Capture mode, problem crunching mode, and habitual mode are two ways to strategically mind wander. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 17s. Podcast Length: 23 minutes, 06s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). A couple weeks back on the podcast we chatted all about the productivity benefits of capturing ideas and served up a buffet of techniques on how to do just that. This week’s episode looks at how you can generate ideas in the first place. Some problems require us to hunker down and apply reason and logic until a way forward becomes clear. Others require larger leaps in thinking and a spoonful of creativity. They demand that we puzzle piece together disparate pieces of knowledge, experiences, and conversations to come up with a new way to overcome the impasse. Problems like this are best solved with a wandering mind. It may seem counterintuitive, but setting your focused work aside to let your mind rest and wander is scientifically-proven to be one of the best things you can do for your productivity. When it comes to generating ideas, research shows that a wandering mind elevates our creative thinking to a league of its own. When we give our mind time to wander, it visits many destinations: 48% of the time it thinks about the future, 28% of the time it’s in the present, and 12% is spent reflecting on the past (in the remaining moments, your mind is typically blank or not mulling over anything in particular). This pondering of the future is when you become more intentional about future goals. In fact, research says we’re 14 times more likely to think about our goals when our mind is wandering versus when it’s focused. By keeping your goals or the problem you need to solve in mind, and then bouncing between the future, present, and past, your mind connects ideas from all three mental destinations. At the same time, it’s given the time to rest and plan—something that’s even more valuable in the time of a global pandemic. (If you’re interested in reading more about this, my second book, Hyperfocus, does a deep dive into the science behind this wandering mental mode called scatterfocus. I also dig into this mode in this talk!) So how exactly do you get your mind to wander? There are three modes you can use: capture mode, problem crunching mode, and habitual mode. Capture mode is the best at capturing what’s on your mind—all the things you’re waiting on, the stuff you’ve got to do, what you’re making for dinner… Let your mind wander and log the ideas that pop to mind as you stroll through those mental corridors. Sitting somewhere with a notepad works well for this. Problem crunching mode is great for digesting specific problems where you’ve reached some sort of impasse. Like a sculpture at an art gallery, think of that problem as something worth roaming around. Examine it from different angles, maybe check out another exhibition, and return to it later. Ideas are much more likely to come to you this way versus if you were to focus intently for hours on end. Episode 35 of the podcast explored how sleeping on an idea can have the same effect as allowing your mind to wander. Then, there’s habitual mode, my all-time favorite way to generate new ideas. Just as it sounds, this mental mode involves going about a habit that doesn’t fill your attention to the brim. Bake cookies, make coffee, take a shower, go for a phone-free stroll—anything that will give you a bit of a mental breather. It’s in habitual mode where we generate the greatest number of ideas and creative insights (remember to capture them!). Plus it’s more fun because you get a mental vacation from focusing on an all-consuming task. The next time you’re stuck on a problem, let your mind wander. You’re more likely to break through the impasse and come out the other side feeling well-rested and full of ideas for the future. The post 3 ways to generate more ideas appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Capturing ideas helps us log what’s on our mind and think more clearly throughout the day. What you capture can be super broad, from tasks, to follow-up reminders, to actual insights. The ways of logging those ideas are equally diverse, and include digital and physical notepads, task managers, and messaging tools. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 40s. Podcast Length: 25 minutes, 56s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). A couple of years ago, I chatted with productivity author David Allen on the podcast. One of the nuggets of wisdom he shared during our conversation was that our heads are for having ideas, not holding them. David was talking about our limited mental bandwidth. The more it’s cluttered with reminders and things to follow-up on, the less attentional space we have to focus on our most meaningful work. It takes a surprising amount of time and energy to remember all these disparate thoughts, and it’s never worthwhile forgetting them only to remember them again later. The more ideas you can get out of your head, capture, and organize, the better. There are all sorts of ideas to keep tabs on. Some involve strokes of brilliance, others are the laundry list of tasks you need to get done or a reminder that may tug on your attention throughout the day. There are countless things you might want to get out of your head: Stuff you’re waiting on. These are items you’re waiting for from other people—things you need to check up on later. I’ve scheduled a recurring weekly task in my calendar so I remember to check this list a few times a week and follow up with people accordingly. Ideas you want to look into more deeply. You encounter so much information in a day, and chances are you’ll want to explore more on these topics—just not when you’re in the middle of some other task. Log them and leave them for later. Distractions and reminders. If you’re anything like me, your mind is an ongoing to-do list of reminders and distractions. Capturing and organizing these mental tidbits helps set them aside in the moment. Actual ideas and insights. If you don’t capture an idea, you can’t act on it. With so many of us doing knowledge work for a living, the insights we generate are worth their weight in gold. If your job involves a lot of juggling tasks, connecting with people, and generating new ideas, capturing what’s on your mind becomes a way to do better work. There’s no shortage of tools you can use to capture these ideas. And like most productivity tactics, there’s no one right answer for everyone. But what is typically consistent is that whether it’s in the shower, out for a long walk, or jolted awake from a night’s sleep, we’re rarely in a convenient place when an idea pops into mind. Some idea-capturing tools: AquaNotes. Research has found that ideas commonly come to us when our mind wanders or we’re doing something routine. AquaNotes are water-proof notepads you can hang in the shower. They’re one of my favorite productivity products, period. Notes app on your device. Most devices come with a notepad app. I personally use Simplenote, so my ideas sync across every device I own. These apps are a great way to make sure you’re tracking all your ideas and have them at your fingertips when it’s time to action them. Physical notepad. Kick it old school! I always keep a physical notepad on my desk so I can scribble down thoughts and distractions, and get back to work. Task manager. Task managers are basically repositories to keep your thoughts organized. My favorite task manager is Things, though it’s only available for Apple devices. Voice recorder app. Sometimes ideas flow more freely when we speak them versus writing them down. Most devices come with a built-in voice recorder tool. Email or message an idea to yourself. This is another option if you’re close to your device. If you prefer not having your primary email account on your phone, try creating a dedicated inbox for sending these messages. I’ve found it’s helpful to ritualize the act of both capturing and organizing my ideas. I do this all at once every Sunday night when I’m planning out my week—but what works for you might be different. This one’s a real choose your own adventure, and it’s all about experimenting until you find what’s right for you. Happy idea capturing! P.S. – there are also lots of productivity benefits to meditation. That’s the topic of my latest project: an Audible Original book called How to Train Your Mind. It’s free with an Audible subscription in the US. Check it out! The post The Productivity Benefits of Capturing Ideas appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:: Make a list of everything you’re worrying about, and divide it into what you do and don’t have control over. Then, deal with the items on your list accordingly. Estimated Reading Time:: 1 minutes, 35s. Podcast Length: 22 minutes, 42s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). Believe it or not, it’s possible to worry more productively. On this week’s podcast, Ardyn and I dig into one of my favorite productivity tactics for crazy times like these: the worry list. The name pretty much says it all: a worry list is just a list of what you’re worrying about; problems in your life or the world that are causing you anxiety. Making the list is straightforward: 1. Capture all of the things that worry you over the span of a day. Just get it all of your head and onto a sheet of paper (or into some digital document, if that’s your preference). 2. Categorize all of your worries into two groups: what you have control over, and what you don’t. After you’ve captured it all, make a plan to deal with what you have control over. If you can, you can also delegate items on the list—this instantly frees up mental bandwidth for more important things. You can also eliminate worries, by eliminating the underlying commitments or habits that cause them. (One example: if a lot of your worries are fed by constantly checking the news, subscribe to a physical newspaper instead, to get a daily update, instead of an hourly one.) However you can, just make a plan to deal with every worry that’s controllable. With what’s outside of your control, keep in mind that your mind is predisposed to pay attention to, and worry about anything you perceive to be a threat—throughout the day, recognize when you’re worrying about something, while understanding that some worrying happens subconsciously. Schedule time to worry about these things if you feel the need to, so that they don’t bleed into the rest of your day. Right now, there’s a lot on our minds to worry about. If you’re anything like me, creating a worry list will help. Especially in overanxious times like these, thought patterns of worry only ever obscure what’s important. The post The Worry List appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway: In her book Time Smart, behavioral scientist and Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans digs into the fascinating relationship between time, money, and happiness. While making more money is an easier goal to chase, Ashley’s research shows that making time-first choices ultimately leads to greater happiness. Time Smart outlines strategies to do just that, including tactics to save us time and ones we can use to buy time back. Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 55s. Podcast Length: 26 minutes, 41s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). It’s one of life’s classic quandaries: what ultimately makes us happier, more time or more money? Ashley Whillans’ research points firmly at time. Ashley is a behavior scientist and Harvard Business School professor who is fascinated by how time, money, and happiness influence each other. Her book, Time Smart, is a fantastic and concise read on this very topic. She’s also my guest on the podcast this week. A central theme of the book looks at how we’re more likely to chase money with greater drive than we pursue having more time. This is for three simple reasons: Money is generally a necessity in our society. The prevailing narrative is that money and success are synonymous with one another. Psychologically, it’s easier for us to track money and feel satisfied when we have it. Having $500 in your bank account is objective and tangible—gaining three hours of time on a Saturday? Not so much. This is why we give up our time more readily than we give up our money. But this loss of time comes at a cost, and Ashley argues that it’s critical for us to value our time to the same extent that we value our money. According to her research, people who even just say that they put time first report being happier, less stressed, and more satisfied with their social relationships. People who value time over money also tend to be more productive and creative because they take the time to build new relationships and recharge. These are concrete, positive outcomes that come with making time-first decisions. Time Smart outlines a handful of valuable strategies for how we can start prioritizing time over money. I love that many of these tactics don’t cost anything, because it debunks the myth that only the wealthy can afford to put time first. These strategies fall into two categories: tactics to save us time, and tactics to buy our time back. Tactics to save time are about tackling time traps head-on. Imagine pinging phone alerts and how they disrupt our moments of leisure. That technology pitfall shreds our valuable time into a thousand distracted fragments, which Ashley calls “time confetti.” Time traps are also caused by the mere urgency effect, the phenomena that makes us prioritize things that are urgent but not important—checking your email non-stop rather than spending time with your family, for example. To save yourself time, try: Scheduling Proactive Time. This is a chunk of time when you can focus on your most meaningful but not necessarily most urgent work. Spend 30 minutes at the start of each week scheduling in a pair of two-hour proactive time blocks. Take these blocks to completely unplug and hyperfocus on your important tasks. Focusing on small, everyday time-first decisions. Living your day more mindfully is one tactic to save time. Whenever we make the decision to clock out of work early, create a boundary between home and work (even in today’s day and age), or treat an upcoming weekend like a holiday, we are choosing whether to prioritize time or money. Reflect on your everyday decisions and pushback against the urge to check your email after hours versus spending time with family or friends. Tactics to buy back time reframe the value we associate with time and happiness. Because money is a metric we all understand, Ashley conceptualized “Happiness Dollars” which attaches a concrete value to the happiness benefits that come from making time-first decisions. She calculated these values through various surveys where people reflected on their happiness level related to different activities. Consider that: People who say they value time over money is equivalent to making $4,400 more each year. Outsourcing our most disliked task is equivalent to making $10,000 more each year. Socializing more than usual is shown to make us happier, which is equivalent to making $20-30,000 more each year. Interestingly, one way to encourage people to spend money in order to save themselves time (i.e. hiring a virtual assistant) is to reframe it as a decision that benefits others. By delegating your work, you’re left with more time to spend with family or to volunteer in your community. Focusing on time is not a selfish act. Like so much we talk about on the podcast and this blog, choosing to prioritize time over money boils down to mindfulness. As Ashley says, living a time-first life can lead to greater happiness and shape the overall quality of our lives—but we need to co

Takeaway:This year, try giving yourself a non-material gift. Three ways to do this: think about something in your life that’s missing; look at the habits you want to pick up again; and take your vacation days or use up your benefits. Estimated Reading Time:1 minutes, 57s. Podcast Length: 15 minutes, 17s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). Happy holidays, everybody! We’re nearing the end of a weird year, and the thing we might be celebrating the most is the fact that 2020 is almost over. If you’re anything like us, this December looks a little different. Normally we’d be bouncing around between parties with inlaws and friends. While that’s not happening this year, there are still ways to treat yourself over the holidays. I’m not talking about physical gifts—I’m thinking about all the intangible gifts you can give yourself in order to get the most out of the days to come. For example, I’m giving myself the gift of disconnection. For a week over Christmas, I’m deliberately disengaging from all things online—turning on my email autoresponder, changing my social media passwords, and putting my phone in Grayscale mode to make it less appealing. I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit this year refreshing Twitter and watching YouTube videos. With this gift, I’m giving myself permission to be bored. If you can’t think of the last time you were in this state, then this might be a good gift for you, too. Here are a few ways to approach finding what gift to give yourself: Think about something in your life that’s missing or has fallen to the wayside. Maybe you really enjoyed taking a brisk morning stroll at the start of the pandemic. The holidays are a great time to re-examine and reset. Look at habits you want to double down on. You don’t have to wait until the new year to change your habits and routines. Try spending some time reflecting on what these habits are and then start them up again. Take vacation days or use up your benefits. Don’t let these go to waste! The end of the year is when the clock chimes midnight on many benefits packages and vacation days. If you’re able, take some days off over the holiday and relax. Whatever gift you end up giving yourself, we hope you have a safe holiday season and can start off the new year feeling refreshed and re-energized. You deserve it! See you after the holiday! P.S. – if you listened to the podcast and want the sweet potato mash recipe Ardyn mentioned, here it is :-) The post Here’s a bit of permission to treat yourself over the holidays appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Before switching between tasks, take three deep breaths. It’s a super simple way to reset your focus and set a quick intention for what comes next. Three techniques you can try: box breathing, the 4-7-8 technique, and the 5-5-5 breathing technique. Estimated Reading Time:2 minutes, 28s. Podcast Length: 14 minutes, 21s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). Breathing is something we all do but rarely think about. And yet it dictates whether we feel anxious or calm, tense or relaxed (and not to mention keeps us alive). Harnessing the power of your breath is one of the most simple and powerful things you can do for your mental and physical well-being. That leads to one of my favorite new productivity tactics: the next time you switch between projects, meetings, or return to work after answering email, take three big, deep breaths. That’s it. This simple half a minute is a great way to transition from one task to another, and it helps your mind reset and focus for the next thing on your plate. This tactic also helps you clear your mind of some “attention residue,” a phenomena I write about in Hyperfocus. Coined by Dr. Sophie Leroy, a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Washington, attention residue is the term that describes the fragments of a previous task that remain in your memory after you shift to another activity. If you jump immediately from task A to task B, your mind will still be thinking about that previous work, preventing you from fully engaging in whatever is going on at hand. This phenomena is just one of the reasons why multitasking makes us less efficient. Taking three deep breaths between tasks will serve to dust out some of this attention residue. Consider it a bit of mental housekeeping—clearing the table before eating your next meal. While three deep breaths of any length will do, you can also try your hand at a few different techniques. Box breathing is an inhale hold, exhale hold technique. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and then start again on the inhale. Think of it as constructing a box with your breath, where the “walls” of the box are four seconds in length. Another is the 4-7-8 breathing technique where you inhale for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds. While everyone is different, this pattern has been used to reduce anxiety and help you sleep. The last pattern you can try is the 5-5-5 breathing technique. Studies suggest that a pattern of 5.5 second inhales and exhales is the optimal breathing rate to achieve higher heart rate variability—which has been associated with improved physical and mental well-being. Taking three deep breaths is an easy, powerful, and completely free tactic that should take no more than a minute, even if you’re taking really long, intentional breaths. Give it a shot the next time you feel yourself frantically hopping from one thing to another. If you want to dig deeper into the fascinating art and science of breathing, I highly recommend the book Breath, by James Nestor. We chat about it a bit on this week’s podcast. The post All you need are three breaths appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:A pre-mortem is a ritual that helps you account for all that could go wrong with a project—in advance of those mishaps actually occurring in real life. Three steps to do a pre-mortem: identify the projects you want to go well, imagine the worst case scenarios, and create a plan to make your project more resilient using the knowledge you collected. Estimated Reading Time:2 minutes, 39s. Podcast Length: 18 minutes, 29s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). You’re probably familiar with the idea of a post-mortem—the debrief session that happens after you wrap up a project. For projects that haven’t gone as planned, a post-mortem is a chance to figure out what went wrong and how to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen the next time around. A pre-mortem is similar, but instead of picking up the pieces after a project finishes up, you think about what could go wrong before a project starts, so you can anticipate problems before they occur. A pre-mortem ritual is great for any project, and takes just a few steps. 1. Identify the projects you want to go really well This can be anything in your life, big or small, individual or team projects, stuff going on in your home life or at the office. You can do a pre-mortem on projects you haven’t started yet, or ones you’re in the middle of completing. 2. Imagine all of the ways those projects might fail The second step is to imagine that the projects you identified in the first step have failed catastrophically. Ask yourself: what went wrong that led these projects to go so poorly? While this may seem like a depressing exercise, this step will help you anticipate all that could go wrong—and then strategize ways to avoid such mishaps. There’s never just a single worst case scenario, and these disastrous situations may come to you over time. Keep a “what went wrong” sticky note on your desk or a running list on your phone for a few days, to capture ideas. This will help when it comes to step three. Be sure to ask people close to the project for their worst case scenarios, too. 3. Draw up a plan to make your projects more resilient Now that you’ve conjured up the ways in which your projects can go wrong, do all you can to avoid having those visualizations become a reality. Look at the lists that you’ve made and consider the things you could have done differently. Use these ideas to make changes to your work plan or timeline to make it more likely to succeed. The result will be a game plan that’s more resilient to change—because you’ve already imagined and accounted for those pitfalls. —- As a personal example, I did a pretty extensive pre-mortem back in 2018 when I was preparing to launch my second book, Hyperfocus. I wrote out a bunch of scenarios that eventually informed the publicity plan for the book—as well as how I wrote the book itself. Sample worst case scenarios for me included things like: Not doing enough podcast outreach; The book getting a lukewarm reception; Terrible reviews; No big media outlets wanting to cover the book. These points and others became a catalyst to plan more, do more, and ultimately, to write a better book. While this is just one example, try the pre-mortem exercise out—it’s a gateway to better, more thoughtful planning, and can lead to a cascade of positive effects for your project. The post Starting a new project? Conduct a pre-mortem appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway: Last week I challenged you to go as many days as possible without charging your phone. Some practical tips to help you do that (especially during this anxious time): rethink which jobs you hire your phone for, rearrange your home screen, take advantage of your phone’s many modes, and opt to get news alerts from a single source. Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 48s. Podcast Length: 30 minutes, 1s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). It’s been a uniquely crazy and anxious few weeks (in an already stressful year), and if you’re anything like me, you’ve been glued to coverage of the U.S. election, awaiting all the results that came in over the weekend. Maybe you’re spending more time than ever bouncing between news apps, or texting friends out of excitement and nerves. With our phones keeping us tethered to a world of worry, there’s no better time to try out the challenge we talked about last week: to see how many days you can go without charging your phone. My iPhone 11 Pro usually lasts for a day on a single charge, so this was an experiment to see if I could make the battery last for two days, or even three. In the end, I got to 2.5 days before running out of juice. For those who are interested in disconnecting for a bit during this crazy time, here are some practical tips for how to check your phone less and make your battery last longer. While it can be a fun competition with yourself, the real goal is to use your phone more mindfully—and hopefully less overall! 1. Rethink the “jobs” you hire your phone for The late Clayton Christensen was known for a bunch of interesting nuggets of business wisdom, one of which was the jobs to be done theory. The premise is that every product we buy should do a job for us—whether it’s “hiring” Kleenex for blowing our nose or using Uber Eats to order another round of election night chicken wings. Today, our phone does so many jobs. It’s our alarm clock, GPS, newspaper, video game console, calendar… the list goes on. It’s no surprise we spend so much time on our devices when it’s our one-stop-shop for just about everything. To spend less time on your phone and make your battery last longer, consider switching some of these tasks to analogue devices—i.e. a nightside table alarm clock, physical newspaper, or agenda. Or, even better, cull the ones that don’t serve you (think: social media, video games, Netflix binges). 2. Rearrange your home screen We’ve all opened our phone to text a friend only to 30 minutes later find ourselves scrolling on Twitter. Changing the layout of your phone’s home screen is one way to make your device less appealing. Consider the apps that make you feel anxious or unhappy, and either delete them or store them on the second or third screen, buried in a folder. I have social media apps stored in a “Social” folder (which I relabel as “Distractions” when I really want to deter myself from using them!). It’s a small extra tap to open them, but I find it’s enough of a reminder to use my phone with a bit more awareness. Reclaim your home screen with apps that are meaningful to you—maybe it’s a meditation timer, an audiobook app, or your workout tracker. The less you’re tempted to use your phone, the longer your battery will last. 3. Take advantage of your phone’s many modes This one’s more of a hack, but it works. Modes like Do Not Disturb, Airplane mode, Low Battery mode, and Grayscale disable various features of your phone that will preserve its battery and make it less appealing overall. The power of Grayscale mode is especially worth highlighting. It simply turns your screen black and white, which may seem like no big deal until we realize that a lot of apps use color psychology to boost usage. News websites crank the saturation on photos so our screens appear more vibrant and exciting. Grayscale mode is great for your battery life and will make your phone less stimulating. 4. Get news alerts from a single source This is a turbulent time, and it’s not helpful to be bouncing back and forth between a half dozen news apps. Choose your favorite news app and enable notifications—shutting off the alerts for all others. Being mindful and selective with your alerts will help you stay better focused and less stressed at a time when calmness is key. — The two-day phone challenge isn’t really about how long you can make your battery last—it’s about how to be more mindful and intentional about what you’re consuming. Remember that the path to better productivity runs straight through calm, and checking your phone less routinely is one stop along the way to get there. The post Here’s how to (properly) put down your phone appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:A few tactics to help you inbox with intention: track your email usage, adopt email sprints, take an email vacation, suggest phone calls for longer discussions, and send less email. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 38s. Podcast Length: 26 minutes, 8s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). While the idea of Inbox Zero is sexy, the reality is that most of us don’t get there. Even if you do manage to tend to every message in your inbox, it’s only a matter of time before a new one comes in. Inbox Zero is a slippery, competitive slope, and can lead us to think about our email at all hours of the day, obsessively checking and replying to maintain an empty inbox. I personally like to look at Inbox Zero as a state of mind—getting to the point where you are dedicating zero mental space towards thinking about email. This requires a mindset shift where you bring more awareness into how you interact with your inbox. While your email behavior will look differently depending on whether your work is more collaborative or autonomous, here are a few tactics you can use to change the relationship you have with your inbox. 1. Track your email usage Keep a post-it note tally for a day or afternoon to track how many times you checked for new messages. Then, reflect on why it was that you checked. Was it because you were expecting an urgent reply from a colleague, or did you need an excuse to procrastinate? The latter may be a sign that you’ve reached an impasse in your work. If that’s the case, consider taking a short break so you can return to your most important work with the energy and focus is deserves. 2. Try an email sprint I love this tactic and use it all the time. At the top of the hour or whenever you have the chance, set a timer for 10 minutes. Take that time to blow through as many emails as you possibly can. When your ringer goes, take the remainder of the hour to disconnect entirely and focus on other work. 3. Take an email vacation This can be for an entire day or just a few hours when you’re working on a deadline or have a task that demands a lot of focus. Most of us can go for this length of time without having our work fall apart—and it’s likely what you’d be doing anyways if you had an important client meeting or an all-day seminar. I had an old coworker who would shut down his email, set an auto-responder, and take that time to hunker down on a big project. Not only does an email vacation give you the chance to really hyperfocus, but it can actually give the illusion of greater productivity. Sometimes being truly productive means taking a few days to reply, and that’s okay. 4. Suggest phone calls for longer conversations This is a simple rule: if you want to write an email that’s longer than three sentences, pick up the phone and call someone. Some things are just easier to discuss verbally, and a phone call is often more efficient and nuanced than an email novella. 5. Send less email The more email you send, the more you receive—cut your inbox in half by sending less email yourself. Before sending a message, consider its purpose and the people who need to be included. Pausing for this moment will help you be a good email Samaritan and will also avoid the dreaded second email when you realize you forgot a point during your frenzied first reply. — Attention researcher Gloria Mark found that the more time we spend on email each day, the lower we perceive our productivity to be and the more stressed we feel. Checking your inbox is easy—what’s more difficult is having the time, attention, and energy to read through and respond in a thoughtful way. Email was created for our convenience and it’s an important way of sharing information with people, especially during these strange times. But we shouldn’t feel beholden to our inboxes, and I hope you can use these tactics to free yourself from the idea that you should be immediately available and responsive. Chances are your boss isn’t paying you to respond to emails—it’s the focused, specialized work that happens in between those inbox checking sessions that really matters. Reclaim these moments and you will find you’re able to work with greater time, attention, and energy. The post Inbox Zero is a state of mind appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Cait Flanders’ new book, Adventures in Opting Out: A Field Guide to Leading an Intentional Life, explores how we can step away from the default and choose a life guided by intention and purpose. A number of ideas to think about: how our culture and the stories we’re told shape our values and goals; using intuition to identify what we really value; signs that we should opt out; and how to respond to critical judgement around your choices. Estimated Reading Time:4 minutes, 1s. Podcast Length: 34 minutes, 54s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). Many of us are familiar with the default script: go to school, get good grades, find a job, meet a partner, settle down, and kick the bucket at the very end. These are age-old stories that are handed down from our culture, the media, and the people in our lives. But what if you scrapped the script and instead made the choices you really want? That’s how Cait Flanders lives her life, and it’s an idea she explores in her new book, Adventures in Opting Out. Long time podcast listeners may remember Cait from episode 13, where we chatted about whether or not to take advice from experts. This week I was thrilled to have her back on the show to talk about her second book (her first release, The Year of Less, is also a great read!). Adventures in Opting Out digs into an idea we all need to hear right now: the power of living in a way that’s true to who we are instead of what the world expects of us. That includes opting out: making the decision to work for yourself, to not have kids, to pursue a new lifestyle—the opt outs are endless. The book presents a wonderful and fun opportunity to reflect on this theme so that we can make the choices that will help us lead a more intentional and meaningful life. I love the reflective nature of Cait’s writing, and that introspection is embedded within every page of this book. Here are a few ideas from our conversation and the book to mull over during your next period of reflection. 1. Recognize how the default script can shape your goals and values. The curious thing about following a well-worn path is that you involuntarily find yourself enrolled in the goals and values that go along with it. If the default script says you should own a house by the time you’re 30, your goal might be to find a six-figure job and value compensation above all else. There’s an ease and comfort in chasing this default script in autopilot mode without stopping to listen to what we really want. Determining what you value is easier said than done. Cait shares that she used to pick values and corresponding goals that were more aspirational—rather than what she really wanted to do. Often these aspirational values were guided by a sense of what she should be doing. 2. To determine what you value, pay attention to your gut reaction. Intuition is a powerful tool. To identify your true values, Cait suggests noting the choices that make you feel unsettled. She gives the example of becoming a vegetarian. Before making this change, Cait remembers ordering meat or saying ‘yes’ to a dish made by her parents. She was unhappy with her decision every time. If you hear yourself resisting something over and over again, take those feelings as a sign that you may be living out of alignment with your values. Boiled down, your values are the flipside of what you don’t like. 3. Take note of other signs that it’s time to opt out. There’s too many signals to list, and Cait goes much deeper into this in her book. A few signs include hearing yourself say the same thing over and over; not being able to sleep because you’re so irked by something needing to change; not being present in conversations; and noticing that you revert to a different or older version of yourself around certain people. 4. Prepare to be judged—and be okay with that. As someone who has opted out of drinking, an unhealthy relationship with shopping, a conventional job, and more, Cait has heard a lot of unsolicited feedback on her choices. These opinions can be difficult to swallow, especially when they come from people we care about. But Cait says that people can only see as far for you as they can for themselves, and that judgements are often a reflection of what people would say to themselves if faced with a similar change. She suggests using these critical moments to engage in conversation and ask questions about why someone feels the way they do. It takes time and introspection to pinpoint your values and determine the life you want. The ideas above can help you along that journey, though Cait notes that your thoughts will look differently depending on what opt out you’re considering. It’s not a spoiler to say that Cait believes every adventure in opting out has been worth it. Each time she stepped away from something that wasn’t working for her, she could finally hear her own voice. Chock full of stories and insights, I highly recommend picking up Adventures in Opting Out. The post To lead a mo

Takeaway: The next time you reach a strong impasse with a problem, sleep on it, by writing down the problem before heading to bed. Incubating unresolved problems overnight lets your mind wander, rest, and unearth insights you might not otherwise have had. Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes, 13s. Podcast Length: 18 minutes, 34s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). If you’re anything like me, you occasionally find yourself staring down what could be several more hours of work at the end of the day—maybe stumped by a technical problem or grasping for a way to connect seemingly disparate ideas in a presentation. Whatever it is, you’ve reached an impasse and you may not be sure what to do next. Pulling an all-nighter is one option—but a better option might be to sleep on the problem. Here’s how the idea works: as you’re disconnecting at the end of the day, write down one open loop or problem that you want to solve and think about until the next morning. Then, go to sleep. As you rest, your brain will continue to churn away on the problem, making it more likely that you’ll experience a eureka moment in the morning. Try to always go to bed with a problem in mind that you want to solve. Sleeping on a problem works for two curious reasons. First, it works because of a psychological phenomenon named the “Zeigarnik effect”. Named after psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, this effect suggests that we store unresolved problems at the front of our minds. Our brains are wired to continue connecting new experiences and thoughts to that problem until the loop is closed. That includes the new ideas that come up when our minds wander. By capturing a problem before bed, you’re more likely to store it front-of-mind for the night—when your mind will turn over the problem, in search of a solution to it. This is where the power of dreaming comes in—the second reason sleeping on a problem works so well. Interestingly, the brain networks we use to dream as we sleep and daydream are eerily similar—on a neurological level, dreaming is basically daydreaming on steroids. And, as I’ve written about in the past, a surefire way of becoming more creative is to daydream more often. Like daydreaming, dreaming creates the space for us to process problems and unearth new insights. When we wake up we find we’re not only more refreshed and able to focus, but that our subconscious may have pieced together the puzzle from the day before. (I dig into this idea more in Hyperfocus. Everyone from Thomas Edison to Salvador Dali have used sleep as a tool to come up with new insight solutions.) Going to bed with a problem to sleep on works best for a single specific, complex problem that would benefit from some additional time or thought. Something simple to try the next time you’ve reached an impasse in your work. Sweet, productive dreams! The post Tonight, pick one problem to sleep on appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Many of us want to read more but are unsure of how to do it. A handful of tactics to try: set specific times to read, create a comfortable physical environment, identify less meaningful activities and replace them with reading, read shorter books, have multiple books on-the-go, put down books you’re not enjoying, make reading a social activity, know which reading format you prefer, and schedule a reading day. Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes, 19s. Podcast Length: 31 minutes, 58s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). Whether it’s immersing yourself in a faraway fictional world or digesting the ideas of a nonfiction book, reading is one of the most meaningful ways to spend your day and activate your mind. It’s also one of the best temporary escapes from this anxious time—all while staying within the comfort of your home. A lot of people want to read more books, but are uncertain of where to start. On this week’s episode of Becoming Better (which you can play at the bottom of the post), we explore this goal and share a buffet of tactics to get you started. Here are a few ideas that have worked for us, pulled from the episode! 1. Set aside specific times to read Figure out how reading can fit into the structure of your day. Maybe it’s right after you wake up alongside a mug of tea, or sitting on a park bench at lunch. Think about how you’re spending your day and how you could carve out a window of time to sit down with a book. Reading is also a great way to transition from your work day into your personal time—an especially important divide when we lack the physical separation between our home and office. 2. Create a physical environment that’s conducive to reading This can be extraordinarily helpful when it comes to starting your own reading ritual. I personally put my phone and tablet in another room, lie on the couch, and tune into the “Simply Piano Radio” station on Apple Music. Take this ritual with a grain of salt, though—the “perfect” environment for reading can be elusive, and if you wait for the stars to perfectly align you may never pick up a book. 3. Replace less meaningful tasks with reading Whether it’s engaging in an endless Twitter scroll or binge watching Netflix, we all have parts of our day that could be categorized as less-than-meaningful. Identify what those things are and take them as a sign that you should pick up a book instead. We all have time for reading if we choose to prioritize it. 4. Read shorter books This might sound like cheating, but short books actually pair really well with longer reads—right now, for example, I’m reading a bunch of short books while also reading the tome that is Cryptonomicon. It‘s rewarding to make progress in a short book while progressing through a larger one. 5. Read multiple books at once Think of it like diversifying your portfolio of investments. If you’re reading multiple books you can pretty much guarantee you’re going to enjoy one. I ran a Twitter poll asking how many books people read at once—most (60%) said they read more than one book at a time. I personally have around four or five books on-the-go at once. This is especially true with nonfiction. You can process reading multiple simultaneous nonfiction books better than you might think, since you’re just accumulating facts, and have no storylines to cross. 6. Stop reading books you don’t enjoy Some books just won’t connect with you, regardless of their reviews or recommendations. Putting down a bad book is naturally motivating. This approach is probably not worth applying to everything, but life’s too short to read books you don’t like. 7. Put more thought into your reading list in order to read better books This can include the classics—many of which are available for free online or through the library. Look at literary recommendations but also be open to reading something that doesn’t have a five star review. Taste is so personal, and who knows where you’ll find your next favorite book—in general, we should spend more time choosing the books we read than we do. One suggestion: see the description of each book you’re considering reading as a pitch for your time and attention. 8. Make reading more social You may already be familiar with Goodreads, a social network where users can review, recommend, and save titles. Book clubs are also a great way to make reading a social activity, and are one option for staying connected with friends and family during the pandemic. Both can help you stumble on great books you wouldn’t read otherwise. 9. Know which reading format you prefer I’m a physical book kind of guy, and always have a pen and highlighter in hand to scribble in the margins. Look at what you’re reading and how consequential the information is—audiobooks can be great for fictional reads, but you may prefer a physical book if you’re digging into something meaty. 10. Have a reading day This is a single day where you sit down and finish an entire book. Reading days can be a rew

Takeaway:Change is inevitable and we need to learn to embrace it. Four tactics to get you started: have an awareness for change and how it interacts with your expectations, see every data point as part of a broader trend, shift your mindset to view change as the default state of the world, and meditate. Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes, 50s. Podcast Length: 21 minutes, 8s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). We’re going through a period of rapid change. Maybe your kids are going back to school, your office is considering opening its doors for the first time since the lockdown started, or your investments are making a rollercoaster look like a relaxing ride. It’s a difficult time for many, and embracing change is one of the ways we can give ourselves a helping hand. This idea is central to Buddhism: happiness is nothing more than coming to terms with how things change. In this week’s episode of Becoming Better, we discuss four strategies for how you can begin to accept change for what it is: an inevitable part of our lives. Be aware of how your expectations interact with change. Long-time readers of this blog will know how much I talk about the importance of working with intention and awareness. Typically, this means recognizing how you’re spending your time, attention, and energy. But it’s also important to be aware of your expectations and how they’re affected by change. Let’s say you order a slice of raspberry pie on the patio of your favorite coffee shop, but you’re brought a piece of chocolate cake instead. Even if you love chocolate cake you might be disappointed because your expectation was to be savoring that tangy raspberry taste. We are constantly comparing our experiences (the chocolate cake) to our expectations (the raspberry pie) and this can lead to disappointment. Being aware of how the change between expectation and experience makes you feel allows you to do something about it. Once you identify your emotions you can begin to investigate the expectations that triggered them. Zoom out to see the larger trend. Our lives are a series of data points measuring everything from our health to our finances to our sleep schedule. It’s not possible to get the whole story by looking at just one. That’s like saying “I didn’t go to the gym this week, and therefore I’m totally unhealthy and unmotivated.” Zooming out adds color and nuance to the black and white of individual data points. Because the reality is probably a lot closer to “I didn’t go to the gym at all this week because my kid was sick with the flu, I needed to prepare that presentation for the district manager, and I’ve been stressed after an argument with my sister. And I’ve actually increased my number of weekly workouts when compared to this time last year.” Zooming out provides context and helps us to see the trend in how things have changed over time. Journaling is one way to track and reflect on these trends. View change as the default state of life. Everything is always in a state of flux, and the sooner we accept that, the better. Welcome change as an old friend rather than an adversary. Meditate. Stepping back is a superpower right now, and meditation is one of the best ways to do that. Rather than immediately reverting to a default response to change, meditation helps you slow down, process, and respond in a healthier way. It also helps you see how your reaction might be informed by expectations, and how you can untangle these as a way to become better at dealing with change. If you’re new to the ritual of meditation here’s a guide to get you started. Change isn’t going anywhere, so the best thing we can do is to accept and grow alongside it. The post The power of embracing change appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this week’s podcast, my cohost Ardyn and I cover the biggest lessons we’ve learned from our experiments for the podcast, as well as our favorite nuggets of wisdom from the guests we’ve had on the show so far. Just in case you’re curious to dig into them, here are the 10 favorite interviews we’ve conducted to date—I’ve bolded what you’ll get out of each conversation above the link to play each episode. There’s a link to this week’s episode at the bottom of this post, too, where we share a bunch of things we’ve become better at while doing the podcast. Have a good week!Chris — 1. Cal Newport (author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism) We chat about how to minimize the negative effects of technology: — 2. David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) We chat about how our head is for having ideas—not for holding them: — 3. Laura Vanderkam (author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, I Know How She Does It, Off the Clock, and others) We chat about how to track your time—the most limited resource you have to get things done: — 4. Jon Krop (meditation teacher) We chat about the productivity benefits of meditation: — 5. Cait Flanders (author of The Year of Less) We chat about how to determine whether someone who calls themselves an “expert” is worth listening to: — 6. Neil Pasricha (author of The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation, and You Are Awesome) We chat about how to become more resilient: — 7. James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) We chat about how to form new habits—and break existing ones that aren’t serving us: — 8. Michael Greger author of How Not to Die and How Not to Diet) We chat about science-backed strategies to lose weight: — 9. Henry Emmons (author of The Chemistry of Calm) We chat about science-backed strategies to settle our minds: — 10. Kelly McGonigal (author of The Willpower Instinct, The Upside of Stress, and The Joy of Movement) We chat about the science of how exercise influences our mental health and overall wellbeing: — Below, Ardyn and I also chat about the biggest lessons we’ve learned from the podcast over the last year and a bit. Enjoy :-) The post 10 interviews to make you more productive appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Kelly McGonigal’s latest book, The Joy of Movement, is an ode to the value that movement can bring to our lives. Kelly shares how exercise of any kind and for any length of time can help us not only feel physically healthier, but also more connected with ourselves and our communities. She says that group movement is almost always better than individual exercise (even if it’s online!)—unless you’re spending time alone in nature. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 38s. Podcast Length: 45 minutes, 28s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). The Amazon links below are affiliate links—I get a cut of sales. I’ll be donating what I make to the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Movement may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about forming a connection with the people around you or attaining a sense of mental calm. Perhaps you envision a raucous dinner party to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Or maybe your mind paints a picture of a stoic figure meditating in silence and stillness. Or, a personal favorite, relaxing on the couch playing Animal Crossing, or sinking into a good book. Kelly McGonigal is an advocate for anything that gets us moving as a group—among a suite of other exercises. Kelly is a health psychologist and Stanford University lecturer whose TED talk about how to make stress your friend has been viewed more than 30 million times. In her latest book, The Joy of Movement, Kelly looks at how exercise can make you braver, help you connect with others, and experience mental resilience and joy. I’ve been a long-time fan of Kelly’s writing, and her 2015 book, The Upside of Stress, is one of my personal picks for the best productivity books out there. I love the way Kelly frames the importance of movement and exercise. Instead of explaining it as a project to make our bodies fit within societal norms or as a means to reduce risk of chronic health concerns down the road, The Joy of Movement argues that exercise is a key piece of the puzzle that will help you live a more engaged, happy life. The book is highly actionable, and in our chat Kelly shares some interesting tactics and tidbits on how you can use movement as a way to change your mindset around stress and create more connection with the people and things you love. Here’s some of what she had to say. 1. The type of movement doesn’t matter. Embracing movement doesn’t mean you suddenly need to start running marathons (a relief to me). Any dose of movement—be it three minutes or three hours—is one of the easiest things you can do to boost your mood and give you a hit of resilience or hope. So whether it’s flailing your arms to your favorite song or tapping your fingers on the table, Kelly advises us to start where we are, do what we can, and think about using as much of our body as possible. 2. Exercise and movement can help you deal with social anxiety. This is something Kelly found in her own life. She describes her default temperament as shy, sensitive, and anxious—but goes on to explain how exercise makes her better and braver. Movement triggers the release of endocannabinoids, neurotransmitters that not only reduce fear and anxiety but also promote positive social engagement and increase the warm glow you get when you’re around others. It’s like a dose of medicine that makes it easier to connect with other people. 3. Group movement can bring more benefits than individual movement—even when it’s online. Moving together creates a shared experience and sense of community which fosters further bonding and trust. This can be everything from traditional team sports to a zumba class to running ultramarathons. Though the latter typically evokes images of uber-fit athletes charging alone through the mountains, it’s actually the ability to be supported by others and the feeling of being part of a collective activity that allows ultramarathoners to benefit from that same sense of group connection and community. While it’s admittedly not the best time to be thinking of group activities, we can actually gain the same benefits when joining a group exercise class on Zoom. Research even supports that moving alongside avatars—virtual human beings!—can have the same effect. 4. Head outside for some green exercise. Moving alone in nature could actually be more powerful than moving together while outdoors. I personally start most mornings by making a cup of tea and going for a short hike. Kelly shares that moving in nature can be a shortcut to the calm state of mind attained through meditation. By breathing in gulps of fresh air, feeling the sun on our skin, and listening to the birdsong, nature allows us to take in new sensations and thoughts while letting go of the stressors of the past and future. 5. The movement you choose can help reveal or strengthen parts of your personality. While any movement is better than none, Kelly says you can also strategically focus on a form of movement that will help you experience parts of yo

Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 24s. It’s pretty skimmable, though. Podcast Length 29 minutes, 30s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). The Amazon links below are affiliate links—I get a cut of sales. I’ll be donating what I make to the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund.   The best productivity books more than pay for themselves: they teach you how to save time, so you more than earn back the time you spend inside them. So which productivity books will help you out the most?   Here are 10 of my absolute favorites—with a mini review of each one, with what you’ll get out of reading each book.   Getting Things Done, by David Allen   Mini Review: Getting Things Done is bigger than a book—it’s a bona fide movement. If you find it hard to focus because your mind is cluttered—with tasks, commitments, and other obligations—pick this book up. Also worthwhile: the Getting Things Done Workbook, which serves as a good companion to the main book.     Linchpin, by Seth Godin   Mini Review: This book will teach you how to stand out at work—regardless of whether you work for someone or for yourself. Linchpin provides you with a blueprint for becoming indispensable, regardless of what your “art” happens to be.     I Know How She Does It, by Laura Vanderkam   Mini Review: The concept behind this book is fascinating: Laura Vanderkam pored through the detailed time logs of highly-successful women who have kids at home, who also make over $100,000 a year. In the book, she shares the tips she learned from these women, including the importance of sleep, and what time wasters they didn’t invest in (like watching hardly any TV).     Off the Clock, by Laura Vanderkam   Mini Review: Another fantastic book from Laura Vanderkam, Off the Clock makes the case that, regardless of how busy we are, we have more time than we think we do. I walked away with countless strategies for developing deeper relationships and indulging in more intentional relaxation.     Deep Work, by Cal Newport   Mini Review: Deep Work digs into how we should structure our days in order to be most productive—and makes the compelling case that, when we do knowledge work for a living, the ability to focus on cognitively-demanding tasks is one of the most powerful skills we can develop. This book isn’t just worth reading once—it’s worth reading each time you find yourself surrounded by an increased number of distractions.     I’m not a fan of when authors include their own books in these roundups, so I don’t. If you’re looking for some reading beyond the books on this list, though, here’s a link to my books!     The Upside of Stress, by Kelly McGonigal   Mini Review: As Kelly McGonigal explores in the book, stress is not always a bad thing—if harnessed correctly, stressful situations can lead us to experience a more meaningful life. The Upside of Stress is an engaging, counterintuitive book that will change how you think about stress—as well as the challenges you face in general.     How Not to Die, by Michael Greger   Mini Review: This book may add years to your life. In How Not to Die, Michael Greger explores the foods we should be eating in order to live the longest—and everything in the book is backed up by scores of academic research. This is what makes Greger’s books unique: he starts with the science, and works backwards to how we should live our lives in order to take advantage of the latest research.     Atomic Habits, by James Clear   Mini Review: If you’re able to buy just one book about habits, make it Atomic Habits. This book provides you with a comprehensive overview of how habits work, and the latest science behind forming new habits and breaking old ones—Atomic Habits is one of the most comprehensive guides to forming new habits available.     Rapt, by Winnifred Gallagher   Mini Review: This book, by Winnifred Gallagher, explores how we can manage our attention in order to become happier. Years after reading Rapt, its lessons stick with me. If you’re looking for ways to become more present in your life, this book is a great place to start.     Mindset, by Carol Dweck   Mini Review: Mindset, by Carol Dweck, is another classic productivity book. It explores how we can develop a “growth mindset”—how we can see ourselves as someone capable of great change. The book not only digs into what a growth mindset is, it also explores how we can develop one in our own lives.   The post 10 productivity books that let you earn back time appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Idleness, when practiced properly, can actually make you more productive and creative. Podcast Length 22 minutes, 56s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Today I wrote a piece for CNBC.com on how it’s okay to be a bit lazy right now. Of course, not all of us have the luxury of being lazy during a pandemic. But regardless of your situation, I hope you check the article out. Even if you have less time than usual, right now we deserve a break more than ever—and we also deserve a bit more kindness from ourselves. Click here to read the article (there’s a link below to this week’s podcast on the same topic, too). Hope you have a good week (all considered!),Chris The post Yes, you have permission to be lazy right now appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Henry Emmons’ book, The Chemistry of Calm, is a practical and tactical deep dive into what makes us anxious and what helps us find calm. In our interview, Henry talks about how flexibility and acceptance—with ourselves and with the world around us—can help us find calm in these stressful times. Estimated Reading Time:1 minute, 26s. Podcast Length 28 minutes, 45s (link to play podcast at the bottom of post). We’ve spent the last few episodes of the podcast talking about calm—and how it can seem so elusive right now. All it takes is a quick glance at the news or social media to feel the onslaught of panic and anxiety. There’s not always an obvious way to set aside our restless feelings and attain a sense of calm, especially when many of our normal coping mechanisms are off the table. I wanted to get another take, and was joined on the podcast by an expert on the topic: Henry Emmons, a clinical psychiatrist and the author of The Chemistry of Calm. I was curious about how Henry views the relationship between calm and anxiety, especially at a time when the world is collectively so far down the “anxiety” end of the spectrum. Interestingly, Henry considers calm to be our natural state. At the same time, he acknowledges it’s absolutely normal to be experiencing some level of stress or anxiety right now. At its core, the coronavirus crisis is a survival threat, and being alert and on guard is what we’re biologically programmed to do. We’ve spoken a lot on this podcast about the tactics you can take to find calm, including active relaxation, stepping away from the digital world and into the analog one, and creating a gratitude list. As Henry shared, flexibility is another trait he’s seen help people get through these recent lifestyle changes and attain a sense of calm. Flexibility and an openness to adapt can be a secret weapon against fear and anxiety—whether we’re dealing with a global pandemic or a stressful situation in the office. It’s what allows us to accept what is happening in the world around us, internalize and process that reality, and use it to guide life decisions. This sense of flexibility doesn’t only apply to the external world—it also affects our inner mindset, too. It offers us the ability to treat ourselves with kindness and be flexible with the expectations we place on ourselves, especially in the context of our current crisis. This self-acceptance and kindness can help us push back against the expectation that we should be working at 100% productivity, capable of balancing homeschooling with team video calls, or baking the perfect loaf of sourdough bread. Henry sees rigidity as the enemy of joy and calm. Being kind to ourselves doesn’t mean settling for mediocrity and stasis. Instead, it grounds us in a mindset where we accept where we are, what our current limitations may be, and how we can realistically move forward. The Chemistry of Calm looks at how we can use a whole host of tactics to reduce anxiety. Here are a few of the other topics our conversation touched on: Meditation as a universal self-care practice. While it takes a bit of work to get started, a meditation ritual can help us respond to stressful situations effectively and with a sense of calm. See this time as a personal retreat. This pandemic is a break from life as usual and, for those of us who are fortunate to be able to do so, we can view this as a chance to slow down and reconnect with our loved ones and the world around us. We’ve got a lot to learn from nature. All other plant and animal species take the time to rest, regroup, and rebound—the opposite of our productivity mindset. Slowing down can be a good thing. A big thanks to Henry for joining me on the show. He shared so many more interesting tidbits, and they’re really useful in changing the way we think about calm and anxiety, especially at a time like this. Enjoy our conversation and take care of yourself! The post Flexibility as a Source of Inner Calm appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:We procrastinate when a task is boring, frustrating, difficult, ambiguous, unstructured, or lacking in personal meaning or intrinsic rewards. By reversing these triggers—a few suggestions for how to do this are below—we can overpower our urge to procrastinate. Estimated Reading Time:1 minute, 41s. Podcast Length 23 minutes, 24s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Procrastination is a fascinating topic—and just as fascinating is the science behind it. Research suggests that there are seven attributes a task can have that make us more likely to put it off. We’re far more likely to procrastinate when a task is: Boring (e.g., doing our taxes); Frustrating (e.g., learning a complicated new skill); Difficult (e.g., solving a math proof); Ambiguous (e.g., training for a marathon); Unstructured (e.g., undertaking a home renovation project); Lacking in intrinsic rewards (e.g., not getting feedback while we’re writing a 50-page report); Not meaningful (e.g., cleaning up the home office). The more of these attributes a task has, the more likely we are to put it off. On this week’s podcast, we dig into how to flip these triggers so we can use the science of procrastination to our advantage. There are countless ways to do this, depending on which attributes a task has. For example, we can: Form a simple plan to make boring tasks more fun (e.g., buying an audiobook for doing mindless chores around the house); Set a time limit for frustrating tasks (e.g., making a game out of something we don’t want to do, by filing as many papers as we possibly can within 20 minutes); Work with someone on difficult tasks, so we have more support while doing them (e.g., hiring a virtual piano teacher, instead of learning via an app); Make a plan for ambiguous and unstructured tasks (e.g., taking 20 minutes to map out next steps for a home renovation project); Treat ourselves while doing unrewarding tasks (e.g., putting $1 in a frivolous spending account for every five minutes we spend on our taxes); Journal about tasks we find meaningless in order to connect with them on a deeper level (e.g., journaling about why cleaning our office will make us feel calm as we work). Procrastination is a human phenomenon—everyone on the planet puts things off. The next time you notice yourself procrastinating on something, bring some awareness to what triggers the task is setting off, and form a simple plan to overcome them. You’ll get a lot more done as a result. The post The 7 Triggers of Procrastination appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Calm is elusive right now. 5 ways to find it: become engaged with something every day, spend more time in the analog world, meditate (or journal), write down what you’re grateful for, and find something to savor every day. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 23s. Podcast Length19 minutes, 53s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). These days, calm can feel elusive. Anxiety comes and goes in waves, and, as I wrote about a couple of weeks back, it’s hard to be productive right now. It’s calm that we need most, not productivity. While this is a blog about productivity, this article is about cultivating calm. Whether or not you’re working right now, investing in your calm can help you accomplish the things you want to do. Instead of forcing yourself to get work done, a calm mindset allows you to become kinder to yourself throughout the day. You’ll be able to focus with greater ease when your mind is settled, as your busy mind won’t generate distracting thoughts that derail your attention as you work. If you’re looking for a few strategies to work more calm into your day, below are a few of the ways that I’m investing in myself (that we chat about on this week’s podcast). I’m confident they’ll work for you, too. Become engaged with something (anything). We all need something to be engaged with throughout the day, regardless of whether we’re working or not. We rarely feel as unmotivated as when we have nothing to do. Right now, some of us have more time to spare, and others of us have less (especially those of us who have to work with kids at home). If you find yourself with more free time than usual, consider taking on a big, new project. Double down on learning a new programming language, or an instrument. Undertake a new home renovation project, or take an online class. If you’re looking for more calm, look for something to become engaged with. The busyness that comes with engagement crowds out feelings of anxiety. Step away from the digital world and into the analog one. We all live two lives: an analog life (in the physical world), and a digital life (in, of course, the digital world). We have fewer activities to engage with in the physical world right now. The gym is closed, we don’t have to drive to work, and our favorite coffee shop is temporarily out of commission. This means that many of us are spending more time than we usually do in the digital world. Here’s the problem, though: right now, the digital world can be depressing as hell. If you’re finding yourself stressed out because of the time you’re spending on your devices, disconnect, and find analog activities to connect with instead—like getting physical activity, painting, cooking, or reading a book. Generally-speaking, the more time we spend engaging with the analog world, the calmer we feel. Recall what you’re grateful for. Each night, with your partner, with a friend, or on your own, recall three things you’re grateful for. Or, after you finish reading this blog post, write down 10 things you appreciate in your life. Expressing gratitude is a shortcut to feeling a sense of abundance, and it allows you to train your brain into looking out for what’s positive around you—both useful skills right now. Here are 100 suggestions, for things to be grateful for, sent in by readers. Meditate or journal, even if just for a few minutes. Meditation allows you to approach your day with equanimity, rather than a sense of anxiety. It also helps you come to terms with how things change. (If you don’t know where to start, I wrote this guide which has everything you need to get started. It’s easier than you think.) If you’ve tried meditation and it isn’t for you, try journaling, in order to reflect on how you’re feeling. Both practices have different effects, but they both allow you to create some distance between yourself and the current situation. Find something to savor every day. It’s impossible to both savor something and to feel anxious at the same time. Write a list of things you savor—video chats with loved ones, delicious meals, or your daily workout—and make a deliberate effort each day to savor one thing on your list. Tonight, I’m going to savor me a delicious burrito. The above strategies take a bit of effort, but they’re all proven ways of introducing more calm into your life. If you’re feeling a bit anxious right now, pick a few things from this list and give them a shot. I’m confident they’ll help you out. The post 5 ways to find calm right now appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:Working from home isn’t easy during the best of times—let alone during a global crisis. Below are some tips for working from home when you find it difficult to focus. These strategies should help you do two things at once: both focus, and become kinder to yourself. Estimated Reading Time:7 minutes, 11s. (But it’s skimmable.) Podcast Length27 minutes, 45s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). These days, it can be tough to strike a balance between staying informed and staying focused. Compared to fighting a global pandemic, work doesn’t feel that important. And compared to a pandemic, it probably isn’t. But this doesn’t change the fact that many of us are working from home right now—and that we still have to get things done while focusing on work and keeping up with a steady stream of news updates. This isn’t “normal” working from home by any means. As you settle into a new routine, though, I’ve included a few of my favorite tips to work from home during difficult times below. These are strategies that have worked for me, as I try to find a balance right now. I think they’ll work for you, too. — Give yourself time to settle into important tasks, and be patient with yourself. A busy mind makes it difficult to focus. Give yourself a few more minutes than usual to settle into important tasks that require a higher degree of concentration. You’ll probably need that time, so your mind can settle down a bit. Don’t be too hard on yourself during this adjustment—pretty much everyone is experiencing this right now. Take the time you would usually spend commuting and use it for something slow, or to savor something you enjoy. With the time you’d otherwise spend commuting, take a walk, cook a meal, or even do a yoga video on YouTube (here’s my favorite YouTube yoga channel). During stressful times, we tend to fill the white space on our calendar with distraction, so we can get our mind off of what’s stressing us. Try not to fill your extra time each day with anxiety scrolling through twitter, or repeatedly checking the news. This will give you the time you need to process each day’s events. Totally power down your phone. Our phones are the most distracting device we own. As Seth Godin has written, “When you bought your first smartphone, did you know you would spend more than 1,000 hours a year looking at it? Months later, can you remember how you spent those hours?” Our phone provides us with validation and feedback—which our work often doesn’t. Especially during a difficult time, this makes our phone more distracting than usual. To not be tempted by it, try powering your phone down completely as you work. If you’re getting less sunlight these days, consider buying a happy light, or taking a vitamin D supplement. In countries that have instituted lockdowns, people are unable to leave their homes, including for walks. If this is the situation you’re in, and you’re getting less sun exposure than usual, I’d recommend supplementing your diet with vitamin D, or picking up a ”happy light”—especially if you find that your mood and energy dip in the wintertime. Here’s my happy light of choice, which Wirecutter recommends. Do focused work in the morning, before connecting to the news. One study that exposed participants to just three minutes of negative news in the morning found that participants were 27% less likely to rate themselves as happy at the end of the day. The information you consume each day matters. This is even true when it comes to when you consume information. To prevent the news of the day from dampening your mood for the rest of the day, consider reconnecting with the news of the day after you finish up your most important tasks in the morning. Schedule news and distraction time. On top of staying away from the news first thing in the morning (if you can), consider scheduling time to catch up. This allows you to tend to distractions intentionally, rather than checking in with news websites when you feel stressed out. This small change also makes you feel more in control of your day. If you feel anxious, work on tasks that don’t require deep concentration or thinking. Right now is an anxious time for pretty much everyone. Our feelings of anxiety usually aren’t consistent throughout the day, though; they ebb and flow. When you’re feeling especially anxious, consider working on tasks that don’t require deep concentration or thinking—and use these easy tasks to warm up to more challenging ones later on. As the day progresses, be sure to match what you’re working on with how you’re feeling. If you have kids at home, look after them in split shifts if your partner is at home too. My friend Laura Vanderkam has a great write-up for how her and her husband are taking care of their five kids while they’re both working from home—including taking care of them in split shifts, while trading the occasional hour or two with one another throughout the day. If you’re home alone with kids, also use

Takeaway:Not all tasks in your work are created equal. To identify your most important tasks, make a list of all the activities you do over a given month, and then pick the most important one; the one through which you accomplish the most. Then, pick your second and third most important activities. Estimated Reading Time:2 minutes, 35s. Podcast Length2 minutes, 35s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Not all tasks in your work are created equal. Here’s how to weed out the tasks on your plate that are the most important: Make a list of every single activity you do in your job over the course of a given month. Ask yourself: If you could do just one thing on your list of activities, day in, day out, every single day, which one leads you to accomplish the most? Which is the one task that adds the most value to your team, and makes you the most productive? Which one is the most consequential? If you could only do one additional activity on your list during the day, which is your second most important activity that adds the most value? Which is your third most important activity? These are your most important tasks; the ones through which, for every minute you spend on them, you accomplish significantly much more relative to everything else on your list. – As you do this activity, keep a few things in mind: Find a way to cut everything else on your list. When you can, stop doing the activities that remain on your list. If you can’t, plan ways to spend less time on them. If something is a distraction, tame it. If you have a team, delegate as many of the tasks that remain on your list to them as possible. If you don’t have a team, hire an intern or a virtual assistant to help you. If something is a distraction you can’t tame, block off time to tend to it. Sit down at a coffee shop, without your phone, to decide how to deal with everything else on the list. You’ll make back the time you spend doing this one hundred times over. Keep your three most important activities somewhere visible as you internalize them, such as on a sheet of paper on your desk, or at the very top of your to do list. This lets you consider what’s actually important as you work and plan your day, and you can make them the focus of your three daily intentions. If something that remains on your list is fun, don’t cut it! The point of investing in your productivity isn’t to turn you into some mindless robot—it’s to let you do more of what you love. My three most important tasks are writing, researching productivity, and doing talks. Outside of this, I also love coaching, even though I make less money doing it, and I’m only able to help out one person at a time. But honestly, I don’t really care. Because it’s fun. This activity is one that I run many of my coaching clients through, and regardless of how many times I guide people through it, they invariably settle on the fact that they have three most important tasks. A couple of people found two important tasks, but so far, no one has had more than three. Set aside five minutes to try this activity out for yourself. The activity is simple, but the insights it provides are profound. If you’re like me, you won’t go back to working the same way afterward. The post A five-minute activity to discover your most important tasks appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:All of the information you consume—what you read, watch, and learn—can be divided into three categories: useful information, balanced information, and entertaining information. To think smarter, more clearly, and more intelligently, consume more valuable information—while throwing in some entertaining information, lest you turn yourself into an information-munching robot. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 10s. Podcast Length28 minutes, 44s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). The quality and content of the information we consume matters. It influences pretty much every part of who we are, including: what we think about, how we think, what we pay attention to in the world around us, what we notice, the quality of our decisions, how intelligently we work, the richness of our personal lives, how many ideas we come up with, how much we consider other people in our actions and decisions. Generally speaking (as I write about in Hyperfocus), when it comes to what we consume, practicality does not always equal entertainment. To illustrate this, we can chop the above chart up into a few slices, which have varying levels of usefulness and entertainment value: Useful information is typically highly-useful, but not very entertaining. A few examples: books, journal articles, online courses, and academic conversations. Information in this category is actionable, accurate, and typically remains relevant for a long time. Balanced information is slightly less helpful, but more entertaining, so it’s easier to consume. A few examples: documentaries, TED talks, and popular psychology books. The final third—which contains both entertaining and trashy information—contains entertaining content that’s still a bit useful (and highly-entertaining), and also information that’s trashier, which we often consume in large doses. Some examples of information in these categories: many YouTube videos, some podcasts, romance novels, late night talk show clips, and our social media feeds. Every single thing you consume falls into one of these categories. Useful information is usually worth taking in when you have the most energy; balanced information is great for when you have a bit less energy (but still want to feel like you’re accomplishing something); entertaining information is fun for when you want to veg out. Trashy information is probably worth consuming less of—and plus, there are far better ways to recharge. So what can we do with this knowledge? On this week’s episode of Becoming Better, Ardyn and I dig into the sorts of things we consume each day—as well as the meaning and enjoyment it all brings. Knowing where on this chart you spend most of your time is critical—as is making an effort to take in more valuable information over time. There are countless ways you can do this. For example, you can: Get things to bid for your attention. See the descriptions of audiobooks, podcasts, and TV shows as pitches for your time and attention. Are they worth the time you’ll put into them? Think of a few valuable things to add to what you consume. What’s a skill you haven’t developed in a while? What’s a topic you’ve always been curious about? Could you learn about it instead of scrolling through your social media feeds? Notice what you consume on autopilot mode, without thinking. This is usually when we consume the least valuable information. Consume what you care about, that few other people do. For example, I love reading journal articles about productivity. While this is admittedly a weird fascination, I find that it gives me an edge—few other people find these journal articles entertaining. As a general rule, it’s worth building upon knowledge and skills that you uniquely care about. Veg out intentionally. You’d become a robot if you only consumed useful information. To enjoy vegging out a bit more—like the next time you sit down to watch a bunch of episodes of your favorite Netflix show—do so intentionally. Plan out how many episodes of the show you’ll watch, what you’ll eat when you do, who you’ll invite over to watch, and so on. You won’t just have a better time, you’ll also feel less guilty about it. As I write about in Hyperfocus, no two pieces of information are created equal. We perceive the world around us through the information we’ve consumed in the past—this is one of the myriad reasons why the state of our attention determines the state of our lives. The strategies above are all great ways to spend your time and attention better—all while increasing the quality of your attention. The post What to Put Into Your Mind appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:A while back I spent seven days in Jamaica conducting a “think week.” This time in the sun was loosely modeled on Bill Gates’ annual think week ritual. I learned five key things: the more time we spend keeping up the less time we spend getting ahead; that we need to strike a balance between reflecting and doing; that stepping back from our daily grind helps us to be grateful of the lives we lead; that our lives need more solitude; and finally, that we all need to take more think breaks, regardless of their length. Estimated Reading Time:9 minutes, 27s. Podcast Length23 minutes, 34s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Several months ago, I realized the busyness of work had started to fill my schedule to the brim. With each passing day I was having less and less time to reflect on the state of my work and life. The negative effects of this period manifested in curious ways. I found it difficult to manage my energy levels, my exercise ritual fell by the wayside, and I began to eat more junk than ever before. At the same time, I started checking my inbox and social media more often so I could keep up with messages—or at least this is what I told myself. Even my meditation and mindfulness rituals began to falter. I felt like I was hunkering down, and yet my productivity was shot and I was working with less intention than ever before. With so much occupying my days, I had significantly less time to think and reflect. I was working in a reactive way, rather than being thoughtful about how I should spend my time. I knew something needed to change, and that I needed to strike a better balance between thinking and doing. Lost in a daydream, I thought wistfully of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Twice a year, Bill travels to a cabin in the woods where no one can reach him. Once there, he devours countless papers about the future and plots what to do next in his professional and personal life. He has said this “think week” is when he comes up with his best ideas, and is also how he reflects on the difference he’s making in the world. This got me thinking: could I pull a Bill Gates? Would a week away from the distractions of everyday life boost my productivity? Would such a ritual allow me to accomplish more overall? Would it let me again work in a way that was less responsive and more intentional? Last-minute travel deals are made for these precise thoughts, and I soon found myself on a plane to Jamaica to try my very first “think week” ritual. Though modeled off Bill’s idea, my think week was not nearly as extravagant. Instead of a cabin in the woods with a private chef, I opted for an all-inclusive resort. Instead of reading research papers (which I do most days, anyways), I brought a bunch of books that could help with the problems I was incubating. (If you’re curious, those books were: Thinking in Systems; Joyful; The E-Myth Revisited; and, the odd one out, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.) My time in Jamaica wasn’t only about consuming and thinking about information. I also made sure to set intentions for the year ahead, and brainstorm and reflect on a few projects that have been brewing, including new book ideas. At the end of my seven days I made a list of the five greatest lessons I learned from taking this Bill Gates-inspired think week. These have changed the way I see my own work. 1. The more time you spend keeping up, the less time you spend getting ahead Keeping up with your daily to do list will only get you so far. The more time you spend focusing on the work that’s already on your plate, the less time you have to think about the projects that you could or should be mulling over. I had fallen into this trap of keeping up—letting my incoming work dictate what I should be focusing on each day. There’s nothing wrong with keeping up with daily work. In fact, if you’re part of a team, keeping up probably means you’re pretty productive, and might even earn a promotion once in a while. But here’s the thing: you reach a point where keeping up no longer feels like enough. The more autonomous your work, the more valuable reflection time becomes. Reflecting helps you step back from your work so you can think about new opportunities that are out there, process your challenges, and question what you could be doing differently. Here are a couple examples. If you’re an executive, your current projects will only last so long—at some point you’ll need to step back and identify new opportunities for your company. If you’re a freelance designer, new clients may approach you, but at a point you’ll probably also need to pitch new projects and think about how you should be spending your time. You can lose sight of your most valuable tasks and projects when you focus too much on keeping up. This was my problem—I was spending every day replying to emails and planning upcoming talks and consulting commitments. These things are important, but they aren’t everything. My think week allowed me to reconnect with

Takeaway: When you consume caffeine habitually, you’ll need to consume more and more to experience the same energy boost. This makes occasionally resetting your caffeine tolerance worth the effort and the struggle. To do this, slowly lower the amount of caffeine you consume each day, or go “cold turkey” if you don’t consume a lot to begin with. Invest in your energy at the same time to counterbalance withdrawal symptoms. Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 59s. Podcast Length29 minutes, 49s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). It’s worth resetting your caffeine tolerance every once in a while. The reason for this is simple: as your body becomes accustomed to consuming caffeine, you need to consume more and more of it to experience the same energy boost. When you go from consuming zero coffee a day to drinking a single cup, you feel a big energy boost. But soon, your body adjusts, and you need two cups to experience the same effect. Then three. And then maybe even four. You get the picture.1 This idea of caffeine inflation can be dangerous. Setting aside the fact that it’s never fun to rely on drugs to feel a proper amount of energy, consuming too much caffeine can also lead to anxiety, exhaustion, and can disrupt your sleep, among many other factors. Plus, large energy crashes can obliterate your productivity. I fell into this trap a couple of months ago when, during the holidays, I found myself drinking far more coffee than usual—the equivalent of five cups of coffee each day, in the form of coffee, tea, and espresso. There’s nothing wrong with consuming caffeine for a productivity boost, especially when you drink it strategically—like before working on important tasks—so you can actually make use of the energy boost. But it’s worth performing a caffeine reset whenever you find yourself consuming caffeine habitually, or when you’re consuming more of it to experience the same energy sensation. A caffeine reset can be a struggle, but it’s worth it to get out of a downward spiral. You can reset your caffeine tolerance in one of two ways: Slowly reducing how much caffeine you consume each day, if you rely on it heavily to experience a passable amount of energy. I’ve done this by drinking the same amount of tea or coffee, but substituting more and more of it with decaf, until I’ve cut out caffeine altogether. Going cold turkey, and not consuming caffeine until your energy rebalances. I’ve found this method helpful in the past during times when I’ve been drinking a couple cups of tea per day, or a single cup of coffee. I actually prefer this method—I can feel the effects of going without caffeine, and watch the effects diminish over time. The toughest part of writing about caffeine is that everyone is wired differently. Just as everyone responds to caffeine differently, a caffeine reset may have a different effect on each person. If you consume caffeine habitually, you’ll almost certainly experience symptoms as you reduce your tolerance—in the past, I’ve experienced headaches, mood swings, sadness, an inability to focus, brain fog, and even flu-like symptoms. While this may make resetting your caffeine tolerance seem like more trouble than it’s worth, consider that you’re experiencing these symptoms because you’ve grown reliant on a drug for energy. Thankfully, while you’ll probably experience some withdrawal symptoms, there are many ways to mitigate them: Starting on the weekend. This will give you an excuse to veg out, and will minimize the impact the reset has on your productivity. Treating your worst symptoms. If your headaches and other withdrawal symptoms are bad, aspirin or ibuprofen can help relieve them, until they go away in a week or so (depending on how much caffeine you regularly consume). Investing in your energy levels. Eating clean-burning foods that provide lasting energy, getting exercise (which rebalances your brain chemicals), drinking plenty of water, and getting enough rest can minimize the amount of energy lost as you cut back on caffeine. You may even find that you have more energy than before. Caffeine is a drug—a popular and usually delicious one, but a drug nonetheless. I’m personally a big fan of caffeine—and consume it most days, especially before working on my most important tasks. But because the costs of caffeine can be so great, it’s worth consuming it strategically, rather than habitually. Resetting your tolerance to caffeine can be a pain—but once you get over your withdrawal symptoms, you’ll be able to consume it a lot more deliberately and productively. Here’s why: caffeine binds to a chemical in your brain called adenosine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel tired. Your brain normally reabsorbs this chemical and loses energy by itself—not so after you consume caffeine. Your brain even grows more and more adenosine receptors as you drink greater amounts of caffeine, m

Takeaway:You have a lot in your life to be grateful for. Make sure to recall these things as the year draws to a close. Estimated Reading Time:1 minutes, 17s. Podcast Length4 minutes, 58 s. Each New Year, I look back on the year that went by to recall a few things I’m grateful for. Today, I look back at 2019 with gratitude for all that happened in my personal life—getting married to an awesome lady, going on some cool trips, and hitting some other personal goals—but I also can’t help but feel grateful for my work life. More than any single milestone, though, I’m grateful to have you with me, along for the ride. This is not hyperbole: every day I wake up, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world because I get to write and speak about how we can all become better people (and somehow make a living doing it). I have no idea how long this journey will last, but I’m so happy to have you along for the ride. And, more than that, I hope my work can continue to help you out for some time to come. So, corny as this may sound, this is just a small note to say that I’m grateful for you. I hope that, as this year draws to a close, you’re able to recount all that you’re grateful for as well. We live in a world that doesn’t stop; a world full of constant news updates, stress, and never-ending lists of things to do. But this new year, I hope you can pause for a second or two, take a deep breath, take a look around, and recount how many things you have to be grateful for. After all, you deserve it! Happy New Year! The post What are you grateful for this New Year’s? appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Takeaway:There are countless ways you can lose weight, all backed by science, as Dr. Michael Greger covers in his new book How Not to Diet. A few that I’ve expanded upon below: eat way more fiber, consume foods that contain a lot of water (like vegetables and fruit), and consume most of your calories in the morning. Estimated Reading Time:8 minutes, 27s. Podcast Length24 minutes, 15s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). How Not to Diet Let me get this out of the way: I am not a fan of weight loss books. I like to align my life with science as much as possible, and when it comes to books about what we should eat, there’s just so much bull$#!† out there. It can feel impossible to wade through it all. Amidst the fray of bad advice, though, there is one author who writes about food that I trust: Dr. Michael Greger. Greger is the founder of Nutritionfacts.org, a nonprofit organization that pores through all of nutritional research published each year, in order to separate what works from what doesn’t. His previous book, How Not to Die (which I consider to be one of the greatest productivity books), covered what we should eat in order to minimize our odds of dying from the 10 leading causes of death. In his latest book, How Not to Diet, Dr. Greger turns his attention to the science of weight loss. Here’s what separates Dr. Greger’s work from everything else: He puts the science of food above all else. He’s terrific at wading through troves of often-conflicting research to find the most reliable, dependable studies. He has no agenda: he really, truly lets the science speak for itself, and donates every penny that he earns from his books, talks, and DVDs to charity. In short, if you are interested in a book about weight loss, you should pick up How Not to Diet. It’s the only diet book you’ll ever need.   10 proven ways to cut body fat So how can you get rid of the excess fat that’s marbling your organs, muscles, and body? Here are just 10 of my favorite strategies—of the hundreds in the book—that have been shown to accelerate fat loss, which you can start doing right away. 1. Consume more fiber. Greger writes: “telling people to increase their intakes of fiber-rich foods may actually be one of the single most effective pieces of advice for weight loss.” A high-fiber diet leads your body to absorb fewer calories: increasing your daily consumption to the recommended daily minimum actually leads you to absorb 100 fewer calories a day, even when you eat the same amount. Another reliable study found that the eight types of gut bacteria that fight against weight gain all feed on fiber. A high-fiber diet also leads you to eat less in future meals, suppressing your appetite up to 10 hours after you eat it. Our bodies are designed to get 100+ grams of fiber a day, and only 3% of Americans consume the recommended daily minimum. Fiber is only found in plants (fiber supplements derived from these plants don’t work nearly as well). 2. Consume foods that contain the greatest amount of water. Curiously, we eat a fairly consistent weight of food on a daily basis (around 3 pounds), and how much food weighs depends most on how much water food contains. Water, of course, contains zero calories, and so the more water a piece of food contains, the fewer calories it has. Unfortunately, as Greger writes, “we appear to have an inborn drive to maximize calories per mouthful.” You burn fat by minimizing how many calories you consume per mouthful, because your body will stick to eating around 3 pounds of food a day. A couple of my favorite examples from the book of foods that contain a lot of water: “eating 240 calories of carrots could take you more than two and a half hours of constant chewing”, and “you’d have to eat a wheelbarrow full of cabbage before you’d ever need to begin worrying about overindulging.” Most unprocessed, whole plant foods—vegetables and fruits included—contain an unusually high amount of water, and fill us up more as a result. Cucumbers have so few calories you’d need to eat more than 150 cups of them a day to gain weight; kale has so few calories you’d need to eat 250 cups of the stuff. (Our stomach capacity is around 4 cups.) It’s worth noting that drinking water alongside meals doesn’t have the same effect as consuming food with the water trapped inside of it. 3. You can eat an unlimited amount, as long as you eat the right stuff. One study allowed participants to eat an unlimited amount of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans for just 21 days. In those 21 days, participants lost an average of 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms). The reason for this was simple: participants automatically ate foods higher in fiber and water, and we tend to eat the same weight of food each day. For these reasons, how much you eat doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you eat. You can eat as many whole-food, plant-based products as you want each day and still lose weight. 4. Steer clear of artificial, zero-calorie

Takeaway:There are countless ways to form a new habit, which James Clear covers in Atomic Habits (and in our interview). A few of my favorites: sort your habits by how much they’ll help you out in the long-run; become more thoughtful about your environment; question habits that provide immediate enjoyment; make new habits take less than two minutes of your time; develop “home court” and “away court” habits; and focus on developing your identify, not your goals. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 1s. Podcast Length30 minutes, 45s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Atomic Habits, by James Clear, is one of the best books about habits I’ve read—I’d put it up there with The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg, as being one of the best books on habits available. This week, James was generous enough to join me on the podcast to dig into how to establish new habits and break negative ones—especially around losing weight, given we’re in the middle of that weight-loss challenge for the show. There are too many nuggets in the book—and the interview!—to list out in one blog post. But here are just a few of my favorites from the book and the interview, which should get you thinking about your own habits: Make a list of your habits, and sort them by how much they will help you out in the long-run. This is a great way to identify the habits that bring you real, lasting value over time, and which ones are distractions from your larger goals. If you want something to be a big part of your life, make it a big part of your environment. This is a simple idea, but is very powerful in practice. Want to eat better? Make sure there’s a plethora of healthy food in your kitchen, so you crowd out any unhealthy options that are available. Want to learn the guitar? Keep your guitar in the living room, so you can just pick it up and play. By introducing—and removing—objects from your environment which aid and detract from your habits, you build stronger habits. As James puts it in the book, “environment is the invisible hand that shapes behavior.” Question all habits that provide you with immediate enjoyment. James writes: “As a general rule, the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more strongly you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals.” Practice the 2-minute rule. The 2-minute rule is this: when you start a new habit, make sure it takes less than two minutes to do. If your goal is running a marathon, try just tying up your shoes for a couple of minutes. If your habit is to work out at the gym, show up at the gym, and work out for just two minutes. This way, you have a framework that you can actually build upon in developing your habits later on, instead of trying to wish habits into existence. Pay attention to your “home court” versus “away court” habits. Something else I asked James in our interview is how we can maintain our habits around life disruptions, such as travel. He recommends developing two types of habits: “home court” habits, which we do when our environment is predictable, and “away court” habits, which we invest in after developing solid habits at home. Focus on your identity, not your goals. According to James, “the most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.” He views habits as “votes” for your identity: by focusing on which behaviors help you become the person you aim to be, instead of which behaviors simply bring you closer to your goals, you connect with your habits on a deeper level. Instead of trying to develop a meditation habit, begin to think of yourself as a meditator. Or, instead of trying to lose weight, begin to think of yourself as someone who deeply cares about maximizing their health and longevity. There are too many nuggets from the book and the interview to cover here, but these are just a few of the ones I found especially powerful! Enjoy the conversation, and have a great week! The post 6 Nuggets from Atomic Habits, by James Clear appeared first on Chris Bailey.