The Wholistic Productivity Podcast

Somewhere along the way, we decided that needing help was the same as failing. In this episode, Chris LeBrun breaks down why that's one of the most expensive lies we tell ourselves. Chris shares stories about his grandfathers, two hardworking New England farmers who leaned on their community more than anyone realized, and about learning ham radio, where experienced operators called Elmers gui...

Your weekly review might be the simplest productivity habit you're not using. Most weeks don't unravel all at once — they slip a little at a time until you look up on a Friday and wonder how you got here.  On this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun walks through the exact weekly review he's used for years: three questions, less than ten minutes, and just eno...

Going after a big goal by yourself feels noble, but it's often the slower, harder, lonelier path. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun shares how building the Wholistic Productivity brand with business partners changed the trajectory of the work, and why shared understanding is something you simply cannot manufacture on your own. Then, Chris turns to a distincti...

Decision fatigue is real, and it is quietly draining your best thinking before you ever get to the choices that matter.  Your brain does not know the difference between deciding what to eat for breakfast and deciding whether to change careers. Every choice draws from the same limited well of mental energy, and that is the idea at the center of this episode: decision fatigue, and the batching pract...

Do you know your top values, or do you just know the words for them? There's a real difference between the values you believe in and the values you actually operate from — and most of us are much better at the first one than the second. If you've ever felt busy without feeling aligned, or organized without feeling fulfilled, this episode will help you tell the difference between a decora...

You already know what you need to do. What you might be missing is an equally clear list of what you need to stop. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris dives into one of the most underutilized productivity tools: the not-to-do list. Learn how to identify the habits, patterns, and expectations that are actively working against your goals. What You'll Learn: The differen...

Failure doesn't mean you're doing something wrong—it means you're gathering information. In this episode, Chris reframes how we think about missed goals, underperforming projects, and incomplete attempts. Instead of seeing them as verdicts on your capability, learn to extract the data they offer. Through his experience analyzing nonprofit fundraising appeals and a recent weekend lea...

Welcome to the Wholistic Productivity Podcast! In this episode, Chris sits down with Chanelle Wimbish , clinical research professional and disability advocate who has transformed her lived experience into a mission of accessibility and purpose. For 17 years, Chanelle has been living with a spinal cord injury and using a wheelchair—but she hasn't let that stop her from mountain biking, kayakin...

Small wins compound. But what about invisible progress? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris dives into the gap between consistency and visible results. Using personal examples from trail running (he's training for the Ragnar Appalachian Relay in August) and over 25 years in nonprofit fundraising, Chris shares how to maintain consistency when the evidence of progress i...

What if the journaling practice you've been avoiding only takes one sentence? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris makes the case for the smallest possible version of a journaling habit — and why that's actually the version that sticks. He shares how pairing it with gratitude gives you a starting point every single day, even the ones that feel completely unremarka...

When you fall behind, what's your first instinct? For most people, it's to work more. Stay later, get up earlier, push through the weekend. But in most cases, falling behind isn't a time problem. It's a focus problem. And adding more hours to a focus problem doesn't help you accomplish more, it just gives you more time to be unfocused in. In this episode of the Wholistic P...

Your calendar doesn’t lie. But a packed schedule and an empty one can both be working against you in ways you might not expect. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, host Chris LeBrun breaks down two ideas that will change how you think about your time. First: why a wide-open calendar isn’t freedom — and the simple shift that turns a chaotic to-do list into a schedule that actuall...

NASCAR legend Kyle Busch passed away suddenly at age 41, just six days after his final race victory. In his last interview, he said something that stopped Chris LeBrun in his tracks: "Take whatever you can get, man. You never know when the last one's gonna be. So cherish them all, trust me." In this episode, Chris reflects on the life and legacy of Kyle Busch — not as a sports tribu...

What if the most important moment in your goal journey isn't the finish line — it's the daily showing up that gets you there? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, host Chris LeBrun challenges the all-or-nothing approach to celebrating progress and makes the case for why recognizing small wins isn't just motivating, it's how behavior actually gets built. Chris...

Discomfort is inevitable, but not all discomfort is created equal. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun breaks down the difference between the kind of discomfort that signals growth and the kind that signals something else entirely: a weakness that's quietly acting as your kryptonite. Using the Superman analogy, Chris explores why so many driven people keep push...

What if the most productive thing you could do is get well — in every sense of the word? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, host Chris LeBrun sits down with Jared Thurmon, a founder and investor building ventures at the intersection of wellness and hospitality. Jared's lifelong conviction is simple: true health is the foundation everything else is built on. And now he&apos...

Every yes you give costs something. The question is whether you're making that trade on purpose — or by accident. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun unpacks why defaulting to yes is one of the quietest ways we sabotage our own goals. Drawing from his own experience teaching adjunct college courses — a commitment he loved but eventually had to walk away from —...

You don't have a time problem — you have an energy problem. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris gets personal about a brutal stretch of life (his son's ongoing health battle) and shares why no amount of time management can save you when your energy tanks are running on empty. Then, taking inspiration from the band U2, Chris breaks down why the unglamorous "B...

Every great idea you've ever lost to distraction didn't disappear — you just had nowhere to put it. In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun shares a deceptively simple strategy for protecting your focus: parking distracting thoughts instead of chasing them. When your brain knows an idea is safely captured, it stops interrupting you. Chris also introduces a pow...

What if everything you've been told about balance is wrong? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun breaks down why the "perfect pie chart" version of balance is setting you up to feel like a failure — and what to replace it with instead. The answer isn't more discipline or better time management. It's rhythm. Chris shares a candid look at his o...

What if the exhaustion you're feeling goes far deeper than just being tired?  In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, host Chris LeBrun sits down with Chelsy Tyler — pastor, speaker, and burnout recovery advocate — for an honest and eye-opening conversation about burnout that most of us never get to have. Chelsy brings a unique perspective to this topic: having served in pastor...

What if the key to getting more done isn’t adding new apps or complicated systems—but simply using the tools you already have? In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, productivity coach Chris LeBrun shares five practical tools that can dramatically improve your productivity without costing a single dollar. Instead of chasing the latest productivity hacks, Chris explains how to work...

In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast , productivity coach Chris LeBrun tackles a challenge many ambitious people face: having too many goals competing for your attention. If you’ve ever felt like you have too many browser tabs open in your brain , you’re not alone. Chris shares a simple framework called the Focus Allocation Model that helps you organize your goals so you can pursu...

This episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast wraps up a powerful three-part series on building a team to reach your goals . If you’ve ever felt like you’re trying to achieve big goals on your own, this conversation will challenge that mindset. In Episode 50, productivity coach and host Chris LeBrun explores two essential relationships that can accelerate your growth: the ally and the apprent...

In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast , Chris LeBrun continues his series on building relationships that accelerate your progress. We often think productivity is about better systems, tighter schedules, or stronger discipline. But sustainable growth doesn’t happen alone. If you want to reach meaningful goals — professionally, personally, or purpose-driven — you need the right peopl...