Time and Attention

On this episode, we chat about how we have automated our home, and the smart home tech we have adopted over time. A couple of links about the tech we mentioned: Smart Home Protocols: Thread Explained! Amazon’s Ring doorbell fares on Privacy Not Included Here are the products we use and mentioned: The two routes with lights—choose to make either the switch or the bulb smart: Smart switch: Lutron Ca...

On this episode, we chat about trip wires—which can serve as“habit interrupts” to lead us to follow through on our goals more often. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to plant a trip wire appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about the tech stacks we use to get work done on a daily basis. A few select pieces of gear that we mentioned in this episode: Ardyn’s Sony headphones Lululemon’s great backpacks Belkin mount for Mac notebooks The Caldigit TS4 dock You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Our tech setups! appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about our writing workflows—with books, academic papers, and other forms of writing. A couple of links from the episode: Bear app (great font!) Book: How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Our writing workflows appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about which tactics and habits from past episodes haven’t stuck for us! You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Tactics that haven’t stuck for us appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, I chat about the idea of productivity guilt—including where it comes from and what to do about it. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: Productivity Guilt appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about our favorite strategies for traveling with greater ease. Some topics covered include those to help you transverse time zones, pack more quickly (and without thinking), and enjoy getting to your destination more! You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: Our favorite travel hacks appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about busyness—including how feeling busy is different from actually being busy. Some topics covered include: How we often wear busyness as a badge of honor; How we can’t be busy and focused at the same time; Busyness and busywork; “Parkinson’s Law”; How we tend to overestimate how long we work for; How busyness can be a sign we have the capacity to become more productive....

On this episode, we chat about what the research shows about news consumption—and what to do about it. Some topics covered include: Our “surface area of concern”; Tactics for deliberate news consumption; How the news affects our mind; What our own consumption patters (currently!) look like. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: Deliberate news consumption appeare...

On this episode, I chat with author and writer Scott Young about his new book, Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery . I hope you enjoy the conversation—about learning, mastery, and how to get better at pretty much anything. Listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to Learn Anything appeared first on Chris Bailey .

On this episode, we chat about the science behind meetings—and how to get more value out of them. Topics covered include: The four helpful roles meetings have; Questioning your recurring meetings; Considering relationship dynamics in meetings; Becoming a good steward of other peoples time; Designating a meeting leader; Not attending meetings without an agenda; “Modalities” for meetings; Making mee...

On this episode, we chat about the science behind meetings—along with the value and annoyances they bring. Topics covered include: Chris’s review of the Staples coworking space ; What makes meetings so draining; The four main purposes of meetings; How many meetings we have a week; Collaborative versus focused work; The incremental cost of meetings; Links mentioned in this episode: Paper: Do We Rea...

On this episode, we chat about strategies for time blocking your day—including the ones we use. Topics covered include: The benefits of time blocking; The “rolling” time blocking method; How long our blocks are; How autonomy interacts with time blocking; Making time blocking sustainable. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How We Time Block appeared first on Chri...

On this episode, Cal Newport hops back on the show to talk about his great new book, Slow Productivity . It’s a great, fascinating new book (and interview!), both full of actionable insights on how to slow down in order to become more productive. Topics covered include: How “slow productivity” came into being; The three ingredients of slow productivity; “Engineering simplicity” at work; The idea o...

On this episode, we chat about how we use and think about social media. We cover what the problem is with social media (if there even is one), how the “novelty bias” hijacks our attention as we use it, and tactics to use to keep social media contained. Topics covered include: The books we’re reading (and loving); Impulsiveness and procrastination; How social media algorithms come down to “bodies a...

On this episode, we chat about whether or not you should wake up early—and how our biology and daily constraints dictate when we should rise. Topics covered include: Calculating your natural wakeup time; How our wakeup time drifts; The “sepia toned” idea we have to wake up early; Carving out time in the morning to be deliberate; How biology affects our wakeup time; How the constraints of our day a...

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 thi...

On this episode, we chat about how to stay productive when you don’t feel like it. Ideas covered include: How to settle into work when you just don’t feel like it; Not letting your to-do list turn into a list of expectations for how things will go; The idea of making “only progress”; Feeling your “pace of productivity” Understanding the procrastination triggers; Managing expectations downward; Con...

On this episode, we chat about our phone home screens, debate about whose is better, and talk about whether “ focus modes ” should drive what’s on our home screen. Chris’s home screen: Ardyn’s home screen: A few links mentioned on the episode: Locket app: iOS ; Android ; Pedometer++ on iOS ; ChatGPT voice assistant ; Kijiji wikipedia page ; Withings Body Scan . You can listen (and subscribe) to th...

On this episode, we chat about how the nature of productivity is changing, and how AI is making us more productive by making our work tasks higher-leverage. Topics covered include: The most important tasks in your work; How our “productivity leverage” increases with time; How AI makes us more productive by moving us up the “layers of abstraction” in our work; How we can delegate work to AI; How AI...

On this episode, we chat about the perks and benefits of doing a “fake commute” each morning. Topics covered include: Chris’s experiment to do a “fake morning commute”; The benefits of morning sun; Other benefits of a fake morning commute; How commuting variables affect our happiness level; Pre- and post-work rituals. Links mentioned in this episode: Happy City , by Charles Montgomery (great book!...

Takeaway: If you want to better transition into work mode while working from home, try a “fake commute.” Estimated Reading Time: 1 minutes, 45s. I’ve worked from home for the last decade or so. Despite all the benefits of WFH life, I do occasionally miss elements of my long-ago morning commute: the audiobook time as I rode into the office and the quiet moments of transition that bookended my workd...

On this episode, we chat about how the book publishing industry works—and how you can publish a book of your own, either the traditional or nontraditional way. [Here’s the PDF] Lucinda mentioned in the podcast! Topics covered include: What Lucinda learned going from being an agent to being an author; The role of literary agents in getting you a book deal; The art of the “query letter”; How to shap...

On this episode, we chat about chore credits, our system for getting more chores done at home. Topics covered include: How different couples split the chore burden; Chores and conflict; The value of keeping on top of chore tracking; The chore tracking sheet we designed. Here’s a link to a blank version of the chore tracking template if you want to try it on for size! Links mentioned in this episod...

On this episode, we chat about the best books we’ve recently read and what we’re currently reading. We also rank Chris’s books. Here are the links mentioned in this episode: Chris’s books that we chatted about: How to Calm Your Mind Hyperfocus The Productivity Project  Fiction: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow We Spread The Classical School Snow Crash Charlie and the Chocolate Factory James an...