Fewer Things Better

We'd love to hear from you! This episode looks at 'micro' productivity and how the best predictor of your personal productivity is the pace and energy of those who are around you the most.  In bicycle racing, the word “peloton” describes when cyclists intentionally ride close to or behind one another to save and extend their energy. This conversation offers two ideas on how to borrow...

We'd love to hear from you! Our brain has a powerful processing center to keep information and memories only as long as needed. The lasting effect of the emotional, physical, and cognitive benefits from the act of making memories has important benefits over what can be purchased, stored, or consumed. This episode examines the positive power of time spent making memories and how to make space f...

We'd love to hear from you! Time multiplies whatever you feed it. And while it’s fun to have fun, it can be a slippery slope on the way to a mental slump.  Mental and physical effort, no matter how small, send important signals that can kickstart energy. This episode offers three ways to give your brain battery a boost. 

We'd love to hear from you! It's great to have a plan, but sometimes trying to have a plan stops us from actually taking action. This episode is about leaving room for the unscripted - the times when thinking slows down the doing. There are certainly times when extra care is needed but check what’s behind the desire to hit pause. Sometimes the best way to stop the spinning is to find one...

We'd love to hear from you! There are many tips on how to be a better communicator (including lots of our episodes!), but one of the most overlooked elements of a powerful conversation is active listening. In our busy days, our exchanges can feel more like conversational ping pong. This episode offers simple tips on how to focus your listening and, hopefully, deepen your everyday connections. 

We'd love to hear from you! It feels to do good. And we want to be good people, but helping is an investment. This episode explores some of the conscious and unconscious elements behind the decision to help, or not. We dig into how the decision process in the brain and outline eight questions to ask in situations where you are resisting lending a hand or where your hand is being lent a little...

We'd love to hear from you! We’re so used to being digitally on demand that any time away from tech seems to require a pre-notification. Silently slipping offline seems a little strange. For this reason, this episode offers an extended excerpt from Episode 21 that outlines the case for space from your tech and highlights research on the tangible physical and mental benefits to being offline. 

We'd love to hear from you! Change is always a part of life. It’s how we grow and evolve. But sudden change is a shock to the system. Whether something has happened to you or happened around you, big changes require big adjustments. Your body feels it first while the brain is still processing the details. Learn more about what happens during sudden change and two energy efforts that can help. 

We'd love to hear from you! “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality,” said ancient philosopher Seneca. As we contemplate the challenges before us, one way to help our brain not to sink into overthinking is to start with simplicity.  Occam’s razor is a principle that suggests the simplest explanation or solution is often the best one. This episode explores the philosophy and highli...

We'd love to hear from you! One day can make a big difference. This episode explores the idea of everyday days as a big gift in small doses. Time with no agenda offers an open playground to your brain. Not having to pay attention to a clock is a mental vacation, no travel required. Sometimes the best way to take good care is to take good time with yourself.   

We'd love to hear from you! This episode explores how the brain is wired to respond to the promise of a reward. Our wiring for action (or inaction) runs along key pathways in the brain but the behavior gets reinforced from what we repeat. Recognizing our reward response helps us see where our decisions form a pattern and what subtle changes can help us find more positive, productive rewards. 

We'd love to hear from you! Your time and talent are valuable. There will be times where we get all that we are worth and times where we certainly don't.  Worth and value carry different meanings and this episode explores the difference. There will be fluctuations on the what, when, and how much on the current market of worth, but it’s up to us to never discount our own value. 

We'd love to hear from you! If you don’t pick a day to relax, your body will pick one for you.  And when it does, you're not in charge of the agenda. I recently lived this after being sick for two weeks and it was an exercise in curiosity as well as patience. While the body brings in immunity support, the brain has its own role to play in our wellness. This episode explores what goes on i...

We'd love to hear from you! Flow is a meta skill that enables us to better learn, enhance, and expand our existing skills. The more time you spend in flow, the more access you have to it. This goes beyond a productivity practice – it’s a conscious key that helps unlock the brain. And this key can be used to do fewer things deeper (and better). 

We'd love to hear from you! If you're always trying to track your to-do's or find a better way to remember all-the-things, this episode is for you. We'll explore concepts from science, psychology, and add a dash of practical magic to see how a good-enough approach can increase productivity and free up some of that cognitive clutter. Show note: More on the Magical Number 7 concep...

We'd love to hear from you! This episode explores ideas on where to add or upgrade elements of your regular routine with small dashes of delight. Neuroscience shows that small, positive changes can have a significant impact on our brain function and overall wellbeing. Small doses of special in certain areas could enhance or extend how we enjoy our everyday things.    Show Note: Link to Ramit S...

We'd love to hear from you! In our productivity quest, sometimes an effective way to take action is to swap opposite actions.  This episode introduces the concept of One More & One Less as an introduction to a new routine, behavior, or accountability by using the power of positive psychology.

We'd love to hear from you! This episode is about how we often take our wants and convince ourselves that they are needs.  We're stressed if we don't have something and then we're stressed when we have too many somethings.  This conversation shares science, psychology, physiology, research, and a dash of poetry to explore how to enjoy what we have and sort the trinkets from the...

We'd love to hear from you! What we say doesn’t always match what we mean. We aren’t always aware of the subliminal messages that sit behind our words. This only gets further complicated in our digital world as we communicate across multiple mediums. This episode explores the subtle signals that can reveal how we feel about what we are saying. 

We'd love to hear from you! We all have days where things don't go as planned. Mishaps, delays, distractions are all part of the bumps on the ride. Helping to make the bumps smoother is the difference between how we react vs. how we respond. This episode explores how your reaction is an instinct, and your response is a choice.   

We'd love to hear from you! Helping others is a noble effort. A steady supply of good deeds, however, can lead to a pattern of disruption. This episode explores when other people (and other people’s problems) become a distraction to our own time, goals, and progress.  

We'd love to hear from you! Today’s topic offers a buy-one-get-one concept as it relates to a technique that can help improve our communications and also our productivity.  When we’re offering words or undertaking actions, it’s really easy to stretch and do too much and end up overwhelming ourselves or others – or both. Identifying the Most Important Next Step is a game changer in how you get...

We'd love to hear from you! Our brains are wired to look for information, and this built-in distraction feature is part of what extends our daily to-do list. This episode outlines a simple-yet-effective practice of selecting a "key three" focus at the start of your day and how its clarity can cut through the daily mental clutter. 

We'd love to hear from you! I recently had a chance to return to the Chicago college where I went as a very ordinary 18-year-old and spoke about the path that led to an extraordinary life. This episode highlights seven key lessons I shared with students and alumni of what I wish I knew a few decades ago about confidence, achievement, wealth, and building a reputation.  

We'd love to hear from you! Deferring your enjoyment of happiness is one sure way to dilute the very essence of it. Happiness gets to be a yes-and; it can be present today and be amplified with future actions and enjoyment.  Unlock your brain from the delaying the good and relishing in the joy snacks of the here-and-now.