Love Your Work

Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products , has been on the show before. We had a little debate about digital distraction back in episode 21. Nir and I have both been exploring new book ideas independently, and practicing writing about those ideas, somewhere within that space. I've been leaning more into the productivity space, which you've heard a lot of on this podcast. So,...

If you have certain behaviors that you want to encourage in your life, you can be intentional about making them happen. Here's a trick I devised to make it easy to do things that are good for me, and a little harder to do things that are bad for me. This article originally appeared on Medium. You can follow me on Medium at kadavy.net/medium   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/lyw http://kadavy.net/fres...

Jocelyn K. Glei is author of Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done . You can buy the book at kadavy.net/email It's an awesome book that I really wish I had when I was first trying to get things done with email in the working world. I've since gotten my email decently organized, just through learning the hard way. Still, Unsubscribe had some very useful...

Back when I was writing my first book, I was shocked how hard it was. I was spending all day just trying to get into that flow state. So, here's one way I've found to help make that flow state happen on demand.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/speedy http://kadavy.net/treehouse http://kadavy.net/audible Show notes:  http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/yolo-blank-wall/    

Cards Against Humanity's Max Temkin (@maxtemkin) is co-creator of Amazon's #1 selling card game – actually the #1 seller in all of the whole Toys & Games category. It's a game for horrible people, and it's also America's #1 gerbil coffin. You've probably played it before. Max Temkin and his friends were self-described "nerds." They didn't play sports, they didn't have girlfriends, and they were bo...

This week, I share you a story of failure. I know everyone seems to be obsessed with failure lately, and I always thought it was strange. I didn't usually look at things as failures, but as lessons learned. Well, in this case, I really tried for something, really thought I would succeed, and I really failed. Or at least I felt like it. In actuality, it could just be another lesson learned – anothe...

Mark Manson is known for writing personal development advice that doesn't suck. He writes at markmanson.net, which has more than 2 million readers a month. Mark writes about a variety of topics, including happiness, self-knowledge, habits, and relationships. You've probably read Mark's work before. Big hits include "Fuck Yes or No," "In Defense of Being Average," and an article by the same name as...

On Tim Ferriss's podcast, Malcolm Gladwell urged his 30-year-old self to "Leave North America…. Which is — despite the fact that it pretends to be the only place that matters — is not the only place that matters." I recently moved out of North America myself, and I share my thought process in this Medium article (which also appeared on Observer).   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://...

Noah Kagan is a close friend of mine who has been one of my secret weapons in my own battle as an entrepreneur. Years ago, when I first started out on my own, and I was wandering from cafe to cafe in San Francisco, working on a Facebook app, Noah Kagan invited me to bring my laptop to his office space. He was building his own Facebook app empire at the time. We'd get burritos in South Park, in SOM...

Google Calendar has been adding new features lately. You can find time for your goals, and set reminders, for example. I played a very small part in these features, but I learned a lot about my own productivity in the process.   This post originally appeared on Medium.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes:  http:/...

Craig Benzine hit rock bottom when he wasn't getting any tables at his job as a waiter, and he feared he wouldn't be able to pay his rent. So, he started making YouTube videos. Okay, that's not the first thing I'd advise you to do if you're having trouble paying rent, but it worked for Craig. He's built a life and living for himself making videos featuring clones of himself, imaginary whales, expl...

We all have habits that we'd like to build. But we usually aim a little too high. If you understand that the building of the habit is in itself something to achieve, then building good habits will be easier. This article originally appeared on Medium.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes:  http://kadavy.net/blog/p...

David Kadavy (that's me) being interviewed by Almog from the Unstagnate podcast. He did such a great job of researching, and teasing out the things I've been thinking about a lot lately that I just had to share it with you, which he was kind enough to let me do. In this discussion, I'll share the rituals and thought frameworks I used to write my first book, Design for Hackers , in half the time of...

Do you have a big daunting project that you just can't seem to get started on? Try the "First-Hour" rule. This article originally appeared on Medium. Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes:  http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/first-hour-rule/    

Dr. Terry Wahls (@terrywahls) is an inspiring example of turning a struggle into an opportunity, but I was more interested in her area of expertise.   You may have already seen the inspiring TEDx talk of Dr. Terry Wahl's. She has MS, and was confined to a wheelchair for 4 years. But, using her knowledge of biology, Dr. Terry engineered a diet based upon paleo and ketogenic principles to feed the p...

This is an article that originally appeared on Medium. It was later picked up by The Atlantic's Quartz. Give yourself permission to do nothing once in awhile. You may be surprised how productive it makes you. Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible Show notes:  http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/love-your-work-episode-34-productivity-hac...

Elise Bauer's SimplyRecipes (@simplyrecipes) is where I go when I'm searching for a recipe. I always find something healthy and delicious, with clear instructions and beautiful photos, all posted by Elise herself. Honestly, I probably don't have to type in the "simplyrecipes" part because the site is extremely popular. It's been featured in Time Magazine and was named the #1 food blog by the Daily...

A/B testing is a really hot topic in entrepreneurship. Fortunately, I think people have started to come to their senses with it. It's not that it doesn't work if you really know what you're doing, but it can really lead you astray when you are early on in a project.   I've heard Ramit Sethi mention recently that he wasn't really A/B testing until he was at about $1 million revenue. I recently hear...

How can your ego hold you back in your aspirations, your successes, and in your failures? Ryan Holiday (@ryanholiday) covers it all in his new book, "Ego is the Enemy." You can buy it at kadavy.net/ego   As Ryan talks about in the discussion, he sort of wrote this book for himself. Ryan had an unusual amount of success very early in life. He dropped out of college at 19 to apprentice under author...

The places you invest your money, and the objects you surround yourself with both have a huge influence on how you spend your time and energy, and buying this $600 lamp helped me read more books. This article is available on Medium. You can just google $600 lamp, or go to http://kadavy.net/medium Sponsors http://kadavy.net/treehouse http://kadavy.net/audible Show notes:  http://kadavy.net/blog/pos...

Tucker Max (@tuckermax) is best known as a self-proclaimed "asshole." He has written three NUMBER ONE New York Times best-sellers, including "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." He is only the third writer EVER to have three books on the nonfiction best-seller list at the same time. Tucker is a book marketing GENIUS, and it shows in this interview. Since I've been trying the crack the positioning cod...

Tuesday was the 12-year anniversary of my very first blog post. On this week's show, I'm bringing you the top lesson that I've learned from 12 years of blogging.   That blog post could easily be the worst blog post I've ever written, but it's actually the best blog post I've ever written.   I'll explain why in this short article. You can find this article on my Medium profile at http://kadavy.net/...

Jeff Goins is the author of The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do.   In The Art of Work, Jeff explains why finding your calling doesn't always follow the neat storybook path that you expect. You have to listen to your life, engage in painful practice, and build bridges all to let your story emerge.   In this discussion, we talk about how clarity comes with action,...

I recently turned 37, and this is everything I've learned so far. I originally wrote this post on Medium . Here's the text of the post, in case you're reading this description: 37 LESSONS FROM 37 YEARS I have been alive for 37 years. Here is everything I've learned: 1. Whenever possible, act now. 2. You're worth so much more than your eyeballs. 3. What you think is "all in your head," may actually...

Steve Case is the former CEO of AOL – America Online. Many of you probably chuckle when you see someone with an email address that ends in AOL.com, but for me and many millions of others, AOL was our first contact with the Internet. Steve has a new book out called The Third Wave. The premise is that the first wave of the internet was building the infrastructure – things like getting computers with...