PRODUCTIVITY

Strategic prioritization, what strategic prioritization is, why fighting every fire tanks your productivity, what the research says about the firefighting trap, and 3 protocols to help you decide which fires to fight and which ones to let burn. STUDY CITATIONS Repenning, N.P. & Sterman, J.D. (2001). Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened: Creating and sustaining proces...

The curiosity gap , what curiosity gap is, why saying three simple words will give you an advantage in every disagreement you encounter, and the 3 protocols to use the curiosity gap so arguments you find yourself in don’t escalate to the land of no resolution is possible. STUDY CITATIONS Kashdan, T. B., DeWall, C. N., Pond, R. S., Silvia, P. J., Lambert, N. M., Fincham, F. D., Savostyanova, A. A.,...

Walt Disney's Bankruptcy to Mickey Mouse, what Walt Disney's failures taught him that no success ever could, what the research says about why your setbacks become your biggest advantage, and 3 protocols to turn your next setback into the skill that makes your next project a success. STUDY CITATIONS Wang, Y., Jones, B.F., & Wang, D. (2019). Early-career setback and future career impac...

AI Voice, why your voice is becoming the most underused productivity tool you own, what the research says about why talking through your work beats typing it, and three protocols to start using AI voice tools so your best thinking stops getting lost between your brain and your keyboard. STUDY CITATIONS Chi, M. T. H., De Leeuw, N., Chiu, M.-H., & LaVancher, C. (1994). Eliciting self-explanation...

The End-of-History Illusion, what the End-of-History Illusion is, why your brain is so bad at predicting your future self, and 3 protocols how to stop making permanent decisions based on a temporary version of you. STUDY CITATIONS Quoidbach, J., Gilbert, D. T., & Wilson, T. D. (2013). The end of history illusion. Science, 339 (6115), 96–98. Make sure you hit "FOLLOW" in your podcast...

How to design your business card that's built for the person receiving it, what makes a business card functional instead of forgettable, and 3 protocols to design a business card that that stands out makes people remember you. STUDY CITATIONS Peck, J., & Childers, T. L. (2003). To have and to hold: The influence of haptic information on product judgments. Journal of Marketing, 67 (2), 35–...

Learned industriousness is, what psychology says about why high effort tasks can become genuinely rewarding, and 3 protocols for training your brain to stop dreading hard work and start craving it. STUDY CITATION Eisenberger, R. (1992). Learned industriousness. Psychological Review, 99 (2), 248–267. Make sure you hit "FOLLOW" in your podcast player so you never miss an episode of the PRO...

The Pre-mortem. what the premortem is, why it works, and 3 protocols for running a pre-mortem so you stop finding your blind spots when it's too late. STUDY CITATIONS Mitchell, D. J., Russo, J. E., & Pennington, N. (1989). Back to the future: Temporal perspective in the explanation of events. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 2 (1), 25–38. Make sure you hit "FOLLOW" in your...

AI Calendar Scheduling Tools, what AI scheduling tools are, why the research on AI and productivity says they work, and 3 protocols to get the most out of letting AI manage your calendar starting today. EPISODE LINKS Motion https://www.usemotion.com Reclaim AI: https://reclaim.ai STUDY CITATIONS Dell'Acqua, F., McFowland III, E., Mollick, E. R., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., Kellogg, K., Rajendran, S.,...

The Red Queen Effect, what the Red Queen Effect is, what the research says about why it hits individuals just as hard as entire organizations, and 3 protocols to help you stay sharp, relevant, and out in front. STUDY CITATIONS Barnett, W. P., & Hansen, M. T. (1996). The red queen in organizational evolution. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (S1), 139–157. Make sure you hit "FOLLOW" i...

The ONE Thing method, what the One Thing Method is, why task-switching is quietly destroying your productivity, and 3 protocols to put the ONE Thing Keller method to work starting today. STUDY CITATIONS Rubinstein, J.S., Meyer, D.E., & Evans, J.E. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27 (4), 76...

The OODA Loop: what it is, what the research says about why cycling through it faster leads to better outcomes, and 3 ways to use the OODA Loop to stop stalling on your projects, your ideas, and the feedback your team actually needs. STUDY CITATIONS  Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989). Making fast strategic decisions in high-velocity environments. Academy of Management Journal, 32 (3), 543–576. Make sure you...

We’re diving into why some people are chronically late, what the research says about the four most common reasons some people are always late and four protocols to help you start showing up on time. STUDY CITATIONS Conte, J.M., & Jacobs, R.R. (2003). Validity evidence linking polychronicity and Big Five personality dimensions to absence, lateness, and performance. Human Performance, 16 (2), 10...

We're covering phosphatidylserine, what phosphatidyl serine is, what the research says about what it does to your brain and your stress hormones, and 3 ways to use phosphatidylserine to get the most out of it. STUDY CITATIONS Crook, T.H., Tinklenberg, J., Yesavage, J., Petrie, W., Nunzi, M.G., & Massari, D.C. (1991). Effects of phosphatidylserine in age-associated memory impairment. Neuro...

AI Brain Fry, what ai brain fly is, what the research says is causing it, and 3 protocols you do so you can use AI without getting burned out. STUDY CITATIONS Bedard, J., et al. (2025). AI at Work: The Productivity Paradox. Boston Consulting Group industry report. Survey of 1,488 full-time U.S. workers. Ye, X.M., & Ranganathan, A. (2025). "Does AI Actually Free Up Workers' Time?&quot...

People pleasing: what being a people pleaser is, why the science says we do it, and 3 ways to stop people pleasing and start protecting your own time and sanity so you can be happier with yourself. STUDY CITATIONS Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130 (3), 392–414. Canlı, D., & Karaşar, B. (2021). Predictors of major depressive di...

We're covering what mind wandering is, why the research says a wandering mind is making you unhappy, and 3 ways to take control of a wandering mind so you can be more present, more productive, more creative, and happier. STUDY CITATIONS Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330 (6006), 932. DOI: 10.1126/science.1192439 Make sure you h...

We're talking about what happens to the people around you when pressure spikes, how to spot the ones who are about to blow up the mission, project or goal, how to be honest about whether that person might be you and 3 protocols to put to work when the pressure is on and someone is losing it and doesn't even realize it. STUDY CITATIONS Raio, C.M., Konova, A.B., & Otto, A.R. (2020). Tr...

We're breaking down the 4 enduring Army leadership principles, what the research says about why they drive real performance and as for the US Army for two centuries, and one protocol for each one you can put to work this week to take your leadership to the next level. STUDY CITATIONS Dvir, T., Eden, D., Avolio, B.J., & Shamir, B. (2002). Impact of transformational leadership on follower d...

We're breaking down creatine — what it is, why the body and brain research behind it is so strong, and three practical protocols on how to use creatine so you actually get the benefits and protect your energy and sanity on the days you need it most. STUDY CITATIONS Gordji-Nejad, A., Matusch, A., Kleedörfer, S., Patel, H.J., Drzezga, A., Elmenhorst, D., & Bauer, A. (2024). Single dose crea...

We're covering a 3-step protocol to never forget a name or face again, looking at what the research says about why face-name memory is so hard to begin with, and 3 protocols you can use the next time you meet someone new to make sure their name and face stick STUDY CITATIONS Sperling, R.A., Chua, E., Cocchiarella, A., Rand-Giovannetti, E., Poldrack, R., Schacter, D.L., & Albert, M. (2003)...

We're covering how to write a business plan in 11 slides — what a business plan actually is in its modern form, what the research says about why having one matters, and then the 11 slides you need to test and validate any product or service quickly. LINKS FROM THE EPISODE Book: Back of the Napkin to Business Plan in 11 Slides   | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1DBTDZG/ Business Plan Podcast | A...

We're breaking down the gut vs. data debate, what the research says about when trusting your gut works, when it quietly leads you off a cliff, and a simple decision-making tool called a decision matrix that will take the noise out of hard choices and help you make decisions you can live with. STUDY CITATIONS Dane, E., Rockmann, K.W., & Pratt, M.G. (2012). When should I trust my gut? Linki...

Decision fatigue: what decision fatigue is, why your brain burns through its decision making fuel faster than you think, and 3 protocols to beat decision fatigue so you stay sharp and productive all day. STUDY CITATIONS Danziger, S., Levav, J., & Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011). Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108  (17), 6889–6892. Make sure y...

Self-Sabotage: why you sabotage your own best days, what the Immunity to Change framework says about the hidden commitments driving that self-sabotage, and 3 protocols to surface the real reasons you keep getting in your own way. STUDY CITATIONS Low, R. S. T., Overall, N. C., Hammond, M. D., & Girme, Y. U. (2017). Emotional suppression during personal goal pursuit impedes goal strivings and ac...