PRODUCTIVITY

We're breaking down emotional contagion, what emotional contagion is, what the science says about how emotional contagion spreads at work, at home, and on your phone, and three practical tips to use emotional contagion to protect your energy and stay positive and productive. STUDY CITATIONS Barsade, S.G. (2002). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Admin...

We're covering what the After Action Report is, where it came from, the two ways to run After Action Reports  after important meetings and after big projects, then we give you four tips to that will help your team be 25% more productive, and it’s backed by science. STUDY CITATIONS Tannenbaum, S. I., & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). Do team and individual debriefs enhance performance? A meta-anal...

What the Marshmallow Test is, what the research says about delayed gratification, and three ways to train yourself to wait for what really matters so you can be more productive at work, at home, and everywhere in between. STUDY CITATIONS Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Peake, P. K. (1988). The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and...

Why a dirty screen is quietly draining your productivity, what the science says about visual clutter and your brain, and three simple screen-cleaning tips to get cleaner, sharper focus starting today. LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE WHOOSH! Computer Screen Cleaner  | https://amzn.to/3NIttAz STUDY CITATIONS McMains, S., & Kastner, S. (2011). Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human...

We're diving into attrition warfare as a personal productivity strategy. We explain what attrition warfare is, why it works, what the research says, and three tips to put attrition warfare to work so you can stop being the one who quits first. STUDY CITATIONS Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal...

This is a bonus episode for our Build Your Network series to explains the app you want to use to help you manage your personal and professional networks, all in one place.  If you haven't listened to the seven-part series yet, go back and start with Episode 1 of the series, starting at ep. 231 on the Productivity Podcast, because everything we cover will make a lot more sense with the how to...

Over the past six episodes in the Build Your Network Series we've covered why networking fails, how to treat your network as a real asset, the three relationship types you need, what separates investors from takers, how to fill your relationship bank with deposits that compound, and how to identify the handful of people who can change your trajectory.  Today we bring it all together and talk...

In this Build Your Network Series we've covered why networking fails, how to treat your network as an asset, the three relationship types you need, what separates investors from takers, and how to fill your relationship bank with deposits that compound.  Today we get into the relationships that can change your trajectory entirely, the handful of people in any career who compress years of prog...

In this series we've covered why networking fails, how to treat your network as an asset, the three types of relationships you need, and what separates investors from takers.  Today we're getting specific about what you're depositing into your key relationships, the four ways to invest in your network that pay off, why it works, and what twenty years of consistent deposits looks lik...

In this Build Your Network series we've covered why most networking fails, how to treat your network as a real asset, and the three types of relationships every strong network needs.  Today we're talking about the part most people find a little uncomfortable, an honest look at what you're putting into your relationships versus what you're taking out. BUILD YOUR NETWORK SERIES W...

In this series we've established that networking is an investment, your network is one of your most valuable assets, and that the groups you already belong to are networks most people never think to tap.  Today we're breaking down the three types of relationships every strong network needs and why missing even one of them puts a ceiling on what your network can do for you. BUILD YOUR NET...

In this Build Your Network series we've been building the case that networking isn't a transaction, rather it's an investment.  Last episode we covered why most networking fails before it starts.  Today we're digging deeper on the investment idea and what it means to treat your network as a real asset, and what happens when you don't. BUILD YOUR NETWORK SERIES WORKBOOK DOW...

We're kicking off a seven-part series called Build Your Network with Why Most Networking Doesn't Work and What to Do Instead. BUILD YOUR NETWORK SERIES WORKBOOK DOWNLOAD LINK Build Your Network Series Workbook https://edge.ck.page/e2fc7eb5b1 STUDY CITATIONS Grant, A.M. (2013). Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. Viking. Research based on interviews with 30,000 people acro...

We're explaining what HeyGen is, why AI-generated video avatars are changing how people create video content, what the research says about how AI video performs, and three practical tips to get your first HeyGen AI avatar built and ready to go in a few minutes time. STUDY CITATIONS Xu, Y. (2025). From recorded to AI-generated instructional videos: A comparison of learning performance and expe...

Today we're covering what positive affirmations are, why the science says they work, and seven positive affirmations you can start using today whether that’s at work, at home, and anywhere life challenges you to believe in yourself.  STUDY CITATIONS Creswell, J. D., Dutcher, J. M., Klein, W. M. P., Harris, P. R., & Levine, J. M. (2013). Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stre...

We're breaking down what narcissism actually looks like in real life. The real-world version of a Narcissist you've probably already bumped into, what a study of 436 people living with as narcissist found, and three practical strategies to protect your time, your energy, and your sanity when you have to deal with a Narcissist. STUDY CITATIONS Day, N.J.S., Townsend, M.L., & Grenyer, B...

We're covering the Socratic Method, a 2,500-year-old questioning technique that is one of the most underused decision making tools in the modern workplace.  We explain what the Socratic Method is, walk through the research showing why  the Socratic Method works, and give you three ways to start using it today to sharpen your thinking, protect your time and make better decisions. STUDY CITATIO...

We're breaking down verbal and behavioral mirroring, what mirroring is, the science that proves mirroring works, and three ways to use mirroring in your next conversation, whether that's a negotiation at work, a difficult conversation at home, or any moment where the other person needs to feel genuinely heard before they'll let you in. STUDY CITATIONS Maddux, W.W., Mullen, E., &...

Today, we're covering the single biggest reason AI projects fail, back it up with research, and arm you with 5 questions, developed by AI strategist and Former head of Google Strategy, Chris Hood, that every team should aim to answer before their next AI deployment.  Get these questions right, and you and your company will be in the elite 5% that actually get an ROI from from their AI investm...

Today we're covering what the research says about sexual frequency and your mental and emotional performance, whether the George Costanza "no sex makes you smarter" theory holds up, and three practical takeaways from the research you can use optimize how many times a week you have sex to reach your peak performance. STUDY CITATIONS Muise, A., Schimmack, U., & Impett, E. A. (2016...

What a 32-hour workweek looks like in practice, why the research says the 32-hour workweek works, and a 3-step standard operating procedure (SOP) to start compressing your week without dropping anything that matters. STUDY CITATION Microsoft Japan, "Work-Life Choice Challenge 2019 Summer" (August 2019). Reported across: NPR, CNN, CNBC, Washington Post, and the World Economic Forum. Produ...

Today we're covering three of the best: Oura, WHOOP, and Garmin. We'll explain what each one tracks, look at what the research says about consistent monitoring, and give you three tips for using the data to protect your energy and your productivity. STUDY CITATION Wearing WHOOP More Frequently Is Associated with Better Biometrics and Healthier Sleep and Activity Patterns." Published...

Today we're breaking down the Fogg Behavior Model, what it is, the surprisingly simple formula behind it, and three tips you can use to start building habits that actually stick.  I'll also tell you why the graph behind this model is one of the most useful things I've ever seen, and I say that as someone who completed BJ Fogg's Behavior Design Boot Camp and earned the certifica...

Today we're explaining what a hot wash is and where it comes from, look at what the research says about why the hot wash works, and give you three practical tips to run regular hot washes with your team. STUDY CITATION: Tannenbaum, S. I., & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). Do team and individual debriefs enhance performance? A meta-analysis. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergo...

Today we're talking about building your Personal Board of Directors. We’ll cover what it is, why the research says it outperforms the one-mentor model, and four tips that will have you building your Personal Board of Directors before the end of next week. STUDY CITATION Higgins, M.C., & Kram, K.E. (2001). "Reconceptualizing Mentoring at Work: A Developmental Network Perspective.&quot...