The OptimalWork Podcast

#31: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres dive further into the concept of “theta locking,” a pattern of brain activity that occurs when we recollect our attention. What it shows is that mindfulness is not a fixed trait, but a kind of muscle that we can develop through practice. Our ability to sustain our attention is something that can be directly practiced in every time of meditation. S...

#30: In this episode Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the phenomenon of mindfulness and how you can use it to strengthen your attention. There are three key skills of attention that are developed through these exercises: monitoring your thoughts, disengaging from distractions, and redirecting your attention to the task at hand. When we deliberately train, through both physical exercise and att...

#29: Procrastination always involves a double-deception. First, you get deceived by the thought of all the effort the task will take, as if that is what you face when starting the task. Next, you deceive yourself by putting it off, even though you know it’s better to get started. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres take a deeper look at the underlying causes of procrastination. Understan...

#28: If you’re trying to build a new habit but get frustrated by failure, you might think you need more discipline, more willpower. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the real source of constancy in struggle and growth: sincerity. Sincerity about your motives leads to a willingness to sacrifice particular satisfactions or outcomes in the pursuit of ideals. It thus provides the s...

#27: You may have wondered how to apply OptimalWork's principles to "passive" activities like attending class or meetings. This week, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discussed how to actively challenge yourself in these situations, in particular, by doing a "post-pre flip" to completely change how you prepare for them.

#26: In this episode, Dr. Majeres and Sharif discuss the common, but avoidable, tiredness that often hits after lunch. It can lead to discomfort, decreased productivity, and longer work-days. Dr. Majeres outlines some key principles for engaging the afternoon slump as an opportunity for growth.

#25: We’ve often discussed anxiety: it develops over time as you train your amygdala to perceive certain challenges as threats to be fled. Anger is the flip side of anxiety, when you train your brain to perceive challenges as threats to be fought . In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Majeres discuss how to shape your response to anger. Since it frequently occurs in the context of close relationships,...

#24: Dr. Majeres and Sharif discuss an approach to sleep developed by Dr. Guy Meadows, as found in his book, The Sleep Book ,  and an app he has called Sleep School for Insomnia . The approach, which is centered around the idea of acceptance, mirrors OptimalWork's approach to any challenge: essentially, applying reframing, mindfulness, and challenge to sleep. We cover the theory and practice...

#23: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the neurological phenomenon of thalamic gating: the way your brain selectively filters sensations based on what you act on. By changing your behavior — for example, your response to pain or fears — you can train your brain to simply stop noticing these triggers. The key conclusion is that being willing to suffer in the end reduces suffering. This episode p...

#22: This week we discuss the nature of addiction, that is, repeatedly giving into a craving in which the costs outweigh the benefits. Addiction comes in many varieties. One mild example discussed is frequently giving in to distractions in work. The pattern of how addictions form is generally the same, and they are likewise broken by following the three steps of the Golden Hour, reframing, mindful...

#21: A major new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry highlights three behavioral factors that substantially affect the likelihood of depression. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the study, as well as depression in general, and connect it to OptimalWork's approach.

#20: The practice of mindfulness is becoming more and more popular, but it can be difficult to understand what it really is, and what effects it has. In this session, we discuss the practice of mindfulness, distinguishing different types of mindfulness, and explaining how certain practices can help you to work at your best, by training your attention through the deliberate effort to attain silence...

#19: Exercise has a tremendous power to transform your brain. Surprisingly, exercise has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments for depression. In this video, we discuss why this is the case, and why exercise offers unique benefits for everyone, from shaping the way you approach challenges to the way your brain functions.

#18: Embracing challenges starts with your judgements about them. If you’re stuck seeing challenges as threats, you need reframing. Rather than avoiding challenges, or forcing yourself to get them over with, reframing means recognizing each challenge as an opportunity for growth or service, by placing it in its true context of your whole life. Reframing is not just a mental trick — it causes an id...

#17: How motivated are you to tackle the challenges of the day? For many, motivation comes and goes, which means it’s not really under your control and, more importantly, it’s not really coming from you. You get motivated by things, rather than you motivating yourself to do what’s best. Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss what motivation really is, what the only true stable source of motivation i...

#16: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss motives and priorities. It's common to see outcomes — like getting into the best school, securing a well-paying job, etc. — as ends in themselves. This approach has major costs: if you don't achieve the outcome, you get frustrated and double down on your outcome-focus; if you do, it just leads to you raise the bar and pursue an "even bette...

#15: In this episode Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the nature and cause of anxiety. Understanding how anxiety works and what it really is — which is quite simple — can help you transform your approach to it. Crucially, as Dr. Majeres explains, anxiety is not a disorder or something to be avoided. Anxiety can be transformed into your best performance by following three steps: reframing, mind...

#14: Last week, we discussed the left-brain/right-brain paradigm as it bears on work, and this week we are building off the discussion to address motives. Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist re-popularized this paradigm in his 2009 book The Master and His Emissary, grounding it in neuroscience and using it to explain aspects of psychology, society, and culture (in contrast to previous pseudo-scientific...

#13: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss the different roles of the two hemispheres of the brain ("left brain" and "right brain"). Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist re-popularized this paradigm in his 2009 book The Master and His Emissary , grounding it in neuroscience and using it to explain aspects of psychology, society, and culture (in contrast to previous pseudo-scientific versions of the...

#12: This week we used the feeling of frustration as our starting point. In the course of the discussion, we also talked about self-labeling (what we call "schemas"); the true nature of success and failure; and the benefits of focusing on process rather than outcome. This episode gets to the heart of OptimalWork's approach. Schemas are contrasted with ideals: schemas result from and lead to motive...

#11: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the default mode network, a network of brain regions that have profound implications for the way we work and live. The default mode is involved when you get distracted, but it can also be trained to help you focus better.

#10: Mastery is one of the central concepts of OptimalWork. It means doing work well, and is cultivated through the development and practice of strategies. The projects and templates tools on www. OptimalWork.com are meant to help you make good strategies, and refine them over time. Some of the questions we discussed in this video are: What is mastery? How can you grow in mastery? What's the role...

#9: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss the Golden Hour, the central method behind OptimalWork. A Golden Hour is like exercise for your work, when you deliberately practice working at your best by preparing for your work with three steps: reframing, mindfulness, and challenge. The Golden Hour can be practiced at www.optimalwork.com!  Some of the questions we discussed are: What is a G...

#8: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss the Inventory, one of the primary tools of OptimalWork. The Inventory is a 24-item questionnaire, a unique measure of how much you're embracing challenge and growing right now. Some of the questions we discussed in this video are: What's wrong with the idea of temperament and personality tests? What is the Inventory and what's unique about it? How do...

#7: Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif, OptimalWork co-founders, discuss how to "materialize your ideals," that is, how to bring them to life: into reality, into your actions. The key to this is the practice of order, intensity, and constancy: three ideals that you can perfect in each hour of work, and that ultimately shape your practice of any other ideal.  An example we discuss in the video is ki...