How To Be Sanely Ambitious | Behind the Scenes with Dan and DJ
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Mar 7, 2025
Dive into the concept of being 'sanely ambitious' as the hosts explore balancing productivity with mental well-being. They share insights on cultivating psychological safety in creative teams and the importance of check-ins. Learn about innovative ideas for workplace policies that encourage self-care, such as mandatory vacation days. Plus, there are exciting updates on ad-free listening options and upcoming engaging formats, including behind-the-scenes content and guided meditations. It's a refreshing take on ambition and sanity in the workplace!
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Sanely Ambitious Approach
Aim for ambitious goals, like creating impactful content.
Maintain a low resting heart rate and avoid burnout while pursuing those goals.
insights INSIGHT
Balancing Work and Life
Personal responsibilities, like family, define work capacity.
Building systems and cultures that respect these boundaries is crucial.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Prioritizing Rest
Implement humane time-off policies to prevent burnout.
Rest is crucial for productivity, not a luxury.
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In 'Think Again', Adam Grant argues that the ability to rethink at personal, interpersonal, and collective levels is crucial in today's polarized world. He uses scientific research, personal anecdotes, and engaging stories to illustrate how people can find joy in being wrong, leverage the benefits of impostor syndrome, and cultivate environments of lifelong learning. Grant emphasizes the need to challenge our convictions, adopt a scientific mindset, and foster curiosity and humility. He provides examples of individuals who have successfully rethought their approaches, from firefighters to business leaders, and offers practical exercises for improving rethinking skills[2][4][5].
Deep Work
Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Cal Newport
In 'Deep Work', Cal Newport argues that the ability to perform deep work—professional activities in a state of distraction-free concentration—is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. The book is divided into two parts: the first part explains why deep work is valuable, rare, and meaningful, while the second part presents four rules to transform your mind and habits to support this skill. These rules include 'Work Deeply', 'Embrace Boredom', 'Quit Social Media', and 'Drain the Shallows'. Newport provides actionable advice and examples from various successful individuals to help readers master the skill of deep work and achieve groundbreaking results.
Rest
Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
Alex Soojung Kim-Pang
In 'Rest,' Alex Soojung-Kim Pang challenges the myth that harder work leads to better outcomes. He combines scientific research with historical examples of writers, painters, and thinkers to demonstrate the importance of 'deliberate rest' in enhancing productivity and creativity. The book emphasizes the need to treat rest as an active and essential part of a balanced life, highlighting practices such as daily naps, long walks, and deep play to achieve fulfillment and success.
Dan and executive producer DJ Cashmere talk about how we’re putting “sanely ambitious” into action on our team; plus, an important update on how to listen to the podcast ad-free.
In this episode we talk about:
How rest and productivity are two sides of the same coin
What psychological safety looks like on a small, creative team
Having a “parking lot” for great ideas that we aren’t ready to do
Other ways we’re navigating some big changes in our business
BIG NEWS: Paid subscribers can now listen to the 10% Happier podcast ad-free by going to podcast.danharris.com! If you’re not a paid subscriber, you will be prompted to sign up there. It’s another one of our perks for our paid subscribers, including transcripts and cheat sheets for every episode, plus live guided meditations and Q&A sessions with Dan.