Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

Productivity Without Burnout: Executing With Agency Instead of the Illusion of Control

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Jan 8, 2026

Kick off the new year with a fresh perspective on productivity! Discover how the illusion of control can lead to frustration, while embracing agency allows you to choose your response amidst chaos. Learn about the identity trap of productivity and its impact on self-worth. Explore a practical four-step agency process to reclaim control from relentless plans. Shift your mindset from winning the week to making steady, stabilizing choices. Finally, approach each day like a menu with options, not a script that panics when disrupted.

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ANECDOTE

When A Perfect Plan Collapses

Erik Fisher describes a Monday where a carefully planned week gets upended by real work chaos.
He shares how that mismatch made him feel exposed and tempted to equate productivity with self-worth.

INSIGHT

Control Versus Agency

Erik distinguishes control from agency: control tries to guarantee outcomes while agency chooses responses.
He argues agency is resilient where control is brittle when life changes the script.

ADVICE

The Four-Step Agency Process

Do the four-step agency process: name the control attempt, separate what you can change, pick one lever, then replan.
Use a single concrete next action within 10–20 minutes to regain stability.

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Welcome to the first episode of 2026! If you’re feeling that “new year, new me” pressure: goals, plans, fresh calendars, the whole thing—this one’s for you. Because when life inevitably punches your perfectly color-coded week in the throat, the issue isn’t your planning… it’s what you thought planning could control. This episode is all about Control vs. Agency—and how to stay productive when outcomes refuse to cooperate.

In this episode we cover:

• Why Control Breaks (and Agency Doesn’t): Control tries to guarantee outcomes; agency chooses your response when the day goes sideways.

• The Identity Trap of Productivity: What happens when “being on top of things” becomes self-worth—and why that makes disruptions feel like failure.

• The 4-Step Agency Process: Name what you’re trying to control, separate what’s in your hands vs. not, choose one “agency lever,” then replan from reality.

• Stabilization Over Catching Up: Why the goal isn’t to “win the week,” but to stop the panic spiral and choose the next stabilizing move.

• Plan Like a Menu (Not a Script): Scripts make you panic when life changes a line; menus give you options when the day changes the plot.

If you’ve been stuck in the loop of “I did everything right and still lost control,” this episode is your reminder that you don’t need a new system—you need a different stance. You may not control the story, but you do get to choose how you show up on the page.

• Brain.fm - Music specifically engineered to help you focus, relax or recharge.

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