Chris Bailey is back to talk about dopamine, burnout, and finding calm in these anxious times. This episode of Focused is sponsored by: Nom Nom: Healthy, fresh food for dogs formulated by top Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Prepped in our kitchens with free delivery to your door. Get 50% off. Guest Starring: Chris Bailey Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey How to Train Your Mind by Chris Bailey How to Calm Your Mind by Chris Bailey Maslach Burnout Inventory Chris Bailey's website Time & Attention Podcast

Chris Bailey is a productivity consultant, researcher and best selling author.Being productive is great. Everyone wants to get more done in less time and achieve their goals. But overshooting your tolerance for work can result in misery, fatigue, loss of creativity and days in bed. Finding a balance between the grind and being calm is vital.Expect to learn the scientific theory explaining why burnout exists, why calmness and productivity are intrinsically linked, how being dopamine-driven is a dangerous motivator, how to slow down without feeling idle and lazy, the science of savouring life, why people who watch the news get more PTSD than people who experienced a bombing attack and much more...Sponsors:Get 10% discount on all Gymshark’s products at https://bit.ly/sharkwisdom (use code: MW10)Get 20% discount on the best Ketone Drink at https://ketone-iq.com/ (use code MW10)Get 20% discount on House Of Macadamias’ nuts at https://houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom (use code MW20)Extra Stuff:Check out Chris' website - https://alifeofproductivity.com/ Buy How To Calm Your Mind - https://amzn.to/3I6NSK6 Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom-Get in touch.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillxTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillxYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcastEmail: https://chriswillx.com/contact/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this lively discussion, author Chris Bailey, known for his insightful books on productivity, shares his favorite automation tools like Keyboard Maestro and how they can simplify travel prep. He emphasizes the importance of intentional technology use and offers tips for mastering email management to enhance focus. Chris also delves into his writing process and the tools that help streamline workflows, encouraging listeners to reflect on their productivity strategies. With anecdotes and practical advice, he inspires a fresh look at achieving personal goals.

Today’s author promises to help us find the missing piece to the productivity puzzle that leads our efforts to become sustainable over time. Join Joe & Mike as they embark to find presence and productivity in these anxious times. Links Support the Show Mike’s Digital Journaling in Obsidian course (code BOOKWORM for $5 off) Faith-Based Productivity Community Onyx Boox Tab Ultra How to Calm Your Mind by Chris Bailey Bookworm #12: The Productivity Project Bookworm #56: Hyperfocus Bookworm #7: Deep Work Bookworm #63: Atomic Habits Maslach Burnout Inventory How to Train Your Mind by Chris Bailey Huberman Lab with Sam Harris Waking Up Bookworm #19: The Shallows Bookworm #64: Digital Minimalism Why Has No One Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin Glad You’re Here by Walker Hayes & Craig Allen Cooper Redeeming Productivity by Reagan Rose Bookworm sweatshirt Bookworm YouTube channel Join the Club Recommend a Book Book List Leave a Review Mike's Rating: 5.0Cory's Rating: 5.0

We all want to be more productive. And when we buckle down to do so, we typically try to figure out ways to better manage our time. My guest today, though, argues that focusing on managing your time is only part of the productivity picture. You also need to learn how to better manage your attention.His name is Chris Bailey, and his latest book is Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. Today on the show, Chris shares research-backed advice on how to improve your powers of concentration, and why doing so is more important than ever. We delve into why you need to be intentional about directing your attention, why multitasking actually causes you to be less productive, and the surprisingly long time it takes to get refocused when you get distracted. Chris then shares tactics you can start using today to become more focused. We then shift gears and discuss the importance of having periods of time when you’re NOT focused, especially when planning for the future. Chris shares how you can organize your day to get the benefits of being both focused and unfocused.Get the show notes at aom.is/hyperfocus.

Chris Bailey, author of 'How to Calm Your Mind', discusses digital fasting, analog productivity tools, and slowing down for efficiency. Topics include meditation, hiring based on talent, stimulation fasting, Shopify benefits, Miro for collaboration, savoring positive experiences, and balancing analog/digital activities.

This week I'm excited to share my conversation with Chris Bailey. Chris has been a guest on the show a number of times, and in this episode he unpacks the origins, research, and results of his new book, How to Calm Your Mind: Finding Presence and Productivity in Anxious Times. This was a really timely conversation for me and I suspect it will be for you as well. Chris and I discuss the events that led up to him writing this book while exploring a number of techniques, and tips for finding presence and calm that he developed and practiced along that journey. We discuss digital fasting, the advantages of analog items for productivity, and how slowing down your lifestyle can often lead to speeding up your efficiency!Chris Bailey is a productivity expert, and the bestselling author of two books about productivity: Hyperfocus https://amzn.to/3iGCsCF, and The Productivity Project https://amzn.to/3CP2dHT. Chris writes about productivity at https://chrisbailey.com, and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Bailey is back to talk about his dopamine fast, the art of savoring, and avoiding the productivity racket. This episode of Focused is sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FOCUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase. Ahrefs: Improve your website’s SEO performance and get more traffic from search. Free for website owners. Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post. Guest Starring: Chris Bailey Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended episodes with bonus deep dive content. The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey How to Train Your Mind by Chris Bailey | Audible The Time and Attention Podcast | A Life of Productivity Freedom - Block Websites, Apps, and the Internet The Molecule of More by Daniel Lieberman The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg Billy Joel - Vienna | YouTube Savoring by Fred Bryant Getting Things Done A Life of Productivity

Mike and Joe get a breath of fresh air with a book on productivity. There are a lot of tips here that they’ve both practiced for years but learned a lot regardless. TWSBI Diamond 580 Fountain Pen Koine Greek Bullet Journal The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey TPS35: A Year of Productivity w/ Chris Bailey – Asian Efficiency A Life of Productivity – Chris Bailey’s Blog Easy scheduling | Doodle The Focus Course Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington Recommend A Book Bookworm Book List Twitter List of Authors Subscribe on iTunes Mike's Rating: 4.5Cory's Rating: 4.5

Takeaway:There are countless ways to form a new habit, which James Clear covers in Atomic Habits (and in our interview). A few of my favorites: sort your habits by how much they’ll help you out in the long-run; become more thoughtful about your environment; question habits that provide immediate enjoyment; make new habits take less than two minutes of your time; develop “home court” and “away court” habits; and focus on developing your identify, not your goals. Estimated Reading Time:3 minutes, 1s. Podcast Length30 minutes, 45s (link to play podcast at bottom of post). Atomic Habits, by James Clear, is one of the best books about habits I’ve read—I’d put it up there with The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg, as being one of the best books on habits available. This week, James was generous enough to join me on the podcast to dig into how to establish new habits and break negative ones—especially around losing weight, given we’re in the middle of that weight-loss challenge for the show. There are too many nuggets in the book—and the interview!—to list out in one blog post. But here are just a few of my favorites from the book and the interview, which should get you thinking about your own habits: Make a list of your habits, and sort them by how much they will help you out in the long-run. This is a great way to identify the habits that bring you real, lasting value over time, and which ones are distractions from your larger goals. If you want something to be a big part of your life, make it a big part of your environment. This is a simple idea, but is very powerful in practice. Want to eat better? Make sure there’s a plethora of healthy food in your kitchen, so you crowd out any unhealthy options that are available. Want to learn the guitar? Keep your guitar in the living room, so you can just pick it up and play. By introducing—and removing—objects from your environment which aid and detract from your habits, you build stronger habits. As James puts it in the book, “environment is the invisible hand that shapes behavior.” Question all habits that provide you with immediate enjoyment. James writes: “As a general rule, the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more strongly you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals.” Practice the 2-minute rule. The 2-minute rule is this: when you start a new habit, make sure it takes less than two minutes to do. If your goal is running a marathon, try just tying up your shoes for a couple of minutes. If your habit is to work out at the gym, show up at the gym, and work out for just two minutes. This way, you have a framework that you can actually build upon in developing your habits later on, instead of trying to wish habits into existence. Pay attention to your “home court” versus “away court” habits. Something else I asked James in our interview is how we can maintain our habits around life disruptions, such as travel. He recommends developing two types of habits: “home court” habits, which we do when our environment is predictable, and “away court” habits, which we invest in after developing solid habits at home. Focus on your identity, not your goals. According to James, “the most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.” He views habits as “votes” for your identity: by focusing on which behaviors help you become the person you aim to be, instead of which behaviors simply bring you closer to your goals, you connect with your habits on a deeper level. Instead of trying to develop a meditation habit, begin to think of yourself as a meditator. Or, instead of trying to lose weight, begin to think of yourself as someone who deeply cares about maximizing their health and longevity. There are too many nuggets from the book and the interview to cover here, but these are just a few of the ones I found especially powerful! Enjoy the conversation, and have a great week! The post 6 Nuggets from Atomic Habits, by James Clear appeared first on Chris Bailey.