The OptimalWork Podcast
OptimalWork
Hosted by Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes, co-founders of OptimalWork, The OptimalWork Podcast will help you learn to challenge yourself in each hour of work according to your highest ideals. We discuss all aspects of Dr. Majeres's approach to work, which he developed in his private practice and teaches at Harvard Medical School, and show how it applies to everyday situations like professional work, study, sleep, and relationships.
For personalized plans to help you put the ideas into practice, visit www.OptimalWork.com.
Please send questions for discussion to team@optimalwork.com.
For personalized plans to help you put the ideas into practice, visit www.OptimalWork.com.
Please send questions for discussion to team@optimalwork.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 1, 2021 • 31min
79. How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
#79: One of the consequences of living in threat mode is that you often feel overwhelmed. Your view of yourself and your situation becomes fixed, and you can lose your optimism. In this episode, we’ll show you how to regain a sense of possibility and freedom whenever you’re overwhelmed.
Oct 25, 2021 • 29min
78. What’s Missing from Atomic Habits
#78: Atomic Habits by James Clear is a recent best-seller that covers a lot of the same topics as OptimalWork. In this episode, we summarize its approach and theory and identify areas of common ground, as well as some shortcomings of the Atomic Habits approach. This helps to clarify how transformative OptimalWork’s approach really is.
Oct 18, 2021 • 30min
77. Use Dopamine to Shape Habits
#77: If you’re struggling to form better habits, we have two simple practices that will help you shape your own behavior. To understand these, we first dive into some new developments in the neuroscience of self-control.
Oct 11, 2021 • 28min
76. Routine: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
#76: Having routines can help us make desirable behaviors second nature. But routine is a double-edged sword. By making behaviors automatic, routine can deplete them of meaning. Routine — the good, the bad, and the ugly — is the topic of today’s episode.
Oct 4, 2021 • 29min
75. How to Win Over Your Inner Critic
#75: Have you ever struggled with negative self-talk? Visualization can be a powerful tool in approaching your inner critic. Join us as we discuss how the use of imagery can turn OptimalWork’s theory of growth into a practical strategy for achieving psychological balance.
Sep 27, 2021 • 28min
74. How to Have Deeper Conversations
#74: Conversations can be a source of frustration, but they can also be the source of our deepest and most fulfilling joys. The bonds that we form with others are forged in large part through conversations. In this episode, we’ll talk about the key skill needed to have good conversations.
Sep 20, 2021 • 27min
73. How to Maintain Intensity in Work
#73: If we want to focus more intensely on something, it could be easy to think we just have to try harder. But recent advances in neuroscience give us two alternate approaches, which we’ll be discussing in today’s episode.
Sep 13, 2021 • 28min
72. Bringing Clarity to Brain Fog
#72: One of the most frequent reasons for people to see their doctor is to treat fatigue or brain fog. In this episode, we look into the causes of brain fog and the potential solutions.
Sep 6, 2021 • 22min
71. Understanding Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
#71: Maslow proposed his famous Hierarchy of Needs in 1943, and it remains a foundational idea in psychology. In this episode, we explore the deep consistency between Maslow’s understanding and OptimalWork’s approach, discussing reframing, mindfulness, challenge, and Maslow’s paradoxically selfless understanding of self-actualization.
Aug 2, 2021 • 25min
70. Going Deeper into Your Why
#70: Cultivating a spirit of service lies at the heart of OptimalWork’s approach to work. Striving for a spirit of service ultimately means changing not just what we do and how we do things, but also why we do them. But how do we really assess and change something as intangible as the why behind what we do? This is the starting point for today’s discussion.
