Time and Attention

On this episode, we chat about how to get into a state of flow, where we’re totally immersed in what we’re doing. Topics covered include: What a “flow state” is; The characteristics of a flow state; Shortcuts to help us get into a state of flow; How flow helps us perform better with creative tasks; When a flow state isn’t helpful; The “flow channel”; Why we shouldn’t always evaluate how we’re doing as we work; The steps for focusing on something, and how these can help us enter a flow state. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Book: How to Calm Your Mind Book: Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity Book: On Writing Article: The flow channel You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: How to get into a flow state appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about Chris’s latest experiment, to switch to a flip phone from a smartphone for a period of a month (to start). Topics covered include: How great the flip phone era was; How Ardyn feels about this experiment; The 6 reasons Chris is giving up his smartphone; The downsides to large screen phones; Whether smartphones are a net good in our lives; How personal the technology in our life has become; The “jobs” we “hire” our devices to do for us. Links mentioned in this episode: Article: Here’s why I’m trading in my smartphone for a flip phone this month Article: Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: Chatting about the flip phone experiment appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we welcome Laura Vanderkam back on the podcast to chat about her new book, Tranquility by Tuesday. Topics covered include: The three categories to use to plan your days and your life; Why we should plan our weeks on Friday afternoon; Laura’s daily planner of choice; How doing something three times a week makes it a habit; How carving out more white space can make us more productive; How to get more out of our leisure time; How to introduce more novelty into our days to slow down the passage of time. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Tranquility by Tuesday The planner that Laura uses You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: 5 tactics for more tranquility in your life appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how we like to go “novelty hunting,” especially in the digital world. Topics covered include: What “novelty hunting” is; The connection between novelty and dopamine; The three dopamine factors; The “novelty bias”; How novelty hunting is more stressful than we give it credit for; Superstimuli; How novelty changes our perception of time; Awareness of our novelty hunting; How novelty hunting used to look a lot different before the internet; What to do about it! Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How to Calm Your Mind You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: What to know about “novelty hunting.” appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about the science of “savoring”—the process through which we enjoy our lives. Topics covered include: How “savoring” is the process of converting positive experiences into positive emotions; The productivity benefits of savoring; How savoring helps us become less anxious; The psychological and neurological benefits of savoring; The balance between striving and savoring; How scarcity leads us to enjoy something more; The five ways we can savor everyday life; The “savor list.” Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How to Calm Your Mind   The post Podcast: The science of savoring your life appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about ideas from Chris’s new book, How to Calm Your Mind! Topics covered include: How a calm mind can make us significantly more productive; How anxiety shrinks our cognitive performance; What calm actually is; How anxiety is a spectrum; How presence is the key to productivity, and how to find it; The “accomplishment mindset”; The various drafts of How to Calm Your Mind; How we need dopamine, and also how it can lead us astray; Our brain’s “acquisition mentality”; The three factors that influence the size of the dopamine hit we get from something; What “superstimuli” are and how they highjack our attention on a chemical level; How to balance time between the digital and analog worlds; The various types of chronic stress; The power science of “savoring” our lives. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How to Calm Your Mind You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: The Year of Calm appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about our favorite rituals to ring in the new year. Topics covered include: Whether we make New Year’s resolutions; The importance of reflection at New Year’s; How to think back to past accomplishments; Simple rituals to set goals for the year ahead; The productivity benefits of gratitude. Links mentioned in this episode: Article: Give these 3 new year’s rituals a try You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Our New Year’s Rituals appeared first on Chris Bailey.

This episode was originally published on May 7, 2019. In this episode, I chat with David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, about his book—and how we can carve out more space for having ideas. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My interview with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about what burnout is and how to overcome it., Topics covered include: Our own experiences with burnout; The three characteristics of burnout; The stepping stones to burnout; The two types of stress we face throughout the day; Whether burnout is a primarily workplace phenomenon; The six factors of our work that contribute to burnout. Links mentioned in this episode: Book: How to Calm Your Mind The Maslach Burnout Inventory test (paid) You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below!   The post Podcast: Understanding burnout appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about our GTD-inspired weekly reviews—and what we include in them. Topics covered include: What a “weekly review” is; The steps to doing a weekly review; How flexible to be with your review; What we each review every week; Including an “accomplishments list” in the review; Working reflections into the weekly review; The weird way Chris manages his daily schedule; The confidence a weekly review can give you; The payoff of a weekly review over time.  Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Getting Things Done, by David Allen The GTD Weekly Review (PDF) You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The Weekly Review appeared first on Chris Bailey.