Time and Attention

On this episode, Annie Murphy Paul and I chat about her fantastic new book, The Extended Mind. Topics covered include: The “brainbound” way of thinking—and why it’s broken; How our body can be more rational than our brain; How to practice “interoception”; How physical activity, of varying intensities, can support thought; The power of nature in supporting thought; How to externalize information to think more clearly; How open offices affect how we think; The importance of people and thought. Link mentioned in this episode: Andy Clark and David Chalmers’s extended mind theory You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to extend your mind appeared first on Chris Bailey.

If you subscribe my podcast, today you’ll notice a new show name (and artwork!) land in your podcast player: (If you’re not subscribed yet, here are links to do so! Of course, if podcasts aren’t your thing, zero pressure.) Since the launch of the previous show, Becoming Better, we’ve kind of outgrown the name. The old title felt a tad self-helpy—and the new one feels right at home. Hope you enjoy the fresh coat of paint! If you’re looking to dabble, the back-catalog of episodes is a great place to dive into. Around half of the episodes feature an interview; the other half feature my co-host (and wife!) and I chatting about productivity, how we structure our lives, and the science of betterment. Here are a few of our conversations on: Our favorite productivity books Tactics for working from home Our favorite productivity rituals Our favorite productivity habits: Part 1 and Part 2 Deciding what to put into your mind And a few of our favorite interviews with authors about their books, including with: Cal Newport: On Digital Minimalism, and A World Without Email David Allen: On Getting Things Done James Clear: On Atomic Habits Oliver Burkeman: On Four Thousand Weeks Laura Vanderkam: On Off the Clock Cait Flanders: On The Year of Less Neil Pasricha: On You Are Awesome Michael Greger: On How Not to Diet Henry Emmons: On The Chemistry of Calm Kelly McGonigal: On The Upside of Stress .. and more. Hope you enjoy, and have a nice week! Chris The post Same podcast, better name! appeared first on Chris Bailey.

This week I interview Oliver Burkeman for the podcast. Oliver is the author of the fantastic new book, Four Thousand Weeks. In the episode, we have a fun, wide-ranging conversation about a bunch of topics, including: The idea of “finitude,” and why it matters; Our “future-chasing mindset,” which prevents us from enjoying things; How trying to achieve a perfect mastery over our time can make us miserable; Where impatience comes from; The usefulness of productivity advice; The costs of hoarding our time; ..and more. Four Thousand Weeks is an incredible read. It covers not just how we should manage our time, but also the place time management should have in our life in the first place. I highly recommend it. You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: My interview with Oliver Burkeman appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this super tactical episode of the podcast, we chat about time management. Topics covered include: What time management is, and why it matters Becoming more aware of how you spend your time Scheduling time commitments around your energy levels The broader picture of time management The Pomodoro technique, and shrinking your “resistance level” Time blocking, and limiting distraction How many breaks to take throughout the day How to time breaks for optimal creativity How autonomy matters with time management Creating artificial deadlines Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The purpose of time management appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how slowing down can help us in work and life, without compromising our performance (if that’s something you care about). Topics covered include: How busy times make slowing down more important—but also lead to more guilt A new definition of the word “productivity” How slowing down helps us savor, experience more meaning, and also creates more opportunity for reflection How to fit slowing down into a busy scheduling, especially by minding the gaps in your day The productivity benefits of meditation The power of “scatterfocus” Links mentioned in this episode: Study: A wandering mind is an unhappy mind Study: Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: The productivity benefits of slowing down appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about stress relief strategies that have been proven to lower the level of stress hormones in our body. Topics covered include: How to think about the stress in your life from 10,000 feet The differences between chronic and acute stress Our body’s stress response How more stress is preventable than we think How stress can provide us with meaning The neurochemicals that underlie stress How stress relief is often an active process A bunch of stress-relief strategies that actually work Links mentioned in this episode: Book: The Upside of Stress Article: 9 stress relief strategies that actually work The World Health Organization’s definition of burnout You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Stress relief strategies that actually work appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to actually recharge while taking some time off. Topics covered include: How work can be meaningful—but also a pretty big source of chronic stress Identifying hidden sources of chronic stress in our live How vacations can make us more productive overall How stress both drives us to burnout, but also provides us with meaning How to find things to engage with, and things to savo How to best prepare for time off, to make the time even more rejuvenating Link mentioned in this episode: Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions   You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to take a proper vacation appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about how to more deliberately deal with email, to both think about it less, and make it a less stressful element of your day. Topics covered include: How much we should think about email in the first place How to conduct “email sprints” The two types of work that we all do How to better organize your email messages Creating different “email environments” The “Five-Sentence Rule” for answering email The intention-interpretation gap with communication How to take an email vacation How to shrink time on email through disconnected hours and pre-defined boundaries Creating the illusion of responsiveness Link mentioned in this episode: IBM Study: Am I wasting my time organizing email?   You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: Our favorite email habits appeared first on Chris Bailey.

On this episode, we chat about the importance of saying no to unimportant things. Topics covered include: Becoming more deliberate about saying no What we should be saying no to—in our work and personal lives Comparison tasks that put “saying no” in perspective The relative meaning and productivity of tasks Knowing the value of your time—and saying no to things accordingly The importance of people in productivity Thinking about what to say yes to You can listen (and subscribe) to the podcast below! The post Podcast: How to say no (and what to say no to) appeared first on Chris Bailey.

Topics include the lack of celebration for accomplishments, the Zeigarnik effect, the importance of closure, the Need for Closure scale, the Post-Portem ritual, favorite rewards for finishing tasks, celebration guilt, and timing for celebrations.