Productivity Tactics – Two Approaches I Personally Use to Reset, Get Unstuck, and Focus on the Right Things (#771)

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types to tease out the habits, routines, favorite books, and so on that you can apply and test in your own life. 

This time, we have a slightly different format. 

In this short and very tactical episode, I share some of my personal methods for how to get out of a rut, re-aim yourself at big outcomes, and make progress on a daily basis, despite the self-defeating tendencies that we all have.

Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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This episode is brought to you by Momentous high-quality creatine! I’ve long benefitted from creatine for athletic and gym performance, and now I’m increasing my daily intake to enjoy the cognitive benefits as well. A pilot study in Alzheimer’s patients demonstrated that supplementing can increase brain creatine levels in just 8 weeks, improving measures of memory, reasoning, and attention. And a double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that creatine can restore aspects of memory and attention within hours in adults who are sleep deprived. I use Momentous Creatine made with Creapure®, which is sourced from Germany and has the strictest lab standards to ensure it’s at least 99.9% pure. And try Momentous’s Creatine Chews—clean chewable tablets with 1 gram of Creapure® creatine per chew—and their whey protein isolate and magnesium threonate, all of which meet their same, exacting standards. Check out Momentous for yourself and get 35% off your first subscription order with code TIM at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. 

This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my personal nemesis. But a few years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep has launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 5 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 5 Ultra ensures you and your partner stay cool in the heat and cozy warm in the cold. And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can get $400 off of the Pod 5 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.

This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. And right now, when you first subscribe to AG1, you’ll get an AG1 Welcome Kit, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, a Morning Person hat, AND you’ll get to try each new flavor of AG1 and their new sleep supplement, AGZ. That’s $126 in free gifts for new subscribers! Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Make Before You Manage | Tim Ferriss
• Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule | Paul Graham
• Neil Gaiman — The Best Commencement Speech You May Ever Hear (20 Minutes) | Tim Ferriss
• A 90-Second Video of Calligraphy | Tim Ferriss, Instagram
• Shakshouka and Caffeine. | Tim Ferriss, Instagram
• “Productivity” Tricks for the Neurotic, Manic-Depressive, and Crazy (Like Me) | Tim Ferriss
• A Day in the Life of Tim Ferriss — A Morgan Spurlock Production | Vimeo
• Rudy | Prime Video
• The Snooze Button is a Psychological Trick | Jocko Willink
• Why Moving Didn’t Solve Any of My Problems | Tiny Buddha
• Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery | The Tim Ferriss Show #201
• Pique Tea Organic Fermented Pu’erh Black Tea | Amazon
• Pique Tea Organic Fermented Pu’erh Green Tea | Amazon
• Gary Keller — How to Focus on the One Important Thing | The Tim Ferriss Show #401
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan | Amazon
• 31 Writing Lessons from Kurt Vonnegut | Industrial Scripts
• Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell | Amazon

SHOW NOTES

• [00:21] What to expect from this episode.
• [03:26] How many clowns fit in my clown car?
• [04:49] Am I solving or exacerbating my problems?
• [05:54] The saving mantra: “Make before you manage.”
• [09:11] Neil Gaiman on vulnerability.
• [09:32] A reality check.
• [10:13] The dangerous myths of “successful” people.
• [10:59] You take the good, you take the bad…
• [12:55] My eight-step process for maximizing efficacy.
• [16:20] Remember this when you’re feeling far from perfect.

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Molly Ferriss
• Neil Gaiman
• Paul Graham
• Gary Keller
• Kurt Vonnegut