Take Back The Day

The dichotomy of productivity is that you have to spend a lot of time doing nothing in order to do other stuff well. In this conversation Sam and Simon explore the quest for pointless activities. Stuff mentioned in this episode:The ridiculous cost of sportses, and how it impedes our progress as a species.Bertrand Russell, who had a lot to say about doing nothing.The Pomodoro Technique.The 4-hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.The elephant and rider problem from the Happiness Hypothesis.Freedom for Productivity, which keeps Sam off the internets when she needs to do stuff.Mihály Csíkszentmihályi‘s Flow psychology.Hemingway – Simon’s new favourite writing tool.George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language.The Count Censored.Nyancoin – our new official currency. And Dogecoin. Because Homestar Runner.Momentum for Chrome.Slaan daardie slang.

According to your parents, you can do anything. This sort of over-compensating encouragement presents a number of challenges for adults doing stuff in the world. Sam and Simon discuss this and other things.Stuff mentioned in this conversation:Google’s gay doodle.Sherlock.Carol S. Dweck.Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.Benjamin McLane Spock.Vladimir Putin.Krav Maga.Sochi’s hotel disaster.Mitchell and Webb’s Football, Football, Football and also Peep Show.Zen Pencils.Slack: Be less busy.22seven for Android.Buzzfeed.

Does the world happen to you or do you happen to the world? In this week’s conversation Sam and Simon ponder the power of stories and how what we tell ourselves not only affects us, but the people around us too. It’s all science, and very magical…Stuff mentioned in this conversation:The Mindscape of Alan Moore.The flâneur pops up again.The disputed history of the suit.‘The Secret’ – one of those books that doesn’t deserve a link. Because woo bullshit.David McRaney’s You Are Not So Smart blog. Again.Kevin Smith’s Smodcast endeavour and the Fat Man on Batman episode with Grant Morrison.Todoist – Sam’s favourite todo-list thingy.Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon on the legacy of Buffy.

Why do we do things? And when we’ve done them, why must we share them? These seem like trivial questions because they probably are, but Sam and Simon must discuss. And share.Stuff mentioned in this conversation:HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator.Sam’s blog-type thing.Simon’s un-blog on Medium.David McRaney’s very successful blog.Kurt Vonnegut, but actually David Foster Wallace.‘O Superman’ by Laurie Anderson.Cobook.How sleep clears all the shit out your brain.Segmented sleep.Richard Mulholland’s blog post about Creatives.

Money, and the stories we tell ourselves about it and everything else around us, is the focus of conversation this week.Stuff mentioned in this conversation:Bitcoin and Simon’s Bitcoin article.Mark Boyle, the Moneyless Man and an interview with him.La Digue island in the Seychelles.You Are Now Less Dumb by David McRaney.Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.Nassim Taleb, the Twitter curmudgeon.The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall.David Blaine’s Real or Magic.The Renamer. “The three most harmful addictions are heroin,carbohydrates, and a monthly salary. ” — Maybe Nassim Taleb

Will making a resolution take you anywhere except sad? In our first episode of 2014 Sam and Simon look at resolutions and routines, getting smarter with who you are so you can find the best way to work. Happy new year Stuff we mentioned in this episode:How we spend our days is how we spend our lives on Brain Pickings.Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile.Automattic.King of Tokyo and Richard Garfield.The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton.The Pylon Appreciation Society.Workflowy.

Doing what’s right can be difficult when the world is offering you easy rewards for doing the wrong thing. This week Sam and Simon remember Nelson Mandela in their discussion of sticking to your guns, turning enemies into partners and just plain doing the right thing.Stuff mentioned in this episode:Al Jazeera English – online news streaming with no strings attached.Nelson Mandela. Our mascot for doing what’s right.We mentioned Jarred Diamond. Again. For writing The World Until Yesterday.The Fox and the Flies by Charles van Onselen.Bjork’s explanation of how television works.Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno.GTA V.Summoner Wars. So good. And Richard Mulholland for introducing us to it.Fortune and Glory.King of Tokyo and Richard Garfield.

Could you, should you, do more than one thing at a time? Sam and Simon aren’t convinced its possible and discuss the best way to tackle a bunch of things that need doing.Stuff mentioned in this episode:Japan, specifically Sapporo.Gmail’s new features.The Shallows by Nicholas Carr.Flipboard for finding awesome stuff on the internet.Feedly for curating awesome stuff you find on the internet.RescueTime for trying, and probably failing, to take control of your time.FitBit.Workflowy.How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil.Lily Looking Through.

Will winning awards elevate your career to the next level? This week’s conversation looks at being a corporate contrarian and questions the sanity of your virtual CV.Stuff mentioned in this episode:The Bookmarks Awards.Mobile World Congress.A bunch of social networking sites that really don’t need more traffic.Path. Where Simon gets close.Mxit. Sam isn’t sold.Neil Gaiman.Sir David Attenborough.How to interact with the introverted.

Perception is reality a lot of the time, especially where ideas and working with information is involved. This week Sam and Simon talk about managing perceptions and dragging reality along for the ride.Things mentioned in this episode:Sam is learning Monotyping.The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker.The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.Poorly Drawn Lines.And Then Steve Said, ‘Let There Be an iPhone’.Nyan Cat.Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.Søren Kierkegaard.Tim Minchin.The Hermann Rorschach Google Doodle.Masters of Sex.

What you put in your body directly affects your moods and ability to do stuff. In this episode Sam and Simon discuss getting to know your body and how to prime it for pure awesomeness. Turns out beer might have a place in your productivity diet - and, of course, coffee. Stuff and people mentioned in this episode:Varenicline that Sam is using to stop smoking.Champex. Not a medicine.23andMe genetic testing.Bonk by Mary Roach.Sophia Wallace.Comedian Simon Amstell.Your brain on coffee vs. beer.This Will Make You Smarter by John Brockman.What Is Your Dangerous Idea?by John Brockman.How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams.The Walking Dead - a great TV show based on an awesome comic.Breaking Bad - another great TV show that Simon watched after everyone else.

Sam and Simon materialise in closely proximate time and space for an actual, real person discussion about goals and systems, democracy in the workplace, memory devices and other curious things. It's all happening. Stuff mentioned in this episode: Brain Pickings. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. As We May Think by Vannevar Bush. The Blood episode of Radiolab. 23andMe. Sex, Death and The Meaning of Life by Richard Dawkins. Google and Calico.

Going through the motions is easy, but making sure you get to the things on the back seat of your to-do list is difficult. Sam and Simon discuss diary-blocking, the danger of meetings and other stuff in this episode. Stuff discussed in this episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw-0hhoJLUo

When does big become too big? How do you stay nimble and avoid groupthink as your company grows? These are amongst Sam and Simon's ponderings this week as Take Back The Day returns from hiatus. They also discuss entrepreneurial competitiveness, innovation in Africa and why Kenya rocks right now. PEOPLE Erik Hersman Malcolm Gladwell Nassim Taleb BOOKS David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell ORGANISATIONS Dimension Data iHub JoziHub Contextuall OTHER STUFF Dunbar's number The two-pizza rule

When the people you're working with have trouble with the way the world works now - is it your job to tell them? Maybe. Sam and Simon discussed this a bit. And also flânerie… ing. You know, sauntering about. Stuff mentioned in this episode: * The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen. GAMES * Gone Home. * War for the Overworld. * Alone in the Dark. And the Flâneur.

Digital clutter makes its way into Sam and Simon's discussion again this week, starting with music and ending with... you guessed it... books. Join us for an attack on the things that own us. And hear hadidas. And some synths. Stuff mentioned in this episode:   BOOKS The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. On Writing by Stephen King. PEOPLE Lauren Beukes. Charles Bukowski. OTHER STUFF Simfy for streaming music. Calibre e-book management. What Is the Business of Literature by Richard Nash. The Portable Dandy app for iOS. Evernote. Audible. Audiobus.

We don't know where we are or entirely what we are and we're hurtling through space on a rock that will be consumed by the Sun one day. We think there might be better things to worry about than making spreadsheets. In this episode Sam and Simon indulge in some science and a lot of other things. Mentioned in this episode: BOOKS The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose. The 4% Universe by Richard Panek. Nothing by Frank Close. Einstein by Walter Isaacson. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Spoon. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. STUFF The Claude Debussy 151st Birthday Google Doogle. The Feynman Lectures and other awesome audio on Audible. Elon Musk's fine explanatory skills. XKCD 1240. Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson Hangout. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy9y_YSpYxA Radiolab's Mirror, Mirror episode.

Working with the best - whether you're hiring or hoping to be hired - is the topic of the conversation this week. More or less. Sam and Simon talk about talent and how to find it, along with partridge hunting and some other stuff. Things mentioned in this episode: We spent a whole lot of time talking about the The Hybrid Traits Model. BOOKS Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman The 7 Day Weekend and Maverick by Ricardo Semler MOVIES Fight Club. STUFF Medium. FutureLife.

Whether you use brown M&Ms to spot-check your stage rig or need to make sure Monday mornings are always dandy, routine is important in a planning-not-plans kind of way. Sam and Simon discuss getting it together in this episode. Other stuff mentioned: EVENTS Oppikoppi was on Sam's radar last week. Totally. BOOKS Simon mentioned The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande. LINKS National Geographic's Tattoo Emporium of science-related tattoos. Sam mentioned some amateur's with their tattoos of Darwin's Finches and has a thing for Claudia Hammond. We also decided that Euler's Identity is the most beautiful equation ever.

We're popping our pees in this conversation about sleep and the perils of the internet. Tracking your sleep, getting more of it and the segmented sleep phenomenon all make their way into the chat too. Along with a whole lot of awesome, Charles Bukowski and some swearwords. Stuff mentioned in this episode: APPS Sam mentioned using Sleep as Android to track her sleep, while Simon mentioned using Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock and now quantifying himself with FitBit. BOOKS PRODUCTS The Ostrich Pillow LINKS Segmented Sleep. Charles Bukowski.