The Human Flourishing Project

Alex Epstein discusses several characteristics that unite his productive role models for 2021, including focus, optimizing for value creation over advertising, and having very little need for short-term feedback.

Alex Epstein discusses some lessons that his experimentation with "work fortnights"--11 days on, 3 days off--has reinforced.

Alex Epstein discusses 6 kinds of focus that make individuals more productive and fulfilled:

1) focusing on a high-value and meaningful market

2) focusing on an area of comparative advantage

3) focusing on the most valuable few projects

4) focusing on performing your core work

5) focusing on inevitably productive processes

6) focusing on your progress

Alex Epstein discusses one of his biggest productive breakthroughs to date: maximum separation of "performance time" and "feedback time."

Alex Epstein discusses one of life's basic questions--"How do I spend the very limited time I have on Earth?"--and shares three techniques for answering it: life-blocking, ranked lists, and calendar comprehensiveness.

Alex Epstein discusses the work and new podcast of Cal Newport, his favorite thinker on productivity.

Alex Epstein discusses why he is suspicious of any “morally safe” activity—any easy way to be seen by oneself or others as a good person. Doing the “morally safe” thing, he argues, often involves 1) a lack of critical thinking, 2) wasting time, and 3) acting on unhealthy motives.

Alex Epstein discusses the three ingredients of relaxed productivity—inevitably productive processes, high-altitude planning, and real rejuvenation—along with one poison: focus-destroyers.

Alex Epstein discusses why we should seek out the rare phenomenon of the master practitioner-teacher wherever we can find it, using Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' new business book as an example.

Alex Epstein discusses how to avoid overwhelm when one feels totally overcommitted for the upcoming week. The key is "calendar comprehensiveness," which Alex shares a quick process for achieving.