Undo – How history's outliers got stuff done

Can this analogue system for a digital age really help us get more done? Has it strayed from its roots and become synonymous with people who call things “super aesthetic”? And, if we can learn what we need to about the system in 3 minutes, why does it cost three and a half grand to learn to teach it?

Time stands still and you’re in that sweet-spot where the work you're doing is challenging enough to hold your attention, but not so difficult that it causes you stress.

This is flow, and it might just prove itself to be one of the keys that unlocks long-term happiness.

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, and you’re thinking over your day. Did you actually get anything done, or were you just reacting to a bunch of distractions?

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.” So says Mark Twain. Or so says a productivity guru says Mark Twain. But as far as we can tell, Mark Twain never said that. So what’s with all the frogs, and how can they help us do more of the right stuff, and less of the wrong?

Studies show if you give people 60 minutes to complete a task that only takes 30, they’ll work the full hour instead of taking the rest off.

That’s Parkinson’s Law in action, and by recognising it, we can buy back some time to ourselves. Just don’t tell the boss, or they’ll give you more busy work.

How do you decide what needs to be done now, and what can wait? And how do you take care of the stuff that needs doing now, while not neglecting the things that make it worth getting out of bed in the morning?

Coming January 2025.

Humans will do anything to avoid the actual work they said they’d do. While supposedly writing this trailer I checked my slow cooker, restocked the fridge, took my blood pressure (it’s dangerously high, btw), followed up on a WhatsApp conversation, picked up the post, checked in on the cats, tidied my desk and made another coffee.

That’s genuinely true – these are all things I did while I should’ve been writing this script.

And all I really need to tell you is that Undo is a podcast that examines productivity methods through the ages and tries to separate the brilliant from the bullshit, so you can figure out how to design your own system that matches your brain chemistry.

I mean really, it’s just a fun show you can listen and tell yourself you’re working. Finally, procrastination in podcast form!