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PODCAST

The OptimalWork Podcast

Hosted by Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes, co-founders of OptimalWork, The OptimalWork Podcast will help you learn to challenge yourself in each hour of work according to your highest ideals. We discuss all aspects of Dr. Majeres"s approach to work, which he developed in his private practice and teaches at Harvard Medical School, and show how it applies to everyday situations like professional work, study, sleep, and relationships. For personalized plans to help you put the ideas into practice,

education self-improvement

All Episodes

00:28:15

[Rebroadcast] How to Broadcast Positive Emotions

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/12/25

#175: Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re always broadcasting our own inner experience. By shaping our actions according to our ideals, we forget about ourselves and create a positive tone around us. In this episode, we’ll show you psychological strategies for how to do this. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

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00:34:20

174. The Paradoxes of Mindfulness

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/12/18

#174: Mindfulness lies at the heart of OptimalWork’s approach. Living your highest ideals means being fully present, fully engaged with reality. Cultivating this habit is the work of mindfulness. But mindfulness rests on a set of apparent contradictions. Foremost among them is this: while mindfulness involves accepting reality as it is, it is often used as a way of achieving personal or behavioral change. In this episode, we discuss this apparent paradox and others, shedding light on the true nature

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00:29:45

173. From Tolerance to Acceptance to Love

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/12/11

#173: The two fundamental ways you can relate to challenge are approach and avoidance. Typically, approach leads to a virtuous cycle: the challenge gets easier and more enjoyable over time as you grow in mastery. Avoidance, on the other hand, often leads to a vicious cycle of increasing difficulty and pain. In this episode we further break down approach into three levels — tolerating, accepting, and loving the challenge — to show how to speed up the virtuous cycle and maximize your growth in the

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00:28:19

[Rebroadcast] How to Work Intensely without Stressing...

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/12/04

#172: Many people think that they and others work best under extreme external pressure: impending deadlines, demanding bosses, etc. In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss better ways to achieve intensity. Find more at ⁠https://www.OptimalWork.com⁠.

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00:28:47

[Rebroadcast] Choose Flow, Not Hyperfocus

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/11/27

#171: Have you ever worked with great intensity and lost track of time, only to realize later that it was all a waste? You had fallen for the trap of hyperfocus.In this episode, we’ll distinguish between hyperfocus and true flow, and show you how to always attain the latter. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

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00:33:55

170. Should You Be Doing Therapy at Work?

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/11/20

#170: With rising rates of anxiety and depression, some have suggested that managers be trained to provide “mental-health first aid” to employees in distress. In this episode, we discuss the best ways managers can help employees thrive at work, how to help them grow, and how to balance the need to get results from their teams with the ideal of supporting and mentoring them. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:32:04

169. How to Persuade Your Emotions

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/11/13

#169: What’s the best way to prevent distractions? Are prevention techniques — like website blockers — effective? In this episode, we discuss different strategies aimed at behavior change. We argue that the source of the most sustainable behavior change is to build self-mastery through right action. By doing this, you’ll be laying the foundations for new predictions by your brain. Over time, it will come along and be no longer a source of friction, but a great help in pursuing meaningful

en

00:27:08

168. The True Value of Reframing

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/11/06

#168: Reframing is a practice that developed from cognitive behavioral therapy. It means discovering the opportunity present within a challenge. If you face a challenge that causes anxiety, distraction, or burnout, reframing can help you approach it more effectively. But reframing can do more. It will also help you harmonize the different parts of your life so everything is working in the same direction: toward your highest ideals. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:33:30

167. The Power of a Golden Hour

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/10/30

#167: At the heart of our approach is the practice of a Golden Hour: preparing your mind for a time of work, focusing on one thing, and setting a stop time in advance. Doing a Golden Hour brings the key practices of psychology into your hour of work, so you not only do your best work, but you also practice bringing your highest ideals into your actions, which is the entire goal of OptimalWork. In this episode, we discuss the genesis of the Golden Hour, how to do it well, and some common questions

en

00:28:55

166. Why Embracing Shame Will Help You Thrive

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/10/23

#166: Shame is the emotion we feel when we fear that our failures or weaknesses will become known. This fear can lead us to pursue certain outcomes as defenses — money, success, prestige, etc. — or to shy away from challenges that will expose us. In this episode, we discuss how to experience and accept shame, and why doing so gives us a profound freedom and unlocks the most meaningful forms of growth. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:34:29

165. How to Stop Justifying Yourself

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/10/16

#165: When people experience cognitive dissonance — that is, a clash between one’s self-concept and reality — they will tend to favor their self-concept, and can rationalize this bias in a process of self-justification. This process can thwart meaningful personal growth. In this episode, we discuss self-justification, how to identify it and how to overcome it — and a clever way to use it to develop deeper bonds. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

en

00:33:59

164. Why Venting Negative Emotions Only Makes Things...

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/10/09

#164: It’s a widespread belief that when experiencing negative emotions like anger or frustration, it’s helpful to vent them. In fact, this practice is counterproductive. Studies indicate that when people express negative emotions in this way, far from letting them out, they in fact get more of them. This result is confirmed by a consideration of the neuroscience of perception and appraisal. In this episode, we discuss the origin of the theory of catharsis, why it’s wrong, and what to do instead —

en

00:29:14

163. The Power of Agency

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/10/02

#163: In their 2019 book “The Power of Agency,” Paul Napper and Anthony Rao lay out their theory of growth and happiness, which centers on the concept of “agency.” In this episode, we compare their seven principles with OptimalWork’s approach, and show how ideals are essential to true agency. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:26:39

162. How to Conquer Procrastination

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/09/25

#162: Procrastination is something of a mystery. Its costs — decreased quality of work, fraying of bonds with others, increased negative emotions like stress, even health effects — are universally acknowledged. Yet procrastination persists — or, put precisely, people persist in procrastinating. In this episode, we discuss the primary cause of procrastination (a reluctance to experience negative emotions like stress or reluctance), how it leads to a vicious cycle of procrastination, and how to

en

00:30:03

161. How to Develop Lasting Motivation

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/09/18

#161: This episode continues our discussion of Alfie Kohn’s “Punished by Rewards.” Kohn believes that a person’s motivation (especially a child’s) starts out pure but gets corrupted by rewards and praise. Here we explore the possibility that intrinsic motivation is actually something that develops over time, and thus behavioralist psychology, rather than destroying intrinsic motivation, in fact opens up a path to it. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:27:05

160. Punished by Rewards?

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/09/11

#160: In this episode, we explore the radical claims made by Alfie Kohn in his 1993 book Punished by Rewards. Kohn, an expert in education and psychology, argues against the use of rewards to incentivize behavior. For Kohn, such incentives cause people to lose intrinsic motivation: for instance, kids get motivated by grades, not learning; employees get motivated by money, not creativity and service. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:27:45

[Rebroadcast] How to Be Generous and Still Thrive

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/09/04

#159: At OptimalWork, we often emphasize generosity as a crowning ideal: a key character quality to strive for. But this raises some questions. Should you just give everything to everyone? What are the limits? What if people start to take advantage of your generosity? In this episode, we discuss how to set boundaries that will help you maximize your generosity by making it sustainable. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

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00:27:54

[Rebroadcast] How to Have Deeper Conversations

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/08/28

#158: Conversations can be a source of frustration, but they can also be the source of our deepest and most fulfilling joys. The bonds that we form with others are forged in large part through conversations. In this episode, we’ll talk about the key skill needed to have good conversations. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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00:29:05

[Rebroadcast] Challenging Anxiety

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/08/21

#157: Do you have any anxiety that you feel might be holding you back? In fact, anxiety is like a forge that you can use to shape yourself according to your highest ideals. In this episode, we show you how to find the challenge at the root of your anxiety and engage it as a unique opportunity. Find more at ⁠https://www.OptimalWork.com⁠.

en

00:26:47

[Rebroadcast] Making Wise Use of Small Blocks of Time

The OptimalWork Podcast ·

2023/08/14

#156: Do you ever find that you don’t have enough time to accomplish all the things you’d like to? Small blocks of time may seem inconsequential, but they add up. Making wise use of these blocks can increase your productivity by 20% — the difference between getting ahead and falling behind. How to do it? That’s the topic of today’s rebroadcast. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com

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275 results

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