You'll achieve more when you stop trying so hard.

The ikario Podcast: human thriving in the modern world

When you're trying to be productive, you're doing something that is making you less productive and more prone to procrastination.

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My approach to work and productivity has changed a lot over recent years. What I've found is that there is a way to try less hard, to be less stressed, to feel less pressure and as a result, get more done, much more easily.

As I've explored this, I found something really surprising: when we procrastinate, we are not actually trying to avoid the difficulty of the task in front of us. The discomfort and suffering we're trying to avoid is actually entirely self-inflicted. But you have to pay really close attention to notice this.

So today, let's look at how you can discover this in yourself and how you can stop self sabotaging in this particular way.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:41 Higher Ice Cream Probability

01:41 Trying Hard to Fall Asleep

02:26 Why Trying to Work Hard Doesn't Work

04:03 What You're Really Avoiding

04:55 Is Hard Work Actually Hard?

05:54 What this Means About Procrastination

07:36 Lack of Clarity

09:12 Putting it Into Practice

11:05 Where Does All This Tension Come From?

11:51 How to Unclench

13:32 My Best Performance Comes When I Try Less

15:02 What to Do Next

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