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Not Overthinking

Ali & Taimur Abdaalnotoverthinking.com
The weekly podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. It's us, Ali and Taimur Abdaal, occasionally joined by guests, talking about things to help us think, do, and be better. Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models... Things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week. We'd love for you to join us.
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Episodes

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution

Get the book here: https://geni.us/cyNM Ali's Part-Time YouTuber Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/part-time-youtuber-crash-course/ Ali's Part-Time Creatorpreneur Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/creatorpreneur-crash-course/

Jun 24, 202250 minEp. 129

How Our Lives Have Changed Through 3 Years of this Podcast

In this episode, we take a look back over the past 3 years of doing this podcast, and how our lives have changed since that fateful day in March 2019 when we decided to start recording “Not Overthinking”. Enjoy!

Jun 17, 202247 minEp. 128

The Conversation that Changed Ali's Life (in theory)

In this episode, we discuss Ali's theoretically life-changing conversation with Will MacAskill, a professor of moral philosophy, about how to orient his career for impact rather than personal gain. Taimur is skeptical. Watch this episode on YouTube (along with all our others) - https://www.youtube.com/c/NotOverthinking Ali's Podcast - Deep Dive - https://www.youtube.com/c/DeepDivewithAliAbdaal (the interview with Will MacAskill should be out in August 2022) 80,000 Hours - https://80000hours.org/...

Jun 11, 202253 minEp. 127

Should we share our personal life on the podcast?

In this first episode of the new season of the podcast, we discuss the extent to which we should / want to be open about our personal lives on the podcast. Taimur takes an unusual stance towards privacy, which Ali attempts to break down. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comm...

Jun 03, 202256 minEp. 126

Mind Viruses

In this episode, Taimur presents his new theory of Mind Viruses. We discuss the aetiology, pathophysiology and implications thereof. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or if you've got a conund...

Mar 14, 202255 minEp. 125

The Pathless Path

In this episode, we discuss our friend Paul Millerd’s new book The Pathless Path, which is all about reimagining our relationship with Work and Careers. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or if...

Feb 07, 202247 minEp. 124

Pills & Paradigm Shifts

In this episode, we discuss the discourse around pills - Blue Pills, Red Pills, Black and White Pills - and share some of the ‘pills’ that we’ve taken in our own life that have led to paradigm shifts in our perspectives. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and question...

Jan 17, 20221 hr 20 minEp. 123

Exploring Taimur's New Relationship

In this episode, we discuss Taimur's new relationship! If you've got any questions about it, please do leave a comment down below and we'll maybe discuss them on a future episode. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thou...

Dec 23, 202139 minEp. 122

Eye Surgery, Mind Chatter and Spirituality

In this episode, we do our usual life update (Taim’s just been to Turkey, Ali’s had Laser Eye Surgery), followed by a discussion of ego, which somehow segues into a conversation about mind chatter, and aspects of spirituality. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and qu...

Dec 14, 202154 minEp. 121

Thriving in Life

In this episode, we discuss the various ways in which both our lives seem to be going swimmingly at this point, and then meander around various business-type things around hiring, organisational design, culture and a few other bits. Enjoy xx Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments ...

Dec 06, 202150 minEp. 120

Trying to Understand Crypto

In this episode we go over our histories with crypto, how we understand it, plans for the future and a short overview of NFTs. Resources mentioned: https://tim.blog/2021/03/08/vitalik-buterin-naval-ravikant/ https://tim.blog/2021/10/28/chris-dixon-naval-ravikant/ https://www.acquired.fm/ Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We...

Nov 02, 20211 hr 3 minEp. 119

Critiquing Ali's life choices

In this episode we discuss angel investing and going back to school. Taimur analyzes my life choices and offers some insight on my future plans. Enjoy! Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or if you've go...

Oct 25, 202147 minEp. 118

How can we find peace in our lives?

In this episode, Taimur shares his continuing woes about his calendar. We discuss the zen, peaceful nature of Benjamin Franklin’s calendar, and Ali attempts to coach Taimur through finding more peace in his life. Enjoy! Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our e...

Oct 18, 202140 minEp. 117

The Asymmetry of Cringe

In this episode, we discuss the philosophy of “cringe”, and opine about the shrinking of the “cringe” overton window, especially amongst the youth of today. Enjoy! Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or ...

Oct 11, 202145 minEp. 116

Why are we running these businesses?

We get back from a low optionality trip to Croatia and talk about how it went. This leads us to talk about why we’re doing what we’re doing with our lives. Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include more listener comments and questions in our episodes. If you've got any thoughts on this episode, or if you'v...

Sep 27, 202153 minEp. 115

How to Setup a New Social Life

In this episode, we discuss Ali’s new move to the big city of London, and Taimur shares some thoughts on how to setup the optimum social life. We also end up talking about the power of calendars and Ali’s recent journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery. Enjoy! Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if you're not on an iPhone :) Send us an Audio Message We really want to include...

Aug 23, 202150 minEp. 114

What is the purpose of group holidays?

For the first time in the history of the podcast we have a six people on this episode - a new record for Not Overthinking. Given that we're on a group holiday in the Cotswolds, we discuss the purpose of group holidays, why they're different to socialising in everyday life as well as whether we should be doing work in these settings and how this might affect the experience of others in the group. Enjoy :) Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a rev...

Aug 18, 20211 hrEp. 113

Do we have a specific personality type?

After discussing why we've become consistently inconsistent in publishing episodes (sorry, not sorry), we spend the rest of this episode discussing the Enneagram - a model of the human psyche made up of nine interconnected personality types. Ali is fairly certain of his own type and so we move onto to trying to figure out which type best describes Taimur and ask how much can we really trust these types of test. Enjoy Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to l...

Aug 08, 202143 minEp. 112

Why is agency a precious resource?

We're back into our weekly schedule and in this episode, after diving into why Taimur has signed up to do a triathlon and why Ali suddenly wants a dog, we discuss thoughts on autonomy sparked by an interesting article by Simon Sarris which describes why agency is the most precious resource. Enjoy :) Links The Most Precious Resource is Agency Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review on iTunes / Apple Podcasts. Here's a link that works even if...

Jul 12, 202154 minEp. 111

Why are childhood memories so varied?

In this episode of the podcast, after Ali explains the revelations he’s had about his business, we take a trip down memory lane. Following a family trip to the area where we grew up, we reflect on our emotional experience of revisiting the sites of our early childhood as well as the memories we have of that time. From lying on the floor to kiss chase to running away from home, we each seem to have certain moments that stand out from those early years. We talk about why certain experiences seem t...

Jul 05, 202149 minEp. 110

What do debates on Twitter reveal about identity?

After a short sabbatical from recording, we’re back once again. In this episode, we catch up with what’s been going on in our lives over the past few weeks before discussing why certain tweets end up becoming more contentious than intended and how identities can be revealed through how people respond to certain tweets. We also debate some of Taimur's recent book suggestions which Ali has found to be surprisingly good. Leave us a Review If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to ...

Jun 21, 202157 minEp. 109

Online Dating and Unconditional Parenting

After a few weeks away, we’re back with another episode that dives into Ali’s dating life and explores more theories and ideas around children and parenting. We first discuss the etiquettes and expectations of texting on dating apps and what’s considered a ‘normal’ amount of interaction before asking someone out for a coffee or a meal. We then shift gears and move onto exploring Taimur’s theories around intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as the ideas from Unconditional Parenting – a book...

Jun 01, 202146 minEp. 108

Starting A Charity, Having An Impact and An Important Pledge

This week we’re joined by returning guest to the podcast, Lucia, to talk about her charity work. We discuss her reasons for starting her charity, LEEP, her experiences since it was formed and the impact that it’s had. We talk about what motivates us to pursue different causes and where we can have the most impact and then finally, at the end of the podcast, Taimur takes a very important pledge. Enjoy :) Links LEEP Charity Give Well Essay - On Caring Join our Membership Community Thing If you'd l...

May 10, 20211 hr 23 minEp. 107

Guitars, WeWork & The Curse of Knowledge

After a couple of weeks away, we’re back with updates on what we’ve been up to since our last recorded episode. From Taimur’s live rendition of Brown Eyed Girl to Ali’s discovery of WeWork to a conversation on the value of business coaches, we cover a lot of ground in this typically wide-ranging episode. Enjoy :) Join our Membership Community Thing If you'd like to potentially join the Not Overthinking membership community thing (we discuss it halfway through this episode), please fill out your ...

May 03, 20211 hr 8 minEp. 106

Anna Codrea-Rado (Author & Podcaster) on Writing, Careers & The Changing Nature of Work

This week we’ve got another in-betweenisode because our diaries didn’t match up for us to record a podcast so we’re releasing an interview that Ali recently did with journalist, author and podcaster Anna Codrea-Rado. Anna worked for VICE and the Guardian before going freelance 4 years ago and her articles now appear in the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, Wired, the Atlantic, Vice, and loads of others. She’s just released her first book entitled “You’re the Business: How to build a successful ...

Apr 26, 20211 hr 23 minEp. 105

How should we treat children? (A Brief Discussion)

In this short episode, we continue our recent discussions around how kids are treated in society. We talk about a recent post by Duncan Sabien which raises four main points about how we treat, or should treat, children and talk about how it relates to our own experience as kids. After a brief update about Ali’s latest gaming troubles, we bring the episode to an early end. We’ll be back with a longer episode next week. Links Duncan Sabien Post ------------------------- Sponsored by Skillshare Thi...

Apr 19, 202127 minEp. 104

Toxic Productivity, Competition & Framing Work

After a week away, we’re back with a typically wide-ranging episode. Our discussion ranges from toxic productivity to mindsets around competition and competitiveness to how we should frame the abstract nature of work that we ‘have’ to do. Ali’s also looking for a name for his new stationary brand so if you have any suggestions then please send them in. Thank you for listening and please leave us a review if you can. Enjoy. Sponsored by Brilliant This episode is kindly supported by Brilliant, the...

Apr 12, 202149 minEp. 103

Brandon Sanderson (Best-Selling Author) on Writing, Careers and Finding Your Passion

Hey everyone - another bit of an 'in-between'-isode this week. In this episode, Ali talks to Brandon Sanderson - his favourite author of all time. Brandon is a best-selling author who has written books that have sold millions of copies including the incredible fantasy books, Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. He also wrote the final 3 books of The Wheel of Time series. Brandon's output is legendary - he writes books almost faster than we can read them, and he teaches creative writing at Brigha...

Apr 05, 20211 hr 35 minEp. 102

Reflections on 100 Episodes

In this episode, we look back over the past two years of recording this podcast. We discuss why we think it’s lasted so long, reflect on how the podcast has changed over the two years since we began recording in March 2019 and finally consider whether we should think more about our target audience and we try to break down why people listen. Sponsored by Brilliant This episode is kindly supported by Brilliant, the best way to learn maths, science, and computer science online. Brilliant focuses on...

Mar 29, 20211 hr 8 minEp. 101

Should we optimise our relationships?

In this episode, we're joined by Joey Savoie , co-founder of Charity Entrepreneurship. Joey's an expert at 'spreadsheetising' all aspects of his life, including health, relationships and careers to have the biggest impact on the world. Our wide-ranging conversation discusses the extent to which we can (or should) quantify our lives, and Ali gets a lot of dating advice as well. Enjoy Links Charity Entrepreneurship --------------------------------------- Sponsored by Skillshare This episode is kin...

Mar 22, 20212 hr 16 minEp. 100
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