Undo – How history's outliers got stuff done - podcast cover

Undo – How history's outliers got stuff done

Mark Steadmanwww.undo.fm
An investigation into how history’s oddballs, outliers, and overachievers built systems to help them do their best work. Each episode unearths a so-called productivity hack from history to help you separate the brilliant from the bullshit, so you can build a methodology that works for you. Productivity isn’t about getting more done to feed a money-seeking monster with an ever-growing appetite. It’s about clearing the clutter so you can focus on what you do best. Because if Edison can invent the lightbulb without Inbox Zero, you can probably survive without 10x-ing your toothbrush routine.
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Episodes

Why I'm ditching Spotify and why you should too

Recently it’s come to our attention that Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, who Forbes estimates is worth over $10 billion , is now investing some of the money he makes off the back of Spotify subscriptions to fund military drones . This is via a company called Helsing , who provide what they call “precision mass and autonomous capabilities to democracies so they can deter and protect”. I’m removing Undo and all of my other content from Spotify, as I don’t want my content to fund any kind of militar...

Jun 25, 20251 min

Congrats, you’re burned out! Here’s what to do next

Burnout is something that affects neurotypicals and neurospicies alike, so today we’re going to find out what it looks like so you can spot it whether it’s in the distance or right up in your grill, and more importantly we’ll look at what we can do about it. Check out our guest's podcast, You Are Not a Frog . Am I Stressed, Overwhelmed... or Burning Out? Get your free guide to help you tell the difference Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Joi...

Jun 15, 202523 minEp. 23

You aren’t lazy; you’re fighting a broken system – Ignacio Martín-Baró

Modern work pressures call for some radical resistance, and we’re going to look for it where resistance is needed most: the frontline battle against oppression. Check out our guest's podcast, You Are Not a Frog . Am I Stressed, Overwhelmed... or Burning Out? Get your free guide to help you tell the difference Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Jun 08, 202524 minEp. 22

“Busy is the New Stupid” – What does Warren Buffett know about real work?

Is there anything this 94 year-old business mogul can teach us about our attitude towards work and busyness? Check out our guest's podcast, You Are Not a Frog . Am I Stressed, Overwhelmed... or Burning Out? Get your free guide to help you tell the difference Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Jun 01, 202522 minEp. 21

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Productivity

Highlights from Mark's podcast dedicated to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , which covers – if not skewers – the subject of productivity in the loving image of Douglas Adams. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

May 25, 202531 min

How to remember everything — Tiago Forte and his Second Brain

We need a system to keep our brain clear of all those nagging little tasks and bits of info we arry with us, so it can focus on having better ideas. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

May 18, 202527 minEp. 20

How to build a car or plan a wedding using Kanban

We can learn a lot from the world of manufacture and bring it into the work that we do. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

May 11, 202520 minEp. 19

Why giving less than 100% is better for your health

The whip-cracking "give it all you got" business bro bullshit isn’t just insensitive – it’s actually wrong. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

May 04, 202518 minEp. 18

Buckminster Fuller and the system of You

Modern work needs a more modern approach than Taylorism's simple "one right way". Enter systems theory, and one of its greatest proponents. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Apr 27, 202521 minEp. 17

What Sherlock Holmes can teach us about productivity and our brains

He’s the world’s first and only consulting detective, and his mind has fascinated us for over a hundred and thirty years. His methods are mysterious and complex, but goddammit he gets results. So what can Baker Street’s most famous resident teach us about how we do our most important work? Special thanks to this week's guest, Matthew Bellringer . Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Apr 20, 202525 minEp. 16

How to stick to it when the novelty wears off – Atomic Habits

Could there be more to habit building than “just showing up”? On those days when you can’t find the inspiration, is there anything you can do to help keep you on track? Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Apr 13, 202527 minEp. 15

How to turn your side hustle into your main gig – “The One Thing”

While we might not come up with a paradigm-shifting idea, we are capable of putting a dent in the universe, and putting something on the permanent record of the Internet. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Apr 06, 202528 minEp. 14

20% of your effort makes up 80% of your success — The Pareto principle

How you can use this law of nature, work, productivity and creativity to focus on the stuff that will have the biggest impact, and eventually ditch the rest. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Mar 30, 202526 minEp. 13

How to be a polymath – Leonardo da Vinci

Being a creative person in this most digital of decades means needing to be good at more than one form of creative expression. That means thinking like a polymath, and luckily we have history’s greatest multi-hyphenate to learn from. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Mar 24, 202524 minEp. 12

The super-productive women missing from time management history

Let’s spend a bit of time today with some of the women of productivity history, some of whom you know, some we’ll meet for the first time. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Mar 17, 202521 minEp. 11

How Ben Franklin used timeboxing to stop missing deadlines

If you have to meet any kind of regular publishing schedule, you’ll know how time can stretch out into infinity until the night before you have to hit Publish, when suddenly it feels like you have to cram 8 hours of work into 30 minutes. But Benjamin Franklin had a neat little system that helped him keep on top of his commitments, and all it takes is a pen, some paper, and a watch. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&amp...

Mar 10, 202522 minEp. 10

What happened to the Inbox Zero guy?

Inbox Zero is a pretty good way of organising your email, but behind the system is a dude who stepped off the hamster wheel of productivity, got some perspective, and became one of the Internet’s true treasures. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Mar 03, 202527 minEp. 9

How to make fewer mistakes – The Checklist Manifesto

Simple mistakes are more common than it’s comfortable to admit. But there’s a dirt-simple technique that has dramatically reduced the number of preventable deaths, and it’s stuff we can use to make our own lives run more smoothly. Thanks to Ayesha Khan of Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* for lending her voice to Mark's silly opening sketch. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Feb 24, 202524 minEp. 8

How to work when the sky’s caving in — Lincoln vs Churchill

When things look bleak, either in your head or out in the world, being “productive” is probably the furthest thing from your mind. We live in difficult times, no doubt, but two outliers a hundred years apart, fought oppression, propaganda, and dehumanisation all while under their own personal dark clouds. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Feb 17, 202527 minEp. 7

Bullet Journal – Productive or performative?

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? Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Feb 10, 202521 minEp. 6

How to get into the zone — Flow

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. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Feb 03, 202520 minEp. 5

The tomato of productivity – the Pomodoro Technique

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? Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Jan 27, 202519 minEp. 4

Do the worst thing first thing (”Eat the frog”)

“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? Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Jan 20, 202516 minEp. 3

Work expands to fill the time available – Parkinson’s Law

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. Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon...

Jan 13, 202514 minEp. 2

The Eisenhower Matrix – Decision-making in the White House

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? Support the show from $3 and get Episodes early and ad-free Join our listener community Join Mark for monthly Q&As Support Undo via Patreon

Jan 06, 202514 minEp. 1

Introducing Undo

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...

Nov 08, 20241 min
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