How to Enjoy Doing Hard Things (ft. Ali Abdaal)

It’s easy to assume that the hustle culture or “the grind” is all about pain and suffering. But as you’ll learn today, this simply isn’t true.

In today’s episode, I’m talking to Ali Abdaal, a former medical doctor turned YouTuber and author of the new book, Feel-Good Productivity. Ali has attracted millions of global followers to his ideas on productivity and working because he’s managed to do what others have not: actually make it fun. It turns out that finding ways to make your work fun doesn’t just make you hate your life less, it actually makes you more productive.

CHAPTERS

Chapters

• 00:00:00 | Introduction
• 00:03:38 | Our biggest misconception about productivity
• 00:05:38 | Emotions and productivity
• 00:08:47 | Mark’s epiphany on book writing
• 00:10:12 | Compounding returns on productivity
• 00:12:09 | Should we have zero distractions?
• 00:14:38 | Skills behind Ali’s success as a doctor and YouTuber
• 00:18:12 | What happens when you stop having fun
• 00:19:15 | “It’s all creative work”
• 00:22:26 | Making fitness fun
• 00:27:07 | The two types of productivity advice
• 00:32:55 | Can work-life balance get you to success?
• 00:35:27 | How to “feel good” in productivity
• 00:39:21 | The problem with caring too much what others think
• 00:42:52 | Experimentation as Ali’s way of life

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