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The Human Flourishing Project

The Human Flourishing Project

By Alex Epstein

Hi, I'm Alex Epstein.

I started the Human Flourishing project to tackle the problem I care about most: human beings lack reliable access to the knowledge we need to flourish.
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Episode 6: Respecting context and independence

The Human Flourishing ProjectSep 07, 2018

00:00
36:16
Episode 98: How to not be tired

Episode 98: How to not be tired

Alex Epstein discusses how he is able to work long hours while rarely feeling tired or fatigued.

He identifies four ways others can have the same experience:

1. Develop deep nighttime empathy with “morning guy”
2. Discover and liberally utilize “inevitable rejuvenation practices”
3. Separate proactive and reactive time
4. Cultivate a love of working energized and a hatred of working while tired

Jul 06, 202116:05
Episode 97: The Wisdom of Effortless

Episode 97: The Wisdom of Effortless

Alex Epstein discusses Greg McKeown's new book Effortless, how Alex had benefited from the chapters on Rest and Pace, and how separating proactive and reactive time can make the principles of Effortless even more effortless.

Jun 08, 202121:02
Episode 96: How lucky we are to be alive right now

Episode 96: How lucky we are to be alive right now

Alex Epstein discusses how to appreciate the many great things that exist today that didn't exist even in the recent past.

May 17, 202120:43
Episode 95: The joy of security

Episode 95: The joy of security

Alex Epstein discusses his equation for "time security"--expected resources outstrip current commitments + expected threats--and how keeping this equation positive has an enormous impact on happiness.

May 03, 202121:43
Best-of: The three ingredients of relaxed productivity (with bonus content)

Best-of: The three ingredients of relaxed productivity (with bonus content)

On this best-of-HFP, Alex Epstein discusses the three ingredients of relaxed productivity—inevitably productive processes, high-altitude planning, and real rejuvenation—along with one poison: focus-destroyers. This version features a new introduction in which Alex talks more about his recent experience with inevitably productive processes.

Apr 13, 202126:36
Episode 94: Dynamic, handwritten journaling

Episode 94: Dynamic, handwritten journaling

Alex Epstein discusses how the handwriting experience of the modern iPad makes possible an unprecedented form of journaling that can make your reflections on life far more effective.

Mar 29, 202119:05
Episode 93: How to identify your best practices and bad practices

Episode 93: How to identify your best practices and bad practices

Alex Epstein discusses several ways to identify easy-to-implement best practices that will improve our lives, and easy-to-eliminate bad practices that are unnecessarily undercutting our lives.

Mar 16, 202125:24
Episode 92: Vision and persistence

Episode 92: Vision and persistence

Alex Epstein discusses, using Richard Hamming's allegory about a drunken sailor, why vision and persistence are the two most powerful elements of productivity within our direct control.

Mar 02, 202117:02
Episode 91: Overcoming the Problems of Today's Social Media -- with Brian Amerige

Episode 91: Overcoming the Problems of Today's Social Media -- with Brian Amerige

Alex brings on Brian Amerige, with whom he cofounded Thoughtful, to discuss the problems of social media today and how to overcome them. They discuss:
- Is there any role for government in the content policies of social media platforms?
- What content policy would make Facebook or Twitter a better "marketplace of ideas"--or is that even possible given the purpose of these platforms?
- What it takes to create a real alternative to mainstream platforms, and where Parler and Gab have struggled.
- The purpose and evolution of Thoughtful, Brian and Alex's platform that is "the one place on the Internet that's exclusively for thoughtful content."
- How to get on the waiting list for Thoughtful.

Feb 13, 202158:11
Episode 90: Mindsets for overcoming adverse circumstances

Episode 90: Mindsets for overcoming adverse circumstances

Alex Epstein discusses two mindsets that can advance one's career even when one is starting from the most adverse circumstances: "customer obsession" and "100% responsibility."

Feb 01, 202122:32
Episode 89: Productive role models for 2021

Episode 89: Productive role models for 2021

Alex Epstein discusses several characteristics that unite his productive role models for 2021, including focus, optimizing for value creation over advertising, and having very little need for short-term feedback.

Jan 18, 202114:31
Episode 88: Lessons from work fortnights

Episode 88: Lessons from work fortnights

Alex Epstein discusses some lessons that his experimentation with "work fortnights"--11 days on, 3 days off--has reinforced.

Jan 04, 202113:59
Episode 87: 6 kinds of focus

Episode 87: 6 kinds of focus

Alex Epstein discusses 6 kinds of focus that make individuals more productive and fulfilled:

1) focusing on a high-value and meaningful market

2) focusing on an area of comparative advantage

3) focusing on the most valuable few projects

4) focusing on performing your core work

5) focusing on inevitably productive processes

6) focusing on your progress

Dec 21, 202034:33
Episode 86: "Performance time" vs. "feedback time"

Episode 86: "Performance time" vs. "feedback time"

Alex Epstein discusses one of his biggest productive breakthroughs to date: maximum separation of "performance time" and "feedback time."

Dec 07, 202026:27
Episode 85: How to spend time

Episode 85: How to spend time

Alex Epstein discusses one of life's basic questions--"How do I spend the very limited time I have on Earth?"--and shares three techniques for answering it: life-blocking, ranked lists, and calendar comprehensiveness.

Nov 23, 202040:16
Episode 84: The wisdom of Cal Newport

Episode 84: The wisdom of Cal Newport

Alex Epstein discusses the work and new podcast of Cal Newport, his favorite thinker on productivity.

Nov 09, 202026:50
Episode 83: The danger of moral safety

Episode 83: The danger of moral safety

Alex Epstein discusses why he is suspicious of any “morally safe” activity—any easy way to be seen by oneself or others as a good person. Doing the “morally safe” thing, he argues, often involves 1) a lack of critical thinking, 2) wasting time, and 3) acting on unhealthy motives.

Oct 26, 202030:27
Episode 82: The three ingredients of relaxed productivity

Episode 82: The three ingredients of relaxed productivity

Alex Epstein discusses the three ingredients of relaxed productivity—inevitably productive processes, high-altitude planning, and real rejuvenation—along with one poison: focus-destroyers.

Oct 12, 202024:09
Episode 81: Learning from master practitioner-teachers

Episode 81: Learning from master practitioner-teachers

Alex Epstein discusses why we should seek out the rare phenomenon of the master practitioner-teacher wherever we can find it, using Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' new business book as an example.

Sep 28, 202016:38
Episode 80: Avoiding overwhelm (part 2)

Episode 80: Avoiding overwhelm (part 2)

Alex Epstein discusses how to avoid overwhelm when one feels totally overcommitted for the upcoming week. The key is "calendar comprehensiveness," which Alex shares a quick process for achieving.

Sep 14, 202019:42
Episode 79: Avoiding overwhelm

Episode 79: Avoiding overwhelm

Alex Epstein discusses three interrelated ways to avoid the pervasive problem of “overwhelm”: time blocking, choosing projects carefully, and scoping projects carefully.

Aug 31, 202025:40
Episode 78: Best-case, worst-case thinking

Episode 78: Best-case, worst-case thinking

Alex Epstein discusses how thinking through best-case and worst-case scenarios can dramatically improve anything from the planning of your week to a hiring decision to a new project.

Aug 17, 202023:31
Episode 77: Working easier through strategic discipline

Episode 77: Working easier through strategic discipline

Alex Epstein discusses the main resolution he made upon turning 40: being more disciplined about setting the right conditions for work--so that the work itself is far easier, more relaxed, and more enjoyable.

Aug 03, 202026:21
Episode 76: When it’s difficult to get started

Episode 76: When it’s difficult to get started

Alex Epstein discusses what to do when you’re having trouble getting started on a valuable activity, from a workout to a challenging project.

Jul 20, 202029:34
Episode 75: Being proactive about health

Episode 75: Being proactive about health

Alex epstein discusses why the mainstream approach tends to be reactive, and how to take a more proactive approach to health--including nutrition, breathing, and stress management.

Jul 06, 202020:26
Episode 74: Focus and opportunity cost

Episode 74: Focus and opportunity cost

Alex Epstein discusses the value of focus and the “opportunity cost” of dividing focus by doing multiple projects at once.

Jun 22, 202029:38
Episode 73: How to think constructively about public injustices

Episode 73: How to think constructively about public injustices

Alex Epstein discusses how to think about the recent death of George Floyd and other public injustices. He shares four useful questions to ask:

1) What actually happened?
2) What, if any, mistakes in policy caused this to happen?
3) What changes in policy are being proposed?
4) What are the likely positive and negative consequences of the proposed policies?

Jun 08, 202028:06
Episode 72: Mining the past

Episode 72: Mining the past

Alex Epstein discusses how to mine the past for things we used that worked well—but that for some reason we stopped doing.

May 25, 202025:54
Episode 71: An organism-based understanding of the new Coronavirus

Episode 71: An organism-based understanding of the new Coronavirus

Alex Epstein interviews Katherine Epstein, MD, on how to understand the new Coronavirus and other infectious diseases from an “organism-based” perspective.

May 11, 202001:10:19
Episode 70: Triumphing Over Distraction

Episode 70: Triumphing Over Distraction

Alex Epstein shares concepts and tactics he has developed to avoid destructive distractions.

May 02, 202023:28
Episode 69: The disruption playlist

Episode 69: The disruption playlist

Alex Epstein shares a “playlist” of Human Flourishing Project episodes with helpful tactics for dealing with disruption. He also answers a listener question about how to productively deal with fear.

Apr 24, 202026:43
Episode 68: Triumphing over disruption (part 2)

Episode 68: Triumphing over disruption (part 2)

In the second Human Flourishing Project live workshop Alex Epstein guides participants through an updated version of the “Triumphing Over Disruption” exercise.

Apr 18, 202040:18
Episode 67: Triumphing over disruption (part 1)

Episode 67: Triumphing over disruption (part 1)

In the first ever Human Flourishing Project live workshop Alex Epstein guides participants through the “Triumphing Over Disruption” exercise.

Apr 11, 202001:01:09
Episode 66: Flourishing during a massive disruption (part 2)

Episode 66: Flourishing during a massive disruption (part 2)

Alex Epstein discusses a powerful question for coming up with creative ways to improve life during a massive disruption.

Apr 04, 202026:48
Episode 65: Flourishing during a massive disruption (part 1)

Episode 65: Flourishing during a massive disruption (part 1)

Alex Epstein discusses strategies for transforming the massive disruption of our lives into the basis for significant personal growth.

Mar 28, 202028:20
Episode 64: Flourishing during a pandemic

Episode 64: Flourishing during a pandemic

Alex Epstein discusses some tactics for overcoming the mental and emotional challenges of the current pandemic + recession.

Mar 14, 202018:54
Episode 63: Insights on fasting and food frequency

Episode 63: Insights on fasting and food frequency

Alex Epstein is joined again by nutrition expert Ray Cronise, who shares insights on Alex’s experiments with fasting and gives Alex a new fasting goal.

Mar 14, 202043:21
Episode 62: An Invitation to Thoughtful

Episode 62: An Invitation to Thoughtful

Alex discusses his new app, Thoughtful, with cocreator Brian Amerige, and shares an exclusive invitation for Human Flourishing Project listeners.

Mar 07, 202028:24
Episode 61: Lessons From Fasting

Episode 61: Lessons From Fasting

Alex Epstein discusses what he’s learned in the attempt to incorporate more fasting into his life.

Feb 29, 202018:28
Episode 60: The value of meditation, revisited

Episode 60: The value of meditation, revisited

Alex Epstein discusses the new insights about meditation he gained from the Flow Meditation online course by James Brown.

Feb 15, 202021:15
Episode 59: The Wisdom of Terry Hayes

Episode 59: The Wisdom of Terry Hayes

Alex Epstein discusses the wisdom and inspiration he gained from reading the thriller I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes.

Jan 31, 202027:22
Episode 58: An Exploration of Expectations

Episode 58: An Exploration of Expectations

Alex Epstein discusses some challenges he have faced in setting healthy expectations for his work, and asks listeners for ideas or recommended reading on the subject.

Jan 17, 202014:40
Episode 57: The most important New Year’s resolution

Episode 57: The most important New Year’s resolution

Alex Epstein discusses three exercises to make the most out of your time in 2020.

Dec 31, 201937:14
Episode 56: Optimizing nutrition for healthspan

Episode 56: Optimizing nutrition for healthspan

Alex Epstein interviews Ray Cronise, a nutrition researcher who optimizes for “healthspan,” about his new book “The Healthspan Solution.”

Dec 16, 201948:42
Episode 55: Choosing the right thinking medium

Episode 55: Choosing the right thinking medium

Alex Epstein discusses how choosing the right medium for different kinds of thinking tasks—editing, planning, brainstorming—can make an enormous positive difference.

Dec 13, 201915:14
Episode 54: When to work “too hard”

Episode 54: When to work “too hard”

Alex Epstein discusses his recent choice to work “too hard” for 20 days straight—and how to avoid making this level of intensity a habit.

Nov 29, 201916:05
Episode 53: How to guarantee progress

Episode 53: How to guarantee progress

Alex Epstein discusses what he has learned over the last year about how to guarantee progress on long, difficult project.

Nov 15, 201916:33
Episode 52: Mastering 80%

Episode 52: Mastering 80%

Alex Epstein discusses what he has learned about the “80% strategy” during a particularly intense two months of work.

Nov 02, 201928:24
Episode 51: The wisdom of Flow (part 3)

Episode 51: The wisdom of Flow (part 3)

Alex Epstein discusses how he has been applying the concepts of Flow to architect his own “flow zones” for different productive activities.

Oct 19, 201924:28
Episode 50: The value of a clear operating standard

Episode 50: The value of a clear operating standard

Alex Epstein discusses what he learned from a major achievement in the martial arts world about the value of having a clear “operating standard.”

Oct 04, 201922:26