Fewer Things Better
Life is noisy, but your brain doesn't have to be. This quick weekly conversation offers smart, simple ways to retrain your brain to hack your productivity and communicate better. Brain-science-meets-word-nerd host Kristin Graham offers shortcuts on how to navigate our cluttered digital world so you can spend more time enjoying life offline. She's done the research and tried-the-things, so you get the headlines and hacks without all the homework.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 9 minutes
- Episodes
- 175
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Ep. 75 - Be Less Excellent & More Good Enough
We all want to do more in our days, and we want what we do to be good (really good). This friction between productivity and the pursuit of perfection puts a mental toll on …
Ep. 74 - The Money Episode: Your Value vs. Math
When we talk about money, our brain lights up. Money means more than math when our sense of value is tied to the outcome. This episode offers two prompts to help assess ho…
Ep. 73 - Progress = Repetition (Get Your Brain Ready)
Borrowing an example from aerospace, this episode looks at the distance between where we are and some place higher. The Karman Line is known as the 62 miles (100 kilometers…
Ep. 72 - The (Scientific) Benefits of Spontaneity
This episode explores how being spontaneous can refresh our routines and inspire new ideas and insights. This conversation highlights the neuroscience behind the impulse to…
Ep. 71 - Yes, You Should Accept Help, Compliments, & Gifts (Here's Why...)
As a good person in the world, you do a lot for others. It’s part of who you are and part of how the world works. Reciprocity is one of the basic principles of social psych…
Ep. 70 - Brain Bookends: Productivity Tips for the First & Last Hour of Your Day
The average adult spends around 16 to 18 hours awake each day. There are two important areas of your day that have the potential to boost both your energy and your focus. T…
Ep. 69 - Productivity: The Power of Proximity (Create Your Own Peloton)
This episode looks at 'micro' productivity and how the best predictor of your personal productivity is the pace and energy of those who are around you the most. In bicycle…
Ep. 68 - The Benefit of Memories That Stick (& Those That Don't)
Our brain has a powerful processing center to keep information and memories only as long as needed. The lasting effect of the emotional, physical, and cognitive benefits fr…
Ep. 67 - 3 Ideas to Boost Your Brain Battery
Time multiplies whatever you feed it. And while it’s fun to have fun, it can be a slippery slope on the way to a mental slump. Mental and physical effort, no matter how sm…
Ep. 66 - Do More, Think Less: The Case for Being Unscripted
It's great to have a plan, but sometimes trying to have a plan stops us from actually taking action. This episode is about leaving room for the unscripted - the times when …
Ep. 65 - 3 Ways to Be a Better Listener
There are many tips on how to be a better communicator (including lots of our episodes!), but one of the most overlooked elements of a powerful conversation is active liste…
Ep. 64 - The Hidden Cost of Helping: 8 Questions to Ask Before Saying 'Yes'
It feels to do good. And we want to be good people, but helping is an investment. This episode explores some of the conscious and unconscious elements behind the decision t…
Ep. 63 - Your Brain Offline: The Benefits of a Tech Sabbatical
We’re so used to being digitally on demand that any time away from tech seems to require a pre-notification. Silently slipping offline seems a little strange. For this reas…
Ep. 62 - The Biology & Brain Science of Sudden Change
Change is always a part of life. It’s how we grow and evolve. But sudden change is a shock to the system. Whether something has happened to you or happened around you, big …
Ep. 61 – Occam's Razor: The Simplicity Tool for Overthinking
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality,” said ancient philosopher Seneca. As we contemplate the challenges before us, one way to help our brain not to sink in…
Ep. 60 - The Immediate Impact of a Day to Play
One day can make a big difference. This episode explores the idea of everyday days as a big gift in small doses. Time with no agenda offers an open playground to your brain…
Ep. 59 - How (and Why) Your Brain Loves Rewards
This episode explores how the brain is wired to respond to the promise of a reward. Our wiring for action (or inaction) runs along key pathways in the brain but the behavio…
Ep. 58 - The (Important) Difference Between Value vs. Worth
Your time and talent are valuable. There will be times where we get all that we are worth and times where we certainly don't. Worth and value carry different meanings and …
Ep. 57 - When Your Brain Needs a Sick Day
If you don’t pick a day to relax, your body will pick one for you. And when it does, you're not in charge of the agenda. I recently lived this after being sick for two wee…
Ep. 56 - The (Brain) Magic of Flow
Flow is a meta skill that enables us to better learn, enhance, and expand our existing skills. The more time you spend in flow, the more access you have to it. This goes be…