Celeste Headlee on Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

Show Notes

• To purchase Celeste’s new book visit https://amzn.to/2PSSZ4X
• 2:45 — Ian welcomes back Celeste to The Better Show.
• 4:14 — Why slowing down and learning to sometimes “do nothing” is a important to our individual health and well-being.
• 8:20 — Ian asks whether the idea of overworking is a cultural phenomenon or if it is just a western trait.
• 10:10 — We learn about the “hedonic treadmill” and how this adaptation of human psychology affects our behaviors towards work, money, and time.
• 12:30 —Celeste shares the story of how she came to a turning point with her work-life balance and how being out of balance deeply affected her health and happiness.
• 18:00 — How the things we do to save time end up costing us time in the long run.
• 19:18 — How the invention of the steam engine completely transformed the way we think about (and value) time.
• 21:21 — If we’ve adopted all these time saving techniques and technologies, why aren’t we working fewer hours each week compared to how we worked 50 years ago?
• 22:54 — Celeste shares things we can do to begin to recapture our time and increase the quality of our lives.
• 23:32 — Why digital communication tends not to save us time.
• 26:20 — Ian asks whether we have to shun technology if we are going to recapture the quality of our lives.
• 28:20 — How multitasking can actually do cognitive damage to your brain.
• 31:11 — Why Celeste makes it a point to throw more parties.
• 32:00 — How the changes that Celeste made in her life really constituted a lifestyle change and how she introduced the change with her friends.
• 34:00—Are we obsessed with researching decisions to death at the expense of actually making the decision?
• 39:50 — The one thing that Celeste recommends people start with in order to make progress on this aspect of their life: do a time audit to see how you are REALLY spending your time.
• 43:01 — Ian asks Darren and March to share their impressions of the interview with Celeste and Darren draws a parallel between Celeste’s concept of “doing nothing” and the Slow Food Movement.
• 44:12 — March reflects on the difference between the tool and the implementation of the tool.
• 47:20 — Ian reflects on how he wants more meaning and intention in how he spends his time.
• 49:16 — Darren shares how Celeste’s observation of the hedonic treadmill seemed, to him, like a very deep truth about the human condition.
• 50:05 — March offers the suggestion of a well-being audit to get a sense for what things in life cause you happiness and unhappiness.
• 52:14 — Ian shares how Celeste’s insights on the history were helpful in giving him an idea of how different generations have different perspectives on their values.
• 55:22 — March reflects on the value of questioning our cultural assumptions about time equaling money.
• 59:47 — The team ends on a note of optimism about the future and our ability to use Celeste’s observations to improve our future.

Mentions

• 📖 Book: Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee