Do you feel like you keep on doing more, but are never doing enough? Do you feel guilty when you take time off? The struggle of productivity anxiety is common in our achievement and productivity-focused society. In today’s episode of Your Life in Process, join Dr. Diana Hill and frequent contributor Dr. Judson Brewer as they discuss focusing on enjoying the journey of life rather than the outcome. Freedom begins with a shift in attention toward your human yearnings.

About Dr. Judson Brewer

Jud Brewer MD PhD (“Dr. Jud”) is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, having combined over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research therein. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry at the Schools of Public Health & Medicine at Brown University. He is also the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare Inc. and a research affiliate at MIT. A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI and EEG neurofeedback. He is the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits and the New York Times best-seller, Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. Follow him on Twitter @drjudbrewer

Key Takeaways

• Our culture has defined productivity in very specific ways, which may contribute to feelings of stress about never doing enough.
• Awareness of the journey of life rather than the destination can lead to freedom from unhelpful striving.
• Taking breaks and engaging in values-driven action is key to well-being.

Related Resources

• Download Your Daily Practice for this episode
• Find out what kind of Striver you are and get your free Skillful Striving Toolkit
• Learn more about InsightLA
• Watch Dr. Jud and Diana at the From Striving to Thriving Summit 1.0
• Learn More About Dr. Jud
• Read Dr. Jud’s books: The Craving Mind and Unwinding Anxiety
• Read the Poem Productivity Anxiety by Rupi Kaur in Homebody
• Learn more about humans as hunter-gatherers Read Sapiens by Yval Noah Harari
• Want to learn more about “completion lists” vs. “to-do lists”? Read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkman
• Curious about core human yearnings? Read A Liberated Mind by Steven Hayes
• Listen to Diana’s Episode with Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi

Diana’s Events

• Reserve your spot in Diana’s Reset and Restore Retreat in Costa Rica in 2023!
• Sign up for Diana’s From Striving to Thriving Summit!
• See Diana at an upcoming event

Connecting With Diana

Thank you for listening to Your Life in Process! Subscribe to the podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. If you have any questions or feedback you can contact Diana by email podcast@yourlifeinprocess.com or leave Diana an audio message at (805) 457-2776. Follow Diana at YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.

Thank you to the team Craig, Angela Stubbs, Ashley Hiatt, and Abby Diehl. Thank you to Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Remember when you become psychologically flexible, you become free.

Episode Segments

• [00:00] Introduction
• [00:26] Taking A Break
• [03:41] Sponsor: InsightLA
• [04:57] What Is Productivity Anxiety?
• [06:20] Where Does Productivity Anxiety Come From?
• [11:13] Where Do People Get Stuck In Productivity Anxiety?
• [14:40] Diana’s Productivity Anxiety
• [16:46] The Hungry Ghost
• [17:34] Dr. Jud’s Experience With Productivity
• [22:12] Self-as-prize And Self-as-shield
• [25:55] Destination Vs. Journey
• [29:35] Dr. Jud’s Tips For Productivity Anxiety
• [31:22] Your Daily Practice
• [36:38] Connect With The Podcast