When the pandemic forced companies to transition to remote work, the conventional wisdom was that the economy, writ large, would take a 15 – 20% productivity haircut. Right out of the gate.

While that hasn’t panned out (yet), it does give a window into what management is thinking. 

We have an affirmative duty to boost our productivity right now. To show management that we can do this. And podcasts may well be the lynchpin to making that happen.

As an advocate of remote work, I recognize we’re holding this Fabrege opportunity in our hands. Equal parts beautiful, valuable, and, fragile. Let’s try and not mess it up.

Here are five ways a podcast regime can boost your productivity. 

5. Reframe Procrastination

Be productive. Always be doing something. Activity for activity’s sake. These are mantras that are pounded into our heads with all the subtly of John Bonham. But the truth of the matter is that sometimes procrastination can be good.

Taking a break can be a good thing. A little bit of downtime can actually boost the hours we are working and produce a net positive result. In fact, burning the candle at both ends is deleterious. The numbers don’t lie.

Podcasts shine here because they allow us to reframe time we take for ourselves as productive time. Downtime isn’t wasted time. It’s time spent recharging.

Something You Should Know

Mike Carruthers hosts an actionable podcast with the premise that even the smallest nugget of wisdom, the tiniest idea, can be a catalyst for enormous change. In this episode, his guest, Dominic Vogue, discusses why procrastination actually does us quite a bit of good. Phew.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify 

HBR IdeaCast – In a Fast World, Think Slowly

This is an oldie but a goodie at this point, but Frank Partnoy wrote the book on reframing procrastinations’ value. Arguing counterintuitive points is something lawyers are great at, so being a professor of law and finance in the sleepy hamlet of San Diego ought to give you some serious bona fides on the subject.

This is from way back in 2012 before podcasting was really an established medium, but the points are no less relevant in 2020.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

4. Start the Day on the Right Foot

Productive people time block and let the data guide them towards their highest and best outcomes. Sounds pretty positive, doesn’t it? 

Science tells us that for most people, the most productive time of the day for deep work is between 8 am and when you take lunch. This means that the time before this is a great time to prime the cognitive pump to get the idea molecules bouncing around the inside of your head.

The 5 AM Miracle

As self-improvement podcasts go, Jeff Sanders is a bouncy, affable, and effective host. He’d better be. He’s suggesting that he can get me to bounce out of bed at 5AM ready to conquer the day. 

A bold claim made even bolder by the fact that the show is released Monday morning. You have to admire the confidence. Thus far, I’d say I’ve noticed a marked improvement in my 5AM demeanor.

Develop your own routine, sure, but start here. You could do a lot worse…

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

3. Revive Dead Periods in Your Day

No matter how effective you are at time blocking, you’re going to end up with pockets of dead space in your day. Little breaks between meetings. The commute. Waiting in line at the bank or the grocery store. 

All of these little breaks have traditionally been lost opportunities. The best-case scenario was you could pop into the middle of a radio show and try to get up to speed. Not a guarantee. Dead space in your day was the equivalent of dead air.

But with podcasts, these opportunities can be capitalized on. Everyone should be walking around with a queue full of short, down to 5 minute, shows all the way up to over an hour. Find the shows that fit the gaps in your day like so many Tetris pieces.

We just published a list of self-improvement podcasts that are under 30 minutes in length, but here are a few more to plug those time leaks.

5 Minute Biographies

Just as the name would imply, learn about someone’s life in five minutes. Great for cocktail parties.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

5 Minute Dharma

We can all invest a few minutes to be calmer. Especially in line at the bank.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Yahoo Finance Market Minute

Confused about the markets? Who isn’t? Start with this one-minute primer for the day.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

2. Establish A Routine

Podcasts are fantastic anchor points in your day. Start in the morning. Catch up with one in the background while you enjoy the post-lunch work session. Pick something an hour-long to actually hit the gym. Successful people thrive on routines, so do likewise.

However you decide to slot podcasts into your day, if you do so with regularity, they become self-reinforcing cornerstones of your daily/weekly routine. 

A routine serves as a foundation for anything creative or spontaneous to jump off of. So why not start with a few podcasts that highlight the habits and routines of the highly successful?

Beyond the To-Do List

Beyond the To-Do List is a podcast that I’ve touched on before because it’s just that good. It contains great advice that is actionable on a daily basis. When you’re establishing new routines, step 1 is to listen to this podcast. Step 2 is to implement what Erik shares with the listeners.

The rest comes naturally.

Listen: Apple Podcast | Stitcher | Spotify

1. Make You an Idea Machine

Podcasts can really help you create a lifestyle that exercises your mind. Oscillating between periods of intense stimulation and rest. Ok, effective procrastination.

The result is a mind that has a finely honed skill set for the 21st century. Namely, podcasts can help set you up to be an idea machine. There isn’t a tremendous amount of value in being a worker bee anymore. You don’t want to be a cog in the machine… you want to design the machine.

And the only way to do that is to flex that idea muscle constantly. The only way to come up with one good idea is to entertain 10,000 bad ones.

Podcasts fill this need for exposure to new and foreign ideas. Plant the seeds and see what grows.

Powerful Nonsense

Cem and Wayne cover the intersection of business and art. That’s quite the Venn diagram in the human compendium of subjects, but somehow, these guys pull it off. 2020 has seen a hiccup in published episodes, but maybe if we ping them enough online they’ll bring it back.

This episode has them specifically discussing in some depth the notion that ideas are the new currency. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Listen Notes 

Conclusion

Podcasts are an excellent indirect, as well as a direct, tool for boosting your productivity. The world has been completely flipped on its head and it is going to be difficult to go back to the way things were at work.

It is up to each and every worker to find, within themselves, the ability to be productive while navigating what has disappointingly been dubbed “the new normal.” Really uninspired.

I hope you can take some of these shows and episodes as a jumping-off point for your own podcast fueled productivity journey. I would love to know what you’re listening to and how you’re staying productive as we march towards 2021.