“You have to live spherically—in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm—and things will come your way.” —Federico Fellini
This week’s delightful guest, Madeleine Dore, reminded me of this wonderful quote while reading her book, one that I know you will love as much as I did: I Didn’t Do The Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt.
We talk about widening the measure and meaning of a day beyond our to-do lists, discovering the call of a new topic, shaping a big idea “blob of clay,” how she collects all the great quotes and stories for her book, why she sees herself as more of a guinea pig than an expert (and freelancer valuing independence even more than business owner), and how she decides when to sunset a project, rather than “maintaining something at all costs.”
This crossover episode originally aired on the Free Time podcast on April 25, 2023.
More About Madeleine: Madeleine Dore is a writer and interviewer exploring how we can broaden the definition of a day well spent. As a labor of love, Madeleine spent over five years asking creative thinkers how they navigate their days on her popular blog Extraordinary Routines and podcast Routines & Ruts. The lessons culminated in her first book, I Didn’t Do The Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt. Madeleine continues to write, speak and ask questions—but mostly tries to hold things lightly.
📝 Permission: Stop measuring the day by how productive you were. Be curious and expansive when reviewing your day, including your internal accomplishments, moments of connection, or even moments of idleness. Instead of trying to optimize your day only through the lens of productivity, occupy and embrace your day for what it wants to be.
✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next: Identify one area of your business or creative projects that may be languishing. What would happen if you gave yourself permission to close it out completely to create space for what’s next?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
343: 🥳 Five Questions and Attempted Answers for My 40th Birthday
342: “Whatever Comes Through Me Comes for Me First,” with Nicole Antoinette
341: Pivoting from Prestigious Consulting Jobs to the Pathless Path with Paul Millerd
340: 8 Lessons Learned from 8 Years of Hosting the Pivot Podcast
339: Moneyzen—Leaving the Cult of More with Manisha Thakor
338: Is Midlife Messing with Your Enoughness? + Busting Not Enough Scams with Mandy Lehto
337: Cut Your Losses—Even While Pivoting in Public—with Khe Hy (Free Time Crossover)
335: Be Irreplaceable with My Creative Coach Jay Acunzo (Free Time Crossover)
334: 🍩 What Do Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, and Energy Cliffs Have in Common? (Free Time Crossover — Daily Audio Diary from TED 2023)
333: Soul Shifts for the Weary with Rachel Macy Stafford
332: IFS Part(s) Two—Understanding Our “Not Enough” Exiles with Adrian Klaphaak
331: The Microstress Effect and What to Do About It with Karen Dillon
330: What Reality TV Teaches Us About Ourselves with Danielle Lindemann
329: Five Types of People-Pleasers from The Joy of Saying No with Natalie Lue
328: Accessing Your True Self Through IFS with Adrian Klaphaak
327: 🐺The Wolf You Feed — On Addiction, Recovery & Codependency — and What We Get Wrong About All Three with Eric Zimmer
326: Fool Me Once—How to Avoid Accidental and Righteous Fraud with Kelly Pope
325: 10+ Conference Networking Strategies with Alisa Cohn
324: Six Golden Shadows of the Imposter Complex with Tanya Geisler
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Reaching your Goals
Insights@work
The Ken Coleman Show
Redefiners
Elevate Your Career