# **Summary:**

In Episode #164 Ari invites PhD and author of [Two Awesome Hours](http://www.twoawesomehours.com/), Josh Davis, on the Less Doing podcast. During this week’s interview, Ari and Josh go in-depth on the subject of brains, neural programming and why working for great lengths of time is far from being the _right _way to tackle a busy schedule.

**Special Announcements:**

## Fuel the Fire Come watch Ari light-up the Drake Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday, August 5th as he delivers a rousing keynote speech for IPPA Business Excellence Conference: _Fuel the Fire_. This will be a great opportunity to watch Ari translate the lessons of Less Doing into terms business leaders can take to the bank. ## [Rockefeller Roundtable](http://helmsociety.com/ari-meisel-ceo-roundtable-nc/) Come watch Ari regale a roundtable of avid [Helm Society](http://helmsociety.com/) listeners with the lessons of Less Doing on September 9th from 10AM to 2PM in New York City.

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**Time Stamped Show Notes:**

• – 30:46 – Introduction of Josh Davis of [Two Awesome Hours](http://amzn.to/1HnFnX9)
• – 31:05 – Josh defines the [NeuroLeadership Institute](http://www.neuroleadership.com)
• – 32:47 – Josh’s background is varied but he eventually fell into psychology and research
• – 34:15 – The genesis for Two Awesome Hours
• – 34:30 – More and more—people are being _overwhelmed _with work and the natural response is to work harder, longer and more frequently—this is a terrible solution for a human being
• – 35:15 – What we _can _do, is be very effective for short bursts of time—we’re sprinters
• – 36:23 – You don’t need to be “ON” all day long
• – 37:12 – People who brag about how much work they do or how little they sleep are (for lack of a better word) foolish
• – 38:52 – The strategies Josh recommends
• – 38:58 – There really are only a handful of moments throughout the day where we can make decisions about what task to do next
• – 39:39 – Most of the time we’re rolling on auto pilot so recognize those few moments when you’re fully aware and present
• – 40:39 – Do what’s important, not what’s urgent
• – 41:12 – Time isn’t wasted during those moments we’re “in-between” tasks…time is wasted when we get started on the wrong task
• – 41:30 – Josh’s routine
• – 43:46 – Exercise has incredible short-term benefits
• – 46:00 – Things that we need to do “well” are things where we need to be _fully present_
• – 48:04 – The importance of environment and how we can improve _any _workspace
• – 49:03 – ADD isn’t a problem—that’s how your brain, your attention system, is supposed to work
• – 51:59 – Josh’s _Top 2 Tips to be More Effective_:
• – 52:07 – Learn some self-compassion
• – 52:48 – Understand that mind-wandering is completely healthy
• – 53:30 – Check out the [NeuroLeadership Institute](https://www.neuroleadership.com) and [http://www.twoawesomehours.com/](http://www.twoawesomehours.com/)

**7 Key Points:**

1. Enjoy the moments when your mind decides to wander—let it happen.
2. Your brain is naturally wired to have what essentially amounts to ADD—it’s not a problem.
3. Obtain self-compassion.
4. You can’t be “ON all day and, more importantly, you don’t need to be.
5. We can be incredibly effective for short periods of time.
6. Time isn’t wasted in-between tasks, it’s wasted when the wrong task is started.
7. Exercise has amazing and oft-overlooked short-term benefits.

**Resources Mentioned:**

[Warrant.ly](http://warrant.ly/?ref=producthunt) – Paper warranties are no more! Scan or snap a picture of your warranty and upload it to the app – [Ultradox](http://www.ultradox.com/?ref=producthunt) – Like IFTTT or Zapier but for documents – [Build Fire](http://buildfire.com/product-hunt/?ref=producthunt) – — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message