Not Overthinking

In this episode, we chat with Jason Blakely, an associate professor of political science, discussing a range of topics related to political science, ideology, and the role of science in society. Jason critiques the approach of treating social sciences like natural sciences, highlighting the limitations and misinterpretations this can lead to. The discussion also delves into the concept of "Psi-ops" in social sciences, the influence of cultural and narrative elements in understanding social phenomena, and the distinction between natural and social sciences. The conversation critically examines the current ideological and cultural frameworks in society, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and interpretation in understanding human behaviour and social dynamics. Enjoy! x

Summary In this episode, Ali and Taimur delve into a range of personal and professional topics. Taimur shares his recent experience with contracting COVID-19 for the first time, discussing the physical and mental effects of the illness. He talks about experiencing severe cold symptoms, fever, and an altered mental state that included persistent song lyrics in his head, particularly from the musical "Hamilton." Ali reflects on his own past experience with COVID-19, particularly focusing on the lack of motivation to work or be productive during the illness. They explore the idea of how illness affects one's desire to "grind" and the role of dopamine and testosterone in motivation. Further into the episode, Ali discusses his recent book launch, including making it onto the New York Times bestseller list, appearances on various TV shows, and his feelings of relief and validation following these achievements. The conversation also covers the concept of Productivity Club, an online community and platform Ali is developing, aimed at enhancing productivity through structured support and communal activities. Takeaways Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Taimur's COVID-19 Experience 05:03 - The Mental Effects of Illness and Song Earworms 10:33 - Ali's Reflection on Past COVID-19 Experience and Motivation 15:06 - Ali's Book Launch and Achievements 20:10 - Discussion on Future Projects and Direction 25:01 - The Concept and Development of Productivity Club 30:00 - Taimur's Thoughts on Online Platforms and User Experience 35:13 - Ali Expands on Productivity Club's Structure and Goals 40:00 - Further Discussion on Effective Productivity Strategies and Tools 44:57 - Closing Thoughts and Future Plans

Summary In this episode, Ali and Taimur catch up and discuss various topics. They introduce a calendar widget that allows users to provide feedback on meetings. They also discuss the value of experience and the misconceptions around being an ideas person. They reflect on their past impressions of fundraising, sales and marketing, delegation and outsourcing, brand deals and gifting, and book writing. Overall, they highlight the importance of gaining experience and understanding the intangibles in various fields. In this conversation, Ali and Taimur discuss the discovery of Zotero and the gap in the market for business coaching content. They also explore the value of zoom screen shares and internal dashboards in learning about business processes. The conversation touches on the importance of hands-on experience and learning from founders, as well as the process of book promotion and dealing with negative reviews. They also discuss the upcoming book promotional activities and the financial aspect of book sales. Takeaways Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Catching Up 03:18 Introducing the Calendar Widget 09:06 The Value of Experience 13:50 The Role of an Ideas Guy 18:20 The Importance of Experience and Intangibles 23:21 Misconceptions about Fundraising 24:49 Impressions of Sales and Marketing 26:15 The Value of Delegation and Outsourcing 27:39 Changing Perceptions of Brand Deals and Gifting 29:27 Perceptions of Subscriber Count and Book Writing 33:10 Discovering Zotero and the Gap in the Market 34:48 The Rise of Alex Hormozi and the Business Coaching Market 35:14 The Value of Zoom Screen Shares and Internal Dashboards 36:20 Learning from Sales Calls and Emailing Processes 38:25 The Importance of Experience and Learning from Post-Exit Founders 39:44 Seeking Guidance from Those Who Have Achieved Your Goals 40:20 The Fluidity of Starting Something New 41:59 The Value of Hands-On Experience and Learning from Founders 43:30 Bookshelf Themes and the Productivity Genre 44:48 The Process of Book Promotion and Translations 46:00 Dealing with Negative Reviews and Imposter Syndrome 48:37 Preparing for Daytime TV Segments 49:08 Rehearsing for TV Interviews and Being Concise 52:00 Upcoming Book Promotional Activities 54:32 Earning Royalties from Book Sales 56:00 The Financial Aspect of Book Sales 57:25 A Plug for Lucia's Work and Job Opportunities

In this episode, we talk about other podcasts and the future of the Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal podcast. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we talk about the last five-or-so months of not posting any podcast episodes. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we catch up (and firmly put all the book highlight reading behind us). Merry Christmas! Enjoy xx

In this episode, we carry on our discussion of the book 'Why Love Hurts' once more. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the book “Why Love Hurts” by Eva Illouz. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we discuss a few highlights from “Why Love Hurts” - a book which argues that our relationships go wrong due to 'institutional forces', rather than our dysfunctional childhoods or our insufficiently self-aware psyches (which is the more commonly accepted modern belief).

In this episode, we discuss pysops: are things like 'eight hours of sleep a night' really necessary, or are we just unfoundedly made to believe them? Enjoy xx

In this episode, we catch up on the past 6 weeks of our lives, discuss some calendar hacks and then break down our thoughts on the FTX crypto drama that’s been rampant on Twitter these past few days. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we discuss what we've been up to since the last episode, and we also continue discussing the book we've been reading. Enjoy xx

In this episode, after a bit of rambling about our lives, we discuss Carl Trueman's book "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self". Enjoy xx

In this episode, we discuss the spiritual journey that we're both dabbling with. Enjoy xx.

In this episode, we ramble a bit about what’s going on in our lives, Ali’s recent discovery of Alan Watts, and the idea around whether or not we should give a ‘platform’ to potentially-controversial guests on our podcast. Enjoy xx

In this episode, we discuss Taimur’s biggest life update in a long time. We explore the feelings behind being engaged vs being married, try to work out whether an expensive wedding is worth it, and a few other bits. Enjoy!

In this episode, we discuss the idea of ‘enough’ and where our drive for ‘numbers go up’ comes from. Enjoy xx Search “One Sec” on the App Store and use the coupon code ALI15 to get a 15% discount on the premium subscription, if you want to pay for the premium subscription. Works perfectly fine as a free app too.

https://apply.workable.com/aliabdaal/

Get the book here: https://geni.us/cyNM Ali's Part-Time YouTuber Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/part-time-youtuber-crash-course/ Ali's Part-Time Creatorpreneur Crash Course - https://aliabdaal.com/creatorpreneur-crash-course/

In this episode, we take a look back over the past 3 years of doing this podcast, and how our lives have changed since that fateful day in March 2019 when we decided to start recording “Not Overthinking”. Enjoy!