The journey to greater productivity requires working on your personal process. Ideal productivity strategies vary from person to person. Knowing the how, what, when, where, and with who you work best is essential to achieving a state of flow.
Your process is certainly very important. And equally, if not more so, is your motivation. A productive mindset requires finding inspiration. Whether extrinsic or intrinsic motivation, what drives you?
A good place to start is with one (or more) of these 14 podcasts on productivity. These listens are some of the best productivity podcasts and will inspire you to find motivation and provide you with the tools you need be more productive at work and beyond.
1. How to Fail
While the idea of “failing” may seem counterproductive to success, failure can be a motivator and a source of knowledge we need to succeed. In working towards a goal, it’s important to celebrate and identify the areas that haven’t gone right, too.
When we reflect on past failures, we can use those experiences to learn from the valuable information on what works and doesn’t – a necessary strategy for growth.
In How to Fail, podcast host Elizabeth Day focuses on these experiences of failure and how they can catapult us to greater success. In each episode, Day interviews someone who explores how their own failures taught them the skills and knowledge they needed to create their best work and be more productive.
Listen here: How to Fail – Apple Podcasts.
2. The Tony Robbins Podcast
“Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.” – Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins is a well-known author and motivational speaker who rose to fame thanks to his compelling personal story of success. Fans of his best-selling self-help books praise his ability to help listeners harness their untapped potential.
His podcast gives listeners his perspective on business strategies and how mindfulness relates to success and growth. The episodes contain practical tips and steps relating to topics such as getting what you want, being more productive, and reaching that “breakthrough” moment.
Listen here: Tony Robbins Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
3. On Purpose
“People think purpose comes from an activity, or a particular occupation or a particular title, or industry that we work in. But ‘purpose’ is so much more about how we feel about what we do.”
Host Jay Shetty speaks with interesting people on overcoming struggles and challenges to live life with intention. On Purpose asks how we can find motivation by feeling passionate and excited about what we’re doing. Because it’s hard to be productive if we don’t find authentic enjoyment in our tasks or role.
Shetty’s guests range from doctors and mental health specialists to celebrities like John Legend and Selena Gomez. On Purpose is a great listen for anyone interested in the varied and nuanced path to finding inner peace, joy, and fulfillment in their chosen career.
Listen here: On Purpose on Apple Podcasts.
4. Good Life Project
Feeling motivated to build the life you want doesn’t have to mean making a lifestyle overhaul. Changes can and should be gentle and gradual.
Hosted by Jonathan Fields, Good Life Project starts with the premise that improving your career or life can occur progressively. It’s possible to start building healthy habits and incorporating positive practices while maintaining existing responsibilities and dealing with reality.
With guests like sociologist Brene Brown and entrepreneur/author Tim Ferris, Good Life Project gives listeners unfiltered conversations with inspirational speakers. The in-depth conversations offer strategies and knowledge to live an engaged and good life.
Listen here: Good Life Project Website.
5. The Tim Ferris Show
Few books on productivity have exploded into the mainstream as Tim Ferris’ The 4-Hour Work Week. Ferris is an explorer of strategies for increasing productivity and motivation in work and life.
After the self-help book’s launch, people all over the world put the idea of working less into action. In his podcast, Tim Ferris goes deeper into specific fields and subjects (from geopolitics to mental health) that can yield useful tools, practices, and tactics for your productivity journey and workflow.
Listen here: The Tim Ferris Show on Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
6. The Life Hack Show
“Hobbies should be as strange and non-productive as possible. Then, they can be really powerful.”
How can we effectively manage our time in a world that increasingly blends our work and personal lives? How can we focus on spending more time on the things that genuinely matter?
The Life Hack Show is a podcast that gives practical strategies for managing a balanced and healthy life. The show covers topics like:
- How to manage your energy, not your time.
- Investing time in “unproductive” hobbies.
- Being more intentional about the quality of our output.
- The impact of our mindset on success.
Listen here: The Life Hack Show on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
7. Beyond the To-Do List
When it feels like you’re doing everything possible to be a more productive person but still falling short, it may just be time to try something new. Could there be a different approach to productivity and balance that will work better for you?
The host of Beyond The To Do List, Erik Fisher, speaks to experts who know their way around a to-do list. They share knowledge and strategies for increasing productivity in all areas of life.
A recent episode of this highly-rated podcast features researcher Tara McMullen. The conversation looks at how business owners and leaders can change their approach to goal setting. One method mentioned was by identifying key drivers in their motivation and organizing actions in this holistic approach.
Listen here: Beyond the To Do List on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and more.
8. Deep Questions
“Do less. Do better. Know why.” The tagline for best-selling author and productivity expert Cal Newport’s podcast says it all.
Technology, while a tool for productivity, is also what often creates feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked. Constantly being bogged down by notifications and distractions limits our ability to work smart and find balance.
Much like his best-selling book, Deep Work, the podcast focuses on answering common questions regarding how to deal with stress and productivity in a digital world. The show looks to answer the questions we’re all wondering: Can parents do deep work? What does the “quiet quitting” trend mean? Can saying “no” help us do more?
Listen here: Deep Questions on Apple Podcasts and Cal Newport’s website.
9. Real World Productivity
How often are we fed well-rehearsed quotes and advice from iconic leaders like Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and other top-tier leaders? While these quotes and lines are often popular because they are helpful, the founders and entrepreneurs of everyday companies remain a relatively untapped resource.
In Real World Productivity, we get to hear about productivity tactics and practices from leaders and team builders to whom the average worker or manager can easily relate. From time management strategies to building an incredible team, these speakers understand productivity in the real world.
Listen here: Real World Productivity on Apple Podcasts.
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10. How I Built This
Sometimes, the best motivation is hearing the stories of people whose careers we aspire to emulate.
Hosted by Guy Raz, How I Built This is a motivational podcast that offers one-on-one interviews with some of the most iconic entrepreneurs of our time. He talks with inspirational leaders, owners, and creators like tech expert Marques Brownlee; Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe; Spanx founder Sarah Blakely; Tripadviser founder Steve Kaufer; cosmetics powerhouse Bobbi Brown; and filmmaker Ava Duvernay.
Raz explores a wide range of stories of people building their empires from the ground up. The interviews give us insight into how the path to success isn’t always as straight or as obvious as we’d hope or expect.
In his book of the same title, Guy Raz said this of the perceived challenges we face on the way to achieving goals: “The only difference between them and you, at this moment, is that when opportunity presented itself, they went into the phone booth and put on the cape. They took the leap. That’s basically it.”
Listen here: How I Built This – Apple Podcasts, Audible, or Spotify.
11. Before Breakfast
Managing work and life without sacrificing important self-care time isn’t always easy. As a working parent or someone balancing multiple (professional and/or personal) roles, it can feel like you’re always letting someone down.
As the author of the highly-rated book I Don’t Know How She Does It, and other popular books on productivity, Laura Vanderkam knows how challenging it can be for parents to manage the many expectations thrown at them from work and family.
In Before Breakfast, listeners are encouraged to start their day with easily digestible daily productivity boosts. It’s full of tips and tactics for better time management and strategies for getting it done without losing yourself in the process.
Listen here: Before Breakfast on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, and Spotify.
12. Hidden Brain
An important factor in becoming a more productive person and an effective worker is understanding why we do the things we do. Why do we think, act, and behave a certain way?
This podcast is all about uncovering the science and reasoning behind our behavior and how these things affect the way we develop patterns in our work and personal lives.
From overdoing our workloads to letting our emotions govern important decisions, the host combines pop culture examples and conversations with cognitive and behavioral experts in order to explain these patterns of behavior – and offer tactics and solutions for overcoming them.
Listen here: Hidden Brain on Spotify, Audible, and Apple Podcasts.
13. Goal Digger
“Forget hustle harder. Forget a mandatory 5 a.m. wake-up. Forget outlining your life plan in six-month, one-year, and five-year spans.”
From productivity tips and time management strategies to advice for working parents, Goal Digger takes an accessible approach to teach listeners how to realize fulfilled lives.
The host, Jenna Kutcher, has spent years specializing in helping people find joy in their careers. In her work, Kutcher encourages people to build a process that aligns with what they enjoy and who they truly are. Kutcher’s research and subsequent podcast topics focus on aligning successful careers with self-respect.
Listen here: Goal Digger on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
14. The Habit Coach
Ashdin Doctor, AKA The Habit Coach, leads listeners through the cultivation of common habits. Why do we get stuck in certain loops? How can we adjust our daily routines and habits? These short and sweet podcast episodes focus on either eliminating negative practices or incorporating positive habits that can have a significant impact on our everyday lives.
The Habit Coach touches on why we do certain things and offers proven strategies for correcting behavior and improving habits for better productivity and self-growth. And at the very least, making us aware of these habits so that we can begin to address them.
For example, are you interested in the power of affirmations? Want to know the science behind fidgeting? One episode shows us why we can’t sit still and how altering small actions can lead to big changes.
Listen here: The Habit Coach on Spotify and Apple Podcasts with Full episodes on YouTube.
