Podcast
Undo – How history's outliers got stuff done
Hosted by Mark Steadman · EN
An investigation into how history’s oddballs, outliers, and overachievers built systems to help them do their best work.
Each episode unearths a so-called productivity hack from history to help you separate the brilliant from the bullshit, so you can build a methodology that works for you.
Productivity isn’t about getting more done to feed a money-seeking monster with an ever-growing appetite. It’s about clearing the clutter so you can focus on what you do best.
Because if Edison can invent the lightbulb without Inbox Zero, you can probably survive without 10x-ing your toothbrush routine.
36episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
An update from the shed
Mar 27, 202500:06:14Summary readyThis is a quick bonus episode to let you know about some of the changes happening to Undo. It's good news. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How to be a polymath – Leonardo da Vinci
Mar 24, 202500:22:38Summary readyBeing a creative person in this most digital of decades means needing to be good at more than one form of creative expression. That means thinking like a polymath, and luckily we have history’s greatest multi-hyphenate to learn from. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How to be a polymath – Leonardo da Vinci
Mar 24, 202500:23:51Summary readyBeing a creative person in this most digital of decades means needing to be good at more than one form of creative expression. That means thinking like a polymath, and luckily we have history’s greatest multi-hyphenate to learn from.
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The super-productive women missing from time management history
Mar 17, 202500:20:47Summary readyLet’s spend a bit of time today with some of the women of productivity history, some of whom you know, some we’ll meet for the first time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The super-productive women missing from time management history
Mar 17, 202500:22:00Summary readyLet’s spend a bit of time today with some of the women of productivity history, some of whom you know, some we’ll meet for the first time.
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How Ben Franklin used timeboxing to stop missing deadlines
Mar 10, 202500:22:47Summary readyIf you have to meet any kind of regular publishing schedule, you’ll know how time can stretch out into infinity until the night before you have to hit Publish, when suddenly it feels like you have to cram 8 hours of work into 30 minutes.But Benjamin Franklin had a neat little system that helped him keep on top of his commitments, and all it takes is a pen, some paper, and a watch. Links mentioned in this episodeGet more with Undo+Get members-only contentHang out in in DiscordSupport the show
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What happened to the Inbox Zero guy?
Mar 3, 202500:27:01Summary readyInbox Zero is a pretty good way of organising your email, but behind the system is a dude who stepped off the hamster wheel of productivity, got some perspective, and became one of the Internet’s true treasures. Links mentioned in this episodeGet more with Undo+Get members-only contentHang out in in DiscordSupport the show
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How to make fewer mistakes – The Checklist Manifesto
Feb 24, 202500:23:47Summary readySimple mistakes are more common than it’s comfortable to admit. But there’s a dirt-simple technique that has dramatically reduced the number of preventable deaths, and it’s stuff we can use to make our own lives run more smoothly.Thanks to Ayesha Khan of Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* for lending her voice to Mark's silly opening sketch. Links mentioned in this episodeGet more with Undo+Get members-only contentHang out in in DiscordSupport the show
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How to work when the sky’s caving in — Lincoln vs Churchill
Feb 17, 202500:27:20Summary readyWhen things look bleak, either in your head or out in the world, being “productive” is probably the furthest thing from your mind. We live in difficult times, no doubt, but two outliers a hundred years apart, fought oppression, propaganda, and dehumanisation all while under their own personal dark clouds. Links mentioned in this episodeJoin the Undo Book ClubGet members-only contentHang out in the commentsKeep the show ad-free
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Bullet Journal – Productive or performative?
Feb 10, 202500:21:03Summary readyCan this analogue system for a digital age really help us get more done? Has it strayed from its roots and become synonymous with people who call things “super aesthetic”? And, if we can learn what we need to about the system in 3 minutes, why does it cost three and a half grand to learn to teach it? Links mentioned in this episodeFollow Mark on SubstackJoin the Undo Book ClubGet members-only contentLeave your commentsSupport the show
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