The Productivity Myth Causing Your Burnout | Natalie Nixon, PhD

We spend so much time trying to optimize productivity that we may be undermining the very thing we’re chasing: creative, meaningful work. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Natalie Nixon to challenge grind culture and rethink how we arrive at our best ideas.

Natalie introduces her human-centered framework, Move, Think, Rest, arguing that creativity doesn’t come from working longer hours or thinking harder, but from integrating movement, reflection, and intentional rest into our daily lives. From “movement hygiene” and walking meetings to daydreaming, backcasting, and forecasting, she reframes what it means to work well in an age of burnout, AI, and constant acceleration.

Along the way, we explore why ambiguity is something to embrace rather than eliminate, how modern productivity myths trace back to the Industrial Revolution, and why the future of work may depend less on technology and more on becoming more human. If you’ve ever felt stuck, depleted, or creatively blocked, this conversation may change how you approach your workday entirely.

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