Episode Ep 630 September 14, 2026 47 min 32s

The Productivity Rules We Stopped Following (and What We Do Instead) (TPS630)

From The Productivity Show Asian Efficiency

A lot of popular productivity advice sounds smart until you actually try to live by it. In this episode, Thanh and Brooks share the rules they’ve stopped following, from inbox zero and rigid morning routines to building elaborate note systems and optimizing every minute. More importantly, they explain what replaced them: flexible systems, useful constraints, and practices that work in real life instead of just looking impressive on the internet.

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Listen to this episode (MP3)

Cheat Sheet

Top 3 Productivity Resources [1:47]
Why chasing inbox zero solves the wrong problem [6:56]
Triaging your whole inbox from a 15-minute walk [10:39]
What tracking every single minute for four months taught him [21:20]
The two-app note setup that ended years of hoarding [28:11]
The one rule that keeps a blown-up routine from wrecking your day [36:26]
Principles, not prison cells [43:39]

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