menu Home chevron_right
PHILOSOPHY

The productivity advice that will actually improve your life | Chris Bailey: Full Interview

Big Think | May 15, 2026



Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://bigthink.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=membership&utm_content=bt-ytdesc-text-fi-bailey-aOVHFavyN2s

Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1
Up next,
The lost art of accomplishment without burnout ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HMjTxKRbaI

Most productivity advice costs more time than it returns. The fix isn’t a better system. It’s understanding why some goals feel effortless and others feel like homework, and learning to close that distance.

Author Chris Bailey breaks down the “intention stack,” and the underrated role of values alignment in follow-through.

00:00 Chapter 1: Intentionality and how it shapes our goals
02:17 The “Intention Stack” explained
08:46 Characteristics of intention
14:45 Chapter 2: Why values are essential to goal attainment
16:01 How to define your values and embrace them
24:09 Chapter 3: How to follow through on goals
25:35 Why SMART goals don’t work
27:06 The four steps to actually accomplishing your goals
33:15 What causes procrastination and how to combat it
41:36 How to maintain momentum on your goals
45:22 Chapter 4: Focus in the age of distraction
51:40 How to achieve hyperfocus
57:13 The benefit of letting your mind wander

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/full-interview/productivity-goals-bailey/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

© Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved.

———————————————————————————-

Go Deeper with Big Think:

►Become a Big Think Youtube Member
Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/

►Become a Big Think Web Member
Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more.
https://bigthink.com/membership/

►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack
Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox.
https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/

►Listen to Big Think Interviews on Spotify
Insights from the world’s biggest thinkers, now as a podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/7KRYoRD1NdF2aoQcBMyPlb

———————————————————————————-

About Chris Bailey:

Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a more productive and intentional life. His books include The Productivity Project, Hyperfocus, and Intentional.

Written by Big Think

Comments

This post currently has 10 comments.

  1. @mulen-x8u

    May 15, 2026 at 4:54 pm

    Yes, there are goal-oriented people, active, creative, capable of transforming desires into will, and there are reactive, consumerists, touchy, pessimistic and ultimately nihilistic people. If you ask the first type, "Where are you riding?" they will give a straightforward answer, but the same question asked of the second type might elicit an absurd response: "I don't know, ask the horse." As the Zen proverb goes, "Don't swim with the current or against the river, but go where you need to go."

Leave a Reply





This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play