But I realized that rather than avoiding YouTube altogether, I could reshape how I use it. So I did just that: I put certain rules around it, stopped clicking around, and, while still using the same videos, it quickly stopped feeling like a temptation. YouTube is now part of my workspace, and I don't have to juggle several productivity apps.
Some days, work starts at a sprint: meetings stack up, emails multiply, and every task claims to be urgent. Many professionals feel the strain; introverts often pay a higher toll-their energy fades, priorities blur, and the best ideas get buried. I've been there. So I'm back with Nil Demircubuk, Ph.D., author of Down to Earth: Demystify Intuition to Upgrade Your Life, to talk about how quiet professionals can find more calm in a noisy workday.
When was the last time you had a good day of work? The kind where you got into flow and stayed there long enough to think deeply about a problem? Paul Graham wrote about this in 2009: a single meeting can wreck an entire half-day for someone who needs uninterrupted time to build something. Sixteen years later, we've added Slack, Teams, always-on video calls, and a culture of instant responsiveness.
Veteran RPG developer and Fallout co-creator Tim Cain argues that modern games have forgotten some lessons of history--a point he made in a recent YouTube video--you can watch the full video below--responding to a viewer's question about whether older titles contain any supposed lost wisdom. Cain's answer--"Yes, there is. Good question." Looking back at his own early years in the industry, he describes an era with only programmers and some artists, but no narrative designers, and far fewer competing priorities.
Trying to multitask is the workplace version of spinning plates . . . except they all end up smashed! In my experience, multitasking is the fastest way to look busy while achieving very little. On the surface, it feels productive because you've got emails on the go, projects open, and calls happening, but the reality is that you're only scratching the surface of each task.
Lately, I've noticed a theme among my clients and, similarly, in myself. Many of us are in seasons that demand sustained focus and mindful energy. We are pushing toward something important while trying to protect our flow from distractions, self-doubt, and emotional noise. I often emphasize the value of self-check-ins and collecting your own data. But what happens when you are in such a driven, purposeful stretch that even pausing to reflect feels like it could knock you off balance?
"It is, but I do think a switch can be flipped," Roberts explained. "But it doesn't feel good saying that, because I think there's a certain way you go about things and each day should be equally important. "Every little play, pitch, should be equally important. How you do anything is how you do everything, that adage, I believe in that. "Again, when you're playing a long season, it's hard to be that locked in every single pitch. But I'm not going to not try to ask our guys to do that."
It is undeniable that, for many people, a clear workspace correlates to higher productivity. Less clutter means fewer things your mind has to process at one time, allowing you to focus better for longer.
