First off - you tackled an important issue (depression) that I think will be helpful to many.
A number of times in the podcast, @MacSparky delineates between his experience, and those with “real” demons/depression. I think he was trying to convey humility (which appeared genuine), and encourage people to get help if they are in a certain category of depression. As a clinician with 25 years of experience, and married to a psychiatrist, I think symptoms such as anxiety and depression exist on continuum. There is no such thing as depression vs CLINICAL depression. Moreover, I’d say that most talk therapies do better when you’re not too symptomatic. So the sooner you deal with your predispositions - and we all have them - the better.
Somewhat related, and touched on by @mikeschmitz, it’s the quality of our relationships - specifically with family and spouses - that are instrumental in helping us navigate the rocky seas of life.
Finally, and I think most important, your symptoms are here to serve you (if you use and understand them well).
Wishing all the free agents a healthy and prosperous 2019.
The folks who do the best job writing and talking about productivity are seldom those who are naturally organized and productive. If it comes naturally, there’s really not much to write about. It’s those who struggle with this, who have to really work at it, think about their systems and examine how they do things who tend to write most insightfully and in-depth about productivity. So the fact that @mikeschmitz and @macsparky struggle with this stuff isn’t something that requires a disclaimer, it’s a qualification.
Both David and Mike talked about going through some difficult periods where they were a bit overwhelmed on this episode. I think it would be good to dedicate an episode of he new show to adapting your system to deal with periods of overwhelm. It’s something we all encounter from time to time.
Thanks so much Avrum … adding this to feedback.
@ChrisUpchurch the topic of overwhelm is a GREAT idea, and a perfect example of why’s we wanted to rebrand the show! We could definitely talk about overwhelm from a Free Agent perspective, but it’s something that everyone deals with and addressing it more generally I think (and hope) makes it more approachable.
Appreciate the kind words!
I would second the view that overwhelming situations/periods in life makes a great topic for the show (wrote initially a feedback mail for MPU but it definitely fits better for Focused).
As someone who recently finished university, finished another big project, started a job, has to deal with a long distance relationship (Berlin - San Francisco) and tries to start my own side-business, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. 