Go ‘offline’ and put your phone outside of your room! The ulimate guide to productivity

There is no better way to make yourself feel guilty for not making your bed than a Zoom call with Chris Williamson. “Making your bed is free,” he said to me, as I joked that his Zoom background was so professional (and a lot tidier) compared to my own. As a professional podcaster and video creator, Chris is well equipped for online calls, with a stack of books and a fantastic piece of wall art. I could not help but joke, to make myself feel a little better about the state of my own bedroom!

Chris hosts the podcast Modern Wisdom, where he interviews a bucket load of interesting people about a huge range of topics, from productivity to fitness and much more. Most recently, the podcast featured big-name Jordan B. Peterson, for a 90 minute episode entitled “Take Control of Your Life”. Not only does Chris host his podcast, but has experience in business management and life coaching; and I can’t help but feel like a need to be a little more productive after just a small half-an-hour call with him.

Chris met his business partner Darren in their first seminar at University, and nearly fifteen years later the two of them have own an events company in Newcastle. “I chose someone who fitted my requirements, and I fitted his”, Chris said. When asking Chris about his top-tips for anyone wanting to enter the world of entrepreneurship, he highlighted the need to create a team that excelled in different skill sets. “You want to be able to slide on top of each other”; emphasising that when going into business with someone, it is important to have all skills covered. Similarly, he believes that “what you’ve been exposed to in pop-culture” and using what you know and are interested in are the best skills to use when trying to create a start-up company.

“Podcasting is a very long game”, Chris admits. With a pretty competitive industry, comes hard work and dedication. It took Chris three-hundred episodes to create a platform that allowed him to make an appreciable amount of income, and five-hundred videos to gain 100,000 subscribers on YouTube; which is quicker than the average channels. Something that has allowed Chris to land big-names on his podcast is his interview skills. Through researching and preparing topics for his guests, Chris allows for the most interesting themes to be explored.

Living a life of researching, preparing and recording, Chris must live a pretty productive and motivated life! When I asked him how he was able to stay motivated, he said “I really like what I do… if you gave me the opportunity to do anything between 6pm and 7:30pm most week days, it would be having interesting conversations with people I respect”. “Imagine how bad it’s going to be in a nine-to-five for the next thirty-years”, he said.

Chris’ top tips for increased motivation and productivity include establishing a nine-to-five style routine; thinking long-term-ist; and sleeping with your phone outside your room. He also believes that having a high-carb or sugary breakfast will stunt your ability to work for long periods of time in a productive manner.

Not only was I in awe of the passion that Chris spoke with, but what I took away from our discussion is that you get out what you put in! Chris is the embodiment of a productivity guru, and I for one will be taking some of his tips on board.