Jon Acuff's Blog

You have too much to do right now. I know because I’ve never met someone whose biggest problem was too much free time. In this episode, part three of our four part series on prioritization, I’m teaching you a simple question that will help you sort your overwhelming to do list: is there an outside deadline? I’ll explain the difference between outside deadlines (like my daughter’s 5:30 AM cross country practice) and inside deadlines (the ones you create yourself, like the small milestones I’m setting for my book due in January 2027). You’ll learn why high achievers tend to clog their to do lists with tasks that don’t actually need to happen this week, and how asking this one question can add more peace and performance to your day.

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You have too much to do. I know because I’ve never met someone whose biggest problem was too much free time. In this episode, part of a four part series on prioritization, I’m teaching you the second prompt that clarifies your decision making when your to do list feels overwhelming: is there money involved? Money isn’t emotional or fuzzy, it’s just math, and I’ll show you the specific questions to ask, like whether something will cost you more if you delay it or whether you’ll waste money by skipping it. I’m also sharing my 1 4 7 technique, a simple formula for finally taking action instead of endlessly reorganizing your list. Because motion beats perfection, and there is no perfect task waiting to be found. Your broken soundtrack will never tell you that you picked the right one, so stop looking for it and start moving.

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You have too much to do and not enough time to do it. I know because I’ve never met anyone who said their biggest problem was too much free time. In this episode, I’m kicking off a four-part series on prioritization and giving you the first of four questions that will help you stop drowning in your to-do list and start making real progress on what actually matters.

The post Why Your To-Do List Will Always Beat Your Calendar (And What to Do About It) appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Most people only check one thing on their dashboard: feelings. That’s like covering every other gauge in your car with a Post it note and driving by only watching the check oil light. Sure, you’d know when to change your oil, but you’d rack up speeding tickets, run out of gas, and probably rear end somebody at the grocery store. In this episode, I’m sharing the other data points you need to review besides your emotions, including truth, time, commitments, numbers, and your original dream. I’ll walk you through how I used this exact framework to finally deal with my insurance policy, a task I’d been avoiding for way too long. You don’t need to check every gauge every time. You just need to know which ones matter for the situation you’re in. Drive with your whole dashboard, and you’ll actually end up where you want to go.

The post Your Whole Dashboard: Why Checking Only Your Feelings Is Costing You Your Dreams appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Procrastination loves vagueness. “I’ll get to that eventually” means nothing gets done. In this episode, I’m sharing the exact system I use to steal back an hour from my own procrastination, starting with your phone’s screen time settings and treating your apps like a restaurant menu. You’ll learn why making a list of everything you’re procrastinating on actually makes things worse, and why I had to become a phenomenal salesman just to get myself to write. I’ll walk you through the four techniques I used today to sell myself on finishing a chapter, including scheduling appointments with myself, using countdown timers, wearing noise canceling headphones as a focus cue, and why writing in a notebook instead of a laptop kills distraction dead. Instagram didn’t steal my hours. They sold them to me. It’s time to out sell them right back.

The post Find an Hour, Start Selling: How I Trick Myself Into Beating Procrastination appeared first on Jon Acuff.

My favorite one star review calls my books too simple. Guilty as charged, and I did that on purpose. But I wasn’t always this way. In this episode I tell you about The Muskrat Incident, the true story of how I chose an impossible taxidermy extra credit project over simply studying for biology class. Spoiler alert, it did not go well. We’ll talk about why procrastinators love complicating projects (hint, it gives us someone else to blame when things fall apart), how to avoid becoming what I call a chaos monster, and I’ll share the simplest planning system you will ever use. It’s four words. No spreadsheets required. If you’re ready to stop making life harder than it needs to be, this episode is for you.

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We can’t get coffee together, but we could take a walk. And on that walk, I’d tell you something that might surprise you: your mission in life is sales. Not the kind you’re picturing. From the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, you’re selling the most important product that’s ever existed, a remarkable life, to the most important person you’ll ever meet, yourself. In this episode, I’m breaking down why owning your life feels so overwhelming, why blaming your parents, society, or even cavemen for your problems keeps you stuck, and why no one, not a politician, boss, celebrity, or friend, has more power over you than you have over yourself. It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start recognizing the influence you’ve had all along.

The post You Are in Sales: Why Your Real Mission Is Selling Yourself a Remarkable Life appeared first on Jon Acuff.

What thoughts are running through your mind on repeat? In this episode, I’m sharing five powerful soundtracks that will help you build bravery in your life. You’ll discover why nobody is for everybody (vegan restaurants don’t care about BBQ fans), how to beat imposter syndrome by being better today than you were yesterday, and why some beats none when perfectionism tries to stop you. I’ll also reveal the four words that get me through every hard run in January (“I’ll feel awesome after”) and the most powerful question you can ask to rediscover your purpose: Who am I doing this very difficult job for? From hospital CEOs doing it for the donor walk to teachers showing up for the person they used to be, this question clarifies everything. Thoughts turn into actions. Actions turn into results. Let’s make sure you’re playing the right soundtracks.

The post 5 Soundtracks That Will Make You Braver (Nobody Is for Everybody) appeared first on Jon Acuff.

What if the thoughts running through your head on repeat could be the difference between staying stuck and moving forward? In this episode, I’m sharing five powerful soundtracks that help me choose bravery when fear gets loud. You’ll discover why “It’s just a puddle” changed how I parent and handle everyday stress, how to shift from “Woe is me” to “Wow is me” (one letter that changes everything), and why being the CEO of yourself isn’t enough if you’re still a terrible boss to yourself. I’ll also show you how to focus on the fix instead of the fear, and why feeling uncomfortable is actually a sign your old comfort zone is having a hard time keeping up with you. These aren’t just catchy phrases. They’re the thoughts that turn into actions, and actions that turn into results. This is episode 5 of our Bravest Summer Ever series, but you don’t need to have heard the others to get massive value from these five soundtracks.

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You’re either practicing bravery or you’re practicing fear. There’s no neutral when it comes to mindset. In this fourth episode of the Bravest Summer Ever series, I’m breaking down the third key to bravery: practice. Research shows that just 5 minutes of negative news makes people more depressed, less likely to help others, and convinced the world is a negative place. When you binge the news, scroll political tweets, or read angry Facebook posts, you’re practicing fear. So how do you practice bravery instead? Simple. Look at your calendar for the next 7 days and ask: where do I want to be brave this week? Whether it’s a big podcast interview, giving tough feedback, or posting about your work, find 1 to 3 practice moments and figure out your plan. The key to mindset is spending more time talking to yourself than listening to yourself. You get better at anything you practice, so let’s practice bravery.

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