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Feb 22, 2021 · 18m · founders-journal

My Process for Productivity

Alex Lieberman · 16m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Morning Brew co-founder Alex Lieberman details his three-pillar productivity framework—the setup, the allocation, and the environment—to help professionals cultivate deep focus, align daily tasks with long-term strategic goals, and overcome productivity anxiety.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Alex holds 100% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Alex as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Alex pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:001:46–5:33 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 The Setup: Establishing the Daily Pre-Shot Routine This is a solo monologue where Alex details his morning setup routine. As there is no conversational counterparty or dialogue exchange, all dynamic scores remain at zero.5:33–10:34 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 The Allocation: Aligning Daily Tasks with Long-Term Goals Alex discusses quarterly goals and daily task allocation in a solo format. A brief interjection by SPEAKER_01 at 6:15 is an encouraging reaction rather than a combative exchange.10:35–13:42 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 The Environment: Removing Friction and Eliminating Distractions Alex presents his dog analogy and strategies for eliminating environmental distractions. Because this is an uninterrupted solo reflection, interaction scores are zero.13:42–16:11 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 Areas of Growth: Balancing Strategy, Rest, and Peak Energy Alex shares personal areas of growth regarding thinking versus doing and work-life balance. As a monologue segment, all interactive metrics are scored zero.16:11–17:59 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 Conclusion, Listener Engagement, and Review Milestone This is a housekeeping and concluding monologue segment celebrating review milestones and soliciting listener feedback, resulting in zero dynamic scores.1:46–5:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Setup: Establishing the Daily Pre-Shot Routine This is a solo monologue where Alex details his morning setup routine. As there is no conversational counterparty or dialogue exchange, all dynamic scores remain at zero.5:33–10:34 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Allocation: Aligning Daily Tasks with Long-Term Goals Alex discusses quarterly goals and daily task allocation in a solo format. A brief interjection by SPEAKER_01 at 6:15 is an encouraging reaction rather than a combative exchange.10:35–13:42 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Environment: Removing Friction and Eliminating Distractions Alex presents his dog analogy and strategies for eliminating environmental distractions. Because this is an uninterrupted solo reflection, interaction scores are zero.13:42–16:11 · Guest teaching 0/10 Areas of Growth: Balancing Strategy, Rest, and Peak Energy Alex shares personal areas of growth regarding thinking versus doing and work-life balance. As a monologue segment, all interactive metrics are scored zero.16:11–17:59 · Guest teaching 0/10 Conclusion, Listener Engagement, and Review Milestone This is a housekeeping and concluding monologue segment celebrating review milestones and soliciting listener feedback, resulting in zero dynamic scores.1:46–5:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Setup: Establishing the Daily Pre-Shot Routine This is a solo monologue where Alex details his morning setup routine. As there is no conversational counterparty or dialogue exchange, all dynamic scores remain at zero.5:33–10:34 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Allocation: Aligning Daily Tasks with Long-Term Goals Alex discusses quarterly goals and daily task allocation in a solo format. A brief interjection by SPEAKER_01 at 6:15 is an encouraging reaction rather than a combative exchange.10:35–13:42 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Environment: Removing Friction and Eliminating Distractions Alex presents his dog analogy and strategies for eliminating environmental distractions. Because this is an uninterrupted solo reflection, interaction scores are zero.13:42–16:11 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Areas of Growth: Balancing Strategy, Rest, and Peak Energy Alex shares personal areas of growth regarding thinking versus doing and work-life balance. As a monologue segment, all interactive metrics are scored zero.16:11–17:59 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Conclusion, Listener Engagement, and Review Milestone This is a housekeeping and concluding monologue segment celebrating review milestones and soliciting listener feedback, resulting in zero dynamic scores.1:46–5:33 · Alex pushing back 0/10 The Setup: Establishing the Daily Pre-Shot Routine This is a solo monologue where Alex details his morning setup routine. As there is no conversational counterparty or dialogue exchange, all dynamic scores remain at zero.5:33–10:34 · Alex pushing back 0/10 The Allocation: Aligning Daily Tasks with Long-Term Goals Alex discusses quarterly goals and daily task allocation in a solo format. A brief interjection by SPEAKER_01 at 6:15 is an encouraging reaction rather than a combative exchange.10:35–13:42 · Alex pushing back 0/10 The Environment: Removing Friction and Eliminating Distractions Alex presents his dog analogy and strategies for eliminating environmental distractions. Because this is an uninterrupted solo reflection, interaction scores are zero.13:42–16:11 · Alex pushing back 0/10 Areas of Growth: Balancing Strategy, Rest, and Peak Energy Alex shares personal areas of growth regarding thinking versus doing and work-life balance. As a monologue segment, all interactive metrics are scored zero.16:11–17:59 · Alex pushing back 0/10 Conclusion, Listener Engagement, and Review Milestone This is a housekeeping and concluding monologue segment celebrating review milestones and soliciting listener feedback, resulting in zero dynamic scores.

speaking balance: gold is Alex, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%0:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%3:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%3:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%6:00 · Alex 99.7% · guest 0.3%6:00 · Alex 99.7% · guest 0.3%9:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%9:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%12:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%12:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%15:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%15:00 · Alex 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Alex 0% · guest 0%18:00 · Alex 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:14 Brief Production Interjection

In an entirely solo monologue episode, the only other voice is a supportive two-word interjection from SPEAKER_01 during the goal breakdown.

 Hardest push from Alex ▶ 6:15 Blowing Through the Goal

Alex immediately responds to the brief interjection by playfully doubling down on hitting his ambitious download metrics.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:14 Sneak Peek Interjection

There is no actual schooling in this solo episode; this brief interjection is the only moment of guest/producer vocal presence.

 Alex holds their own ▶ 6:15 Reasserting Ambitious Goals

Alex confidently reaffirms his business targets and ownership over the podcast's growth strategy.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicAlex as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementAlex pushing backWhy
The Setup: Establishing the Daily Pre-Shot Routine 0000 This is a solo monologue where Alex details his morning setup routine. As there is no conversational counterparty or dialogue exchange, all dynamic scores remain at zero.
The Allocation: Aligning Daily Tasks with Long-Term Goals 0000 Alex discusses quarterly goals and daily task allocation in a solo format. A brief interjection by SPEAKER_01 at 6:15 is an encouraging reaction rather than a combative exchange.
The Environment: Removing Friction and Eliminating Distractions 0000 Alex presents his dog analogy and strategies for eliminating environmental distractions. Because this is an uninterrupted solo reflection, interaction scores are zero.
Areas of Growth: Balancing Strategy, Rest, and Peak Energy 0000 Alex shares personal areas of growth regarding thinking versus doing and work-life balance. As a monologue segment, all interactive metrics are scored zero.
Conclusion, Listener Engagement, and Review Milestone 0000 This is a housekeeping and concluding monologue segment celebrating review milestones and soliciting listener feedback, resulting in zero dynamic scores.

Statements from this episode (6)

Disclosure
Lieberman tries to reserve 50% of his reading for outside his industry
“While these two stories were media related, I actually try as much as possible to reserve at least 50% of my reading for things outside of my industry.”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 3:15
Disclosure
Lieberman attempts to schedule calls before 9:30 AM or after 4 PM
“Normally speaking, I try to schedule all of my calls before 9:30 AM Eastern or after four PM Eastern, but that has historically been more idealistic than realistic.”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 4:42
Disclosure
Lieberman: In six years, I completed my daily priority list only ~10 times
“The issue is, is given in six years of working on Morning Brew, I have finished my bolded list maybe 10 times ever.”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 9:37
Insight
Lieberman: To-do list success should be measured directionally, not by completion
“What I tell myself now is that my to-do list is a tool for accountability and treating my time as a precious resource, but my definition of success should be directional, not absolute. What that means is if I worked on the things I said I would work on, it was…”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 9:51
Insight
Lieberman: 99% of Slack messages do not require an immediate reply
“And I also make a habit of closing Slack while I'm doing focused work because 99% of the time a Slack message does not need to be answered in one or two hours. It's never usually that urgent.”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 13:21
Disclosure
Founders must value thinking and strategizing equally to building and doing
“As I've grown as an entrepreneur, I've noticed that, you know, while I've been able to effectively move from, let's call it doer, someone who's working in the weeds to manager, and then to kind of delegator, even higher level level, my ability to shift my time…”
Alex Lieberman Feb 22, 2021 ▶ 14:04
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