meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The ONE Thing

499. The 4 Hidden Thieves Destroying Your Productivity with Jordan Freed

The ONE Thing

NOVA Media

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You’ve probably heard of the Four Thieves of Productivity: the inability to say no, fear of chaos, poor health habits, and an environment that doesn’t support your goals. But have you ever stopped to ask—which one is stealing the most from you right now? This week, Jay Papasan is joined by his coach and the Head Coach of The ONE Thing, Jordan Freed, for a powerful reexamination of the Four Thieves—this time through the lens of coaching. Jordan brings a coach’s eye to these common productivity killers, helping you not only identify your thief, but also design simple, practical solutions to reclaim your focus. We talk about how environment is often the real culprit behind people-pleasing, why building a digital and physical “bunker” is key to getting deep work done, and how to turn fear of chaos into clarity through better planning. You’ll also learn Jordan’s hierarchy of health and how to build better habits by starting with the basics: breath, water, and sleep. Whether you're constantly saying yes to the wrong things or find yourself paralyzed by the unknown, this episode will help you take back control—and protect what matters most. Challenge of the Week: Engineer your bunker. Physically and digitally, design a space that helps you focus on your ONE Thing. Turn off unnecessary notifications, block distractions, and create boundaries so your environment supports—not sabotages—your goals. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: How people-pleasing is often rewarded and reinforced in our work and personal lives Why your environment might be the hidden thief behind your inability to say no How to use prompting and priming to build new, healthier habits Links & Tools from This Episode: The 66-Day Challenge Free Resources Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email [email protected] or send us an audio note at Speakpipe.com/the1thing. Produced by NOVA

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Jay Papazan and this is the One Thing, your weekly guide to the simple steps that lead to extraordinary results.

0:19.3

Hey gang, Jay Papazan here. Welcome back to the One Thing podcast.. This week I'm chatting with my coach, Jordan Freed, who's also the head coach of the One Thing organization. We decided to unpack the four thieves in a way that you've never heard them before. The four thieves to remind you are the four thieves of productivity, the inability to say no, a fear of chaos, poor health habits,

0:39.4

and an environment that doesn't support your goals. Jordan helps me explore these through the lens

0:44.3

of coaching. If someone is challenged with their productivity, how can we diagnose which of

0:49.4

these thieves is that it's heart the problem, and maybe how can we then find a great solution to unlock

0:55.4

their productivity again? If you suffer from any of these, maybe the inability to say no,

1:00.2

maybe like me, you suffer from a fear of chaos. Maybe your environment, the people around you,

1:05.3

where you work, doesn't support your goals. We've got solutions for you this week.

1:14.4

All right, Jordan, one of the first things I learned from you when you were starting our

1:18.6

work together on the one thing in coaching is that you really leverage a part of the book that a lot

1:22.7

of people don't even make it to, the four thieves of productivity in your coaching.

1:26.9

How does that work? Well, I love that

1:29.5

section. And it's really just a simple question when you think about productivity, right? I like to ask

1:34.7

people, out of the four thieves, which of the four thieves is robbing you most? Okay. So what are the

1:41.4

four thieves for people? I mean, I'm not quizzing you. I can help out here, but like...

1:44.9

Inability to say no.

1:46.1

Right.

1:46.6

Fear of chaos.

1:47.5

Mm-hmm.

1:47.7

Poor health habits.

1:49.1

Mm-hmm.

1:49.4

And the environment doesn't support the goal.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NOVA Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NOVA Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.