Many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question:&nbsp;What are 1-3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life in 2026?&nbsp;To explore that, I invited five long-time listener favorites: Maria Popova, Morgan Housel, Cal Newport, Craig Mod, and Debbie Millman.This episode is brought to you by:<ul><li><a href="https://shopify.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shopify</a>&nbsp;global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business:&nbsp;<a href="https://shopify.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shopify.com/tim</a></li><li><a href="https://helixsleep.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Helix&nbsp;Sleep</a>&nbsp;premium mattresses:&nbsp;<a href="https://helixsleep.com/tim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HelixSleep.com/Tim</a></li></ul>Timestamps:Intro: [00:00:00]Maria Popova [00:01:49]Morgan Housel [00:04:40]Cal Newport [00:12:20]Craig Mod [00:24:04]Debbie Millman [00:33:08]&nbsp;More about today's guests:<a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maria Popova</a> (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/mariapopova/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@mariapopova</a>) thinks and writes about our search for meaning, lensed sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children's books, always through wonder. She is the creator of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Marginalian</a>&nbsp;(born in 2006 under the name&nbsp;Brain Pickings), which is included in the Library of Congress permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials. Her books and projects include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/traversal/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Traversal</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2024/05/01/the-universe-in-verse-book/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Universe in Verse</a>, <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2018/11/01/figuring/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Figuring</a>, <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/the-coziest-place-on-the-moon/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Coziest Place on the Moon</a>,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/almanac-of-birds/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days</a>.<a href="https://www.morganhousel.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Morgan Housel</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://twitter.com/morganhousel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@morganhousel</a>) is a partner at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Collaborative Fund</a>. His book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Psychology of Money</a>&nbsp;has sold more than three million copies and has been translated into 53 languages.&nbsp;Morgan is also the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Same-Ever-Guide-Never-Changes/dp/0593332709/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Same As Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Spending-Money-Simple-Choices/dp/B0F6MK2PWM/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Art of Spending Money</a>.<a href="https://calnewport.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cal Newport</a>&nbsp;is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University, where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. In addition to his academic work, Newport is a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;bestselling author who writes for a general audience about the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/cal-newport" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New Yorker</a>&nbsp;and hosts the popular&nbsp;<a href="https://calnewport.com/podcasts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deep Questions&nbsp;podcast</a>. His latest book is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Slow-Productivity-Accomplishment-Without-Burnout/dp/0593544854/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout</a>.<a href="https://craigmod.com/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Craig Mod</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.instagram.com/craigmod/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@craigmod</a>) is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Things-Become-Other-Walking-Memoir/dp/0593732545/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Things Become Other Things</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://shop.specialprojects.jp/products/kissa-by-kissa-4th-ed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kissa by Kissa</a>. He also writes the newsletters&nbsp;<a href="https://craigmod.com/roden/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roden</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ridgeline</a>&nbsp;and has contributed to&nbsp;The New York Times,&nbsp;The Atlantic,&nbsp;Wired, and more.&nbsp;<a href="https://designmattersmedia.com/#the-host" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Debbie Millman</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://twitter.com/debbiemillman?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@debbiemillman</a>) has been named one of the most creative people in business by&nbsp;Fast Company&nbsp;and one of the most influential designers working today by&nbsp;<a href="http://gdusa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Graphic Design USA</a>. She is the host of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.designmattersmedia.com/designmatters" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Design Matters</a>—a great show and one of the world’s longest-running podcasts. She is also chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the&nbsp;<a href="http://branding.sva.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">School of Visual Arts</a>&nbsp;in New York City, editorial director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.printmag.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Print</a>&nbsp;magazine, a Harvard Business School Case Study, and a member of the board of directors at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joyful Heart Foundation</a>.*For show notes and past guests on&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Tim Ferriss Show</a>, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tim.blog/podcast</a>.For deals from sponsors of&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Tim Ferriss Show</a>,&nbsp;please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tim.blog/podcast-sponsors</a>Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at&nbsp;<a href="https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tim.blog/friday</a>.For transcripts of episodes, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/transcripts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tim.blog/transcripts</a>.Discover Tim’s books:&nbsp;<a href="https://tim.blog/books" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tim.blog/books</a>.Follow Tim:Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/tferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">twitter.com/tferriss</a>&nbsp;Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://instagram.com/timferriss/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instagram.com/timferriss</a>YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/timferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">youtube.com/timferriss</a>Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facebook.com/timferriss</a>&nbsp;LinkedIn:&nbsp;<a href="http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linkedin.com/in/timferriss</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

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#857: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 — New Tips from Maria Popova, Morgan Housel, Cal Newport, Craig Mod, and Debbie Millman

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