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Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

How To Change Your Life with UnJaded Jade & Ali Abdaal

In this week's episode of Deep Dive, Ali has a conversation with YouTuber content creator and best selling author, Jade.

Ali AbdaalhostUnJaded Jadeguest

Oct 4, 20211h 56mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Jade's Backstory and How She Picks Video Ideas
Ali introduces Jade and her travels, and she explains what she does and how her content grew from StudyTube into a more holistic space. She describes her Notion brain-dump and Kanban system for ideas, and balancing views against impact.
- •Jade started in StudyTube, then vlogged her gap year and now makes study and life content at university
- •Her content evolved from reducing study stress to talking about loneliness, perfectionism and fear of failure
- •She keeps a Notion brain dump and Kanban board, scripting ideas in spare moments
- •She values videos with deep impact for a niche audience over raw view counts
- •Ali says he is trying to think less about the algorithm
Starting YouTube: Preparing First and the Overnight Growth
Jade explains her early approach of studying YouTube before posting, setting a start date and learning editing and SEO. She describes going from 400 to 10,000 subscribers in a week and how she handled the embarrassment of having a channel.
- •She picked a date two months ahead to learn editing and SEO before starting
- •Early videos got about 50 views but comments showed there was value
- •She went from 400 to 10,000 subscribers in a week during Easter holidays in year 12
- •Her chemistry teacher told her the staff room had watched her videos
- •Her theory: owning your channel openly gives people less to mock
Dealing with Hate and Comment Moderation
Jade shares her first hate comments about looking like a horse and how criticism affects her depending on her mental state. Ali describes hiding negative comments as a freeing way to reclaim his comment section.
- •Jade's first hate was repeated comments saying she looked like a horse
- •Hate fluctuates, and she is more affected when stressed or struggling in her life
- •Brains hold onto one bad comment over a thousand good ones
- •Ali's YouTuber friends delete or hide negative comments so they don't colour viewers' impressions
- •Ali finds this freeing, and Jade calls it taking the power back
From Wattpad Fan Fiction to Writing the Book
Ali asks how the book began, and Jade recounts writing Wattpad fan fiction at 14 and wanting an evergreen format for her ideas. A publisher approached her in lockdown with a concept close to one in her gap-year journal.
- •Her first dream job was fiction author, and she wrote a 100,000-word Wattpad fan fiction
- •She wanted an evergreen medium with more depth than YouTube videos allow
- •She had jotted book ideas in her gap-year journal before the publisher approached her
- •She said yes despite knowing writing during the semester would be stressful
Perfectionism, Imposter Syndrome and Writing Support
Jade and Ali discuss the dread of wanting every word to be bestselling and how Jade reframed her goals to finish. They compare imposter syndrome, and Ali shares a quote from author Garth Greenwell about anxiety persisting until you do the work.
- •Jade felt dread because every word had to be a bestselling word
- •Her approach to perfectionism is to finish first and remember there are no unique messages, only unique messengers
- •Imposter syndrome persists, and she feels like a person who wrote a book rather than an author
- •Jade forced weekly calls with her editor and gathered feedback from teachers and students
- •The Garth Greenwell quote says anxiety only lessens when doing the writing itself
Book Proposals, Structuring and Protecting Fragile Ideas
After a Brilliant sponsor break, Ali describes his third proposal draft and Jade explains how she structured her book in Notion. They discuss how many collaborators help, and the idea that fragile ideas should be built up before being poked at.
- •Ali's proposal is on its third version after 12 months, and he thinks he overthinks the structure
- •Jade blurted out everything she wanted to include and then found a structure in Notion
- •Ali realised helpers can sanity-check but the material has to come from the author
- •Jade deliberately limited collaborators to one editor because early criticism kills her ideas
- •Ali cites Radical Candor: build up fragile ideas first, then poke holes later
Writing Routines and the Publishing Process
Jade explains what she learned about herself while writing, including procrastinating under high expectations and needing a dedicated writing space. She then walks through editing, proofreading, typesetting, illustration and how the title was chosen.
- •Jade procrastinates more when she piles expectations on a piece of writing
- •Her Seoul cafe gave her a sanctity of space with no phone, three-hour blocks and leaving when done
- •Ali plans to block out time because 20-minute fragments make little progress
- •The book passed through several editors, a proofreader and a typesetter, with illustration and cover work in parallel
- •The publisher chose the title, which Jade finds pretentious but Ali thinks is great marketing
Inside the Book: Motivation, Forgetting Curve and Blurting
Ali and Jade look at the book's design and then its chapters, starting with her view of motivation as a narrative built around having a why. They move on to the forgetting curve, spaced repetition tools and the blurting technique.
- •The book is more illustrated than she expected, with summaries and contributions from others
- •Motivation comes from having a why, extrinsic or intrinsic, and by questioning the story you tell yourself
- •Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve motivates spaced repetition, which she runs with Anki, Quizlet and a spreadsheet
- •Blurting is active recall: write everything you remember from prompt words, then compare to your notes
- •Learning happens when pulling information out, even though re-reading feels more intelligent
Productivity Equation and Toxic Productivity
Jade outlines the productivity chapter built on the Pomodoro Technique and her equation adding focus, forethought and fun to output over time. The pair then discuss toxic productivity, agreeing that productivity means spending time well, including rest and being present.
- •Jade's equation multiplies output over time by focus, forethought and fun
- •Pomodoro Technique anchors her simple productivity advice for students
- •Productivity defined as spending your time well removes most of the 'toxic' label
- •Ali says clickbait titles like '14 hours study with me' mislead viewers about the actual work
- •Being present while relaxing counts as productive
Hustle Culture, Self-Care and Morning Routines
Jade defines hustle culture as valuing only tangible output, and Ali admits to guilt about non-economic activities like video games. She describes planning time for self-care, her yoga and meditation routine, and Ali shares his own attempts at habits and scheduling.
- •Jade says we undervalue intangible outcomes like mental health because we're trained to prize tangible output
- •Ali feels guilt about time that generates no economic output, such as playing Ratchet & Clank
- •Plan self-care time just as you plan work, according to Jade
- •Jade does yoga and meditation most mornings, queuing videos the night before to reduce friction
- •Ali blocks out Wednesday afternoons as thinking time and schedules a 5-6 PM activity
Managing a Team, Hierarchy and Escaping the Algorithm
Jade asks Ali about managing a growing team and hierarchy, and he explains needing to set clear goals and over-communicate rough ideas. The conversation turns to whether Jade is free of the algorithm, her priorities at university, and Ali's fear of stopping while things are going well.
- •Ali sees his team as friends but has learned that setting KPIs and expectations helps
- •He has to tell the team when an idea is only a rough sketch not to be acted on
- •Jade isn't expanding into a team now because she wants a social life and flexibility at university
- •She says defining priorities beyond numerical success freed her from the algorithm
- •Ali says he's in a hustle season and will keep going as long as it's fun
Slow Travel and Learning About Yourself
Jade describes living in cities for months at a time, including the monthly phases she goes through. She explains how Berlin and Seoul brought out different sides of her and what she thinks is the minimum useful stay.
- •Four months in a city follows a pattern from difficult first month to honeymoon third month to bittersweet fourth
- •Her concept of home has shifted, though moving often brings a lack of stability
- •Berlin's individualism let her take up space, while Seoul's quiet collectivism taught her other things
- •Living there rather than holidaying matters, with about three to four months a sweet spot
Rethinking Career and Planning Your Life
Ali questions what the word career means, and Jade says people now have multiple careers and it's fine to try things. They discuss when planning is needed, and Jade describes building a vision board around values and flexibility.
- •Jade says career is an old-fashioned notion; people now have multiple careers
- •Ali's mum thinks changing his mind every few months shows a lack of plan
- •Some paths, like becoming a doctor, require a plan, according to Jade
- •Jade's vision board captures feelings and values, such as remote work and flexibility
- •Her current preferences are likely to resemble what she wants in five years
Manifestation, Law of Attraction and Visualization
Ali asks Jade to explain manifestation sincerely, and she frames it as common sense: get clear, act, and allow for luck. They discuss visualization and guided meditations, including Ali's imagined future home.
- •Jade sees manifestation as saying what you want, taking action and allowing for luck
- •Visualizing a calm exam performance makes that behaviour more likely
- •Ali's guided future-life meditation gave him a vivid vision, including a dog
- •Jade uses manifestation meditations for confidence and for motivating herself to write the book
- •Meditation has many types, and she picks one on YouTube without overthinking
Rapid-Fire: Casual Magic, Mental Health Weather and Odyssey Plans
Ali puts Instagram audience questions to Jade, starting with her #casualmagic concept and book-writing advice for Ali. Topics include her mental-health-as-weather metaphor, checking in with feelings, personalised study guides, Odyssey plans and uni advice.
- •Casual magic means finding a little magic in a mundane moment every day
- •Her advice to Ali: stop overthinking, flesh out ideas privately, and find a sanctity of space
- •Mental health is like weather: it changes and doesn't define you, so check in and prepare
- •Ali tries to describe how he feels, noting that men struggle to name their emotions
- •The Odyssey plan sketches three five-year lives; Jade tells new students to be messy and try things
Rapid-Fire Finale: Productivity, Criticism, Perfect Days and Life in Three Words
The closing questions cover Jade's changed view of productivity, waking early, and handling public criticism such as her Korea decision and Ali's comments on his appearance in videos. They finish with perfect days, accepting failure and describing life in three words.
- •Jade's relationship with productivity has shifted from grade and algorithm guilt to enjoying life more
- •Mornings start at night, according to Jade, who sets things up the evening before and sleeps at least seven hours
- •Criticism hurts most when it touches on an insecurity or has a valid point
- •Both describe perfect days built around morning routines, friends and nature or tennis
- •Jade accepts failure with time, reframing it and zooming out, and describes life as full of potential

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