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Jay Shetty Podcast

The Stress Expert: Your Brain is Like a Phone Battery! (9 Ways to Instantly Recharge)

Did you know our minds are like phone batteries that need regular recharging to avoid burnout?

Jay ShettyhostDavid Koguest

Dec 13, 20241h 17mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Welcome and What David Ko Is Not Calm About
Jay Shetty introduces David Ko, CEO of Calm and author of Recharge, and the two catch up. Jay opens by asking what David is not calm about, and David describes the stress of his oldest daughter applying to colleges.
- •Introduction of David Ko as CEO of Calm and author of Recharge
- •The book includes interviews with rappers, rebels and innovators about stress and burnout
- •David admits he is not calm about his daughter's college applications
- •He describes moving from the driver's seat to the backseat as a parent
The Origin of the Battery Analogy
Jay cites a statistic about the amount of information we process daily and asks David about his battery analogy for the brain. David explains it came from a friend who asks her kids "How's your battery?" instead of "How are you?", because it simplifies the conversation.
- •Jay cites research that we process around 72 gigabytes of information a day, likened to reading The Hobbit
- •A friend asked her kids about their battery to get past the plain "fine"
- •The framing is simple and doesn't draw out heavy emotions
- •David uses the theme with clients and finds it resonates
The Four Battery Zones and Recharging
David breaks the battery into four zones from 75–100 down to 0–25 and explains what each calls for. Jay and David share how they manage their own charge, reframe rest as recharging, and compare how people treat phone and car batteries.
- •Four zones: 75–100 fine, 50–75 think about recharging, 25–50 take a break, 0–25 take a hard stop
- •David recharges with walks, deep breaths and workouts, and everyone's techniques differ
- •Jay cancels plans when he drops below 50% and says recharging feels less guilt-inducing than "rest"
- •Both keep their batteries charged, though some people work well running theirs very low
Talking to Someone at 5% Battery
Jay asks what David would say to someone who is at a zero emotionally. David explains how he makes space, listens, and uses phone-battery analogies to draw out what is draining someone without making the talk too charged.
- •People often expect "I'm good" and aren't ready for a real answer
- •David asks intentionally so he is prepared if someone says they're at 5%
- •Being present and listening is key
- •Comparing life to apps that drain a phone helps people identify what drains them
- •The battery framing makes mental health easier to discuss for those who resist the topic
Presence, Vulnerability and Redefining Strength in Leadership
Jay asks how David stays present as a busy CEO. David says leaders must make space and show vulnerability, which gives employees permission to do the same. Jay shares a coaching story about a CEO who feared appearing weak and reflects on how strength is being redefined.
- •Leaders are expected to have all the answers and must make space deliberately
- •David says he used to be poor at vulnerability but learned from people who opened up while he wrote the book
- •Jay's client feared his team would think he was weak if he shared his journey
- •Jay says strength is increasingly seen as showing both sides and being vulnerable
Good Stress vs. Bad Stress at Work
Jay and David discuss the spectrum of stress, noting that stress can make people work harder but not better. David describes good stress as leading to resilience and growth, shares how Calm treated the election as a high-stress moment, and notes that leaders must be clear on goals, priorities and support.
- •Jay says the right amount of stress makes people work better, not just harder
- •David says good stress can build resilience, growth and culture, while distress can lead to anxiety, depression and physical ailments
- •Calm responded to election stress with moments of silence and animals from the San Diego Zoo
- •Good stress means a clear goal and support; leaders often add priorities without taking any away
Daily Rituals and Quality Over Quantity at Calm
Jay asks about the small daily practices at Calm. David describes all-hands meetings that open with meditation and end with gratitude, Zoom-free days, and saying no to meetings. They discuss how busyness gets confused with value, including lessons from John Sculley and Jack Rowe.
- •All-hands start with a meditation and end with gratitude
- •Zoom-free days and declining meetings help David focus on quality over quantity
- •John Sculley described himself as Chief Listening Officer
- •Jack Rowe advised putting yourself into neutral rather than running at 100 miles an hour
Supporting Employees' Whole Lives and Mental Health Tools
Jay and David discuss leadership as caring for people, and how personal struggles show up at work. David explains why companies should offer mental health tools, poll employees about what they value, and listen to younger workers who expect support.
- •Jay says what holds people back is usually emotional or mental rather than professional
- •David's earlier caregiving company showed him how much employees carry outside work
- •Ask employees what perks they want, as with the unused gym membership and the infrared mask gift poll
- •Without tools, employees lack a vehicle to talk about mental health at work
- •Younger employees expect and vocally ask for these services
How Mindfulness Supports Productivity and Better Decisions
Responding to skeptics, David explains that most Calm users come for sleep and that poor sleep and negative coping habits hurt productivity. He and Jay argue that taking breaks to recharge yields better decisions and communication, and that the brain lacks endless capacity.
- •More than half of Calm users come for sleep, often disrupted by devices
- •David describes turning to smoking and poor eating habits under stress as a young banker
- •The brain doesn't have endless capacity and needs to recharge
- •Jay says a still mind makes quicker, better decisions and communicates more clearly
- •Stopping for a short time gains time rather than losing it
Growing Up Told to Power Through Stress
Jay raises the statistic that 61% of people feel expected to just get over stress. David and Jay share childhood experiences of stress symptoms with no vocabulary for them, and how immigrant family cultures discouraged talking about mental health.
- •David experienced tightness in his chest and sweaty hands at 14, and his mother said to power through
- •David says mental health is about powering up, not powering through
- •Jay recalls being wired up with monitors at the doctor and told he was fine
- •Both note vulnerability wasn't common in their families, and Jay now uses breathwork
- •Jay cites that 33% of people feel too overwhelmed by daily stress to think ahead
Leaders Playing It Safe and David's Personal Vulnerability
David says leaders are trained to play it safe and avoid vulnerability, and describes sharing his own struggles with his team. Jay asks what leaders most often struggle with, and David points to fear that vulnerability signals weakness and says the next generation of leaders will be more open.
- •Leaders are often media trained to stay safe and avoid saying the wrong thing
- •David shared with employees about smoking as a kid, being overweight and struggling with food
- •Being more vulnerable has made Calm stronger, he says
- •Leaders fear vulnerability will be used against them
- •David sees younger leaders as more open about mental health
Finding Your Charger and Daily Rituals
Jay says life has several chargers, such as sleep, meditation, food, exercise and relationships, and encourages listeners to identify which charge they need at which battery level. He and David share rituals, including Jay's weekly wins and David's personal check-ins at team meetings.
- •Chargers include sleep, mindfulness, food, working out and loved ones
- •Jay suggests writing down when you feel drained and what charge you need beforehand
- •Jay works out and meditates five days a week and practices daily gratitude
- •Weekly wins on Fridays show what team members value as success
- •Personal connection at work and trust drive productivity
Letting the Team Lead and Building Culture
David reflects on how his approach has changed from needing to be in every decision to focusing on quality decisions. He describes having a cross-company group create the company strategy and says culture is the bedrock as a company scales.
- •Younger David felt he had to be in every decision
- •Quality decisions are ones where his role moves the business forward meaningfully
- •He asked a broader group to create the company strategy, and it was better than his own idea
- •Culture set early percolates through the entire company
Final Five Questions
Jay closes with the Final Five. David names presence as the best recharge advice and power through as the worst. He shares his rituals for powering up, the conversation turns to phone-free time, and David says his law would be mental health education for children.
- •Best advice: be more present
- •Worst advice: power through rather than power up
- •Power-up rituals: a morning routine without his phone, walking meetings, and exercise
- •Jay discusses phone-free dinners and weekends and keeping his laptop disconnected from messaging apps
- •David's law would carve out school time to teach kids about mental health and check their battery
Closing: How's Your Battery?
After discussing the book's guests, David says Jay never asked about his battery. Both say the conversation recharged them, and Jay reflects that being present charges both people.
- •Book guests include Randall Park and Macklemore
- •David says his battery is over 100% after the conversation
- •Jay says he went from about 60 to 95
- •Being present with someone charges both people

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