Christmas Special - Life Hacks, Biggest Lessons & Best Resolutions

I'm back on my old couch in Newcastle with Jonny, Yusef & George to catch up on what they've learned, their best hacks and new year's resolutions for 2025. - 00:00 Ninja CREAMi Hacks 06:25 A Trigger for Gratitude 08:39 Uber Black XL for a Special Occasion 13:31 The Kale Algorithm 20:25 Audible to Send You to Sleep 24:39 Use What You Already Have Better 28:05 Secure Your Curtains in Hotel Rooms 31:36 The Best On-the-Road Work Setup 35:00 Walking Pad With a Standing Desk 40:48 Only Do Voice Notes When You’re Walking 42:00 Chris’s Favourite Music & Deodorant 43:55 How to Learn Anything From LLMs 48:01 The Pain of Growing a Business 53:48 Stop Moving the Goalposts 1:01:03 Outcomes Matter Most From Inputs 1:06:46 Turning Bullshit Into Reality 1:10:18 The Problem With 75 Hard 1:14:13 A Framework for Achieving Your Goals 1:18:26 Chris’s Most Impactful Resolutions 1:23:22 How to Actually Succeed In Your Resolutions 1:27:45 The Happiness of Progress 1:33:08 Stated Vs Revealed Goals 1:36:40 The Socratic Method & Doom Loops 1:41:52 Merry Christmas - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostJonathan (Jonny) WatsonguestYusefguestGeorgeguest

Dec 22, 20241h 42mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Life Hacks, Growth Lessons, And High-ROI Habits For 2025

Chris Williamson hosts a loose, funny Christmas roundtable with Jonny and Yusef from Propain Fitness and marketer George Mack, sharing their most useful life hacks, biggest lessons from 2024, and go-to New Year’s resolutions.
They cover highly practical tweaks—from gadgets like the Ninja Creami, walking pads, and laptop stands to digital systems for taming YouTube and social media—alongside deeper ideas about goals, happiness, business growth, and the limits of money and success.
A recurring theme is focusing on outcomes over inputs, making small daily improvements rather than chasing explosive growth, and aligning actions with true values instead of stories we tell ourselves.
They end by suggesting high-ROI resolutions (like morning walks, phone-free bedrooms, and structured goal systems) that are more likely to stick and actually improve life, rather than becoming another failed New Year’s plan.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Use simple tools and gadgets to make desired behaviors easier and more enjoyable.

Devices like the Ninja Creami (for high-protein ice cream), walking pads under standing desks, and portable laptop stands can make healthy eating, movement, and ergonomic work feel rewarding instead of like willpower battles.

Redesign your digital environment instead of relying on discipline.

George’s 'Kale algorithm' script hides all YouTube videos under 30 minutes, massively reducing junk viewing, and similar filters (email rules, blank YouTube home screens, Readwise/Reader queues) shift you from impulse consumption to pre-selected, higher-quality content.

Treat minor daily annoyances as triggers for gratitude and empathy.

Yusef suggests flipping irritations—sirens, rude staff, delays—into reminders that things could be far worse for you or that others are suffering more, which both improves mood and makes you more prosocial.

Prioritize outcomes over inputs and do the single most important task first.

The group repeatedly returns to the idea that hours worked, suffering, and busyness are irrelevant if you dodge the key task; writing down your to-dos, selecting the scariest/highest-leverage one, and doing just that (often for a fixed block) is vastly more effective.

Aim for steady “microplate” gains rather than explosive jumps.

Borrowing from powerlifting, they argue that slow, consistent progress (small, regular increases) produces a better experience and more sustainable growth than big spikes, which create future pressure and hidden debt in business and life.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Doing something well doesn’t make it important.

— Tim Ferriss (quoted by Jonny / group paraphrase)

For every level, there’s a devil.

— Jonny Watson

There are so many people working so hard and achieving so little.

— Andy Grove (quoted by Chris Williamson and George Mack)

Trajectory is more important than position.

— Chris Williamson (attributing the idea to Jimmy Carr)

If information was all that was needed, we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.

— Yusef (paraphrasing Naval Ravikant)

Practical life hacks and gadgets (Ninja Creami, air fryers, walking pads, laptop stands)Digital hygiene and attention management (YouTube 'Kale algorithm', social media scripts, single-tasking)Sleep optimization and evening routines (Audible, eye masks, hotel curtain and pillow hacks)Reframing problems, gratitude, and personal growth (using irritations as gratitude triggers, 'for every level there’s a devil')Goals, values, and success (outcomes vs inputs, trajectory vs position, spiral curriculum of life lessons)Business growth, bottlenecks, and sustainable progress (steady gains vs explosive scaling, consolidation phases)New Year’s resolutions that actually work (75 Hard variants, structured goal systems, journaling, morning walks, phone discipline)

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