Rule of Life: How Ancient Practices Can Transform Your Productivity and Rest with John Drury

I'm excited to revisit this conversation I had with John Drury to the show to discuss how ancient spiritual practices can reshape the way we approach productivity, rhythm, and life itself. John is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University's School of Theology and Ministry, holding an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a close personal friend of mine for over 25 years. In this conversation, we cover: Rethinking the Rule of Life: John introduces the concept of regula vitae — the rule of life — and explains why the question isn't whether you have one, but what's currently ruling yours. The Pandemic as a Mirror: We reflect on how COVID-19 disrupted our routines and created an unexpected opportunity for radical understimulation — and what we can learn from the people who actually took it. Life vs. Work-Life Balance: John challenges the very language of "work-life balance," arguing that life is your time — and work is just one part of it — never the other way around. Orienting Values and Stabilizing Practices: He walks through his hands-on framework for building a rule of life, including five orienting values and five stabilizing practices across daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual rhythms. The Sabbath as Productivity Practice: John shares how a 24-hour weekly Sabbath transformed his Fridays, redirected his procrastination, and deepened his connection with family — without a hint of legalism. If you've ever felt like your schedule is running you instead of the other way around, this conversation will give you the framework — and the permission — to start living with more intention. Learn more about John and his work at Indiana Wesleyan University, and stay tuned for part two of this conversation coming next week. Connect with Erik: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This Podcast is Powered By: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Descript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Descript 101⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Castmagic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ecamm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podpage⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rodecaster Pro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Top Productivity Books List⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make sure to grab Shortcasts from Beyond The To-Do List by Blinkist . A Shortcast is a 7-10 min version of a podcast where you get the core takeaways. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .