Frederik taught futuring, innovation and creativity at Stanford for ten years and built the creative culture at Google. Here is what he gives away for free:

Mindstate Moments: one small practice every morning. Takes two minutes. Changes the rest of your day. https://frederikgpferdt.link/join

AI can give you every answer. It can’t find a problem worth solving. That part is still yours, and it starts with how you treat your time.

Dr. Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist, the founder of Figure 8 Thinking and the author of The Creativity Leap and Move. Think. Rest. Her work redefines productivity and shows why our best ideas need movement, wonder and rest.

If you have ever filled every free minute with more work and wondered why your ideas dried up, this episode is for you. Natalie shows you why rest is not a reward for productivity but part of it, and how a few seconds of daydreaming can change the way you think.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

Why AI can give us answers, but only we can find the right problems

Why we’re in the middle of a human revolution, not a tech revolution

The 90-second daydream break you can take at any window

Why moving your body moves your ideas

How wonder and rigor work together, and why goals are dreams with deadlines

This episode is for every leader, creator and team member who feels busier than ever in the age of AI. You’ll leave with a new way to see your time and a simple first step you can take today.

Please note: due to technical issues during recording, Natalie’s audio quality varies in parts of this episode.

Connect with Natalie Nixon:

Website and her books, The Creativity Leap and Move. Think. Rest.: https://www.figure8thinking.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalienixonphd/

Two free gifts from Frederik:

Mindstate Moments: one small practice every morning. Takes two minutes. Changes the rest of your day. https://frederikgpferdt.link/join

Where to Start: you know that feeling of wanting to change something but not knowing where to begin? 30 doors into the best of this podcast, matched to how you feel right now. https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/where-to-start

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.podpage.com/the-future-is-how/

Chapters

00:00 A human revolution, not a tech one

00:36 Welcome, Natalie Nixon

01:21 Introduce yourself as your future self

03:14 The two-day micro retreat

06:27 Why daydreaming isn’t wasted time

09:00 The 90-second daydream break

10:02 What dance teaches that a desk can’t

12:59 Starting with movement at Stanford

13:51 A Monday that starts like a dance

15:41 Wonder and rigor, explained

17:44 Where wonder hides in a normal day

19:54 When to stop dreaming and start doing

22:44 Natalie’s two books

25:53 Rest: the one we skip most

28:05 What readers changed after the book

30:33 The five-minute doodle sprint

34:50 The human, AI, human sandwich

37:20 Finding problems worth solving

39:33 Try this week: read fiction

41:31 We’re in a human revolution

42:06 Why in-person experiences gain value

43:46 What’s next for Natalie

44:41 Three ideas to take with you