Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
I’m excited to release as a free audio download my recent interview with top productivity blogger and speaker Merlin Mann of the incredibly popular 43 Folders blog. Merlin is also known for his Inbox Zero series, his speeches on productivity, his video podcasts including the Merlin Show and MacBreak, and other creative work.
Leo Babauta Interviews Merlin Mann
In this interview, I talk with Merlin about:
- Some of his heroes and inspirations.
- How his daughter changed his conception of priorities.
- His new rule regarding his laptop.
- How many emails are in his inbox, and what matters more than that.
- What motivates him instead of fear, and how to stop from overworking.
- What direction his work will take in the next year or two.
- And in the end, Merlin turns the tables on me!
Enjoy the interview! Please feel free to share this interview with friends, family, anyone who would be interested, and help spread the word about my book, The Power of Less!
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Elsewhere:
- Video interview with Leo about The Power of Less (bloggers — leave questions for me about blogging in the comments of this interview!)
- J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly reviews The Power of Less
- Erin Doland of Unclutterer reviews The Power of Less
- My guest post on ProBlogger: The Essential Guide to Growing Your Blog on Minimal Time
- My guest post on Dumb Little Man: 7 Simple Time Management Tips for the Super Busy
- Video interview with Leo on Guamology.com — more focused on living on Guam
21 brilliant comments
looks like a good interview Leo - will definitely check it out. Btw, loved seeing your book over on Unclutterer!!
Hey,
just a question to your book: Will there be a pdf version in the future? I am from Germany and therefore would prefer to read a digital copy, so I can look up unknown words immediately instead of remembering the line and the spelling and then type it into my dictinary. Copy & Paste would be much more efficient ;-)
Regards,
Chris
@Christopher: There are digital ebook versions available already. The Kindle version is on Amazon, and this site has several ebook formats available: http://is.gd/eahC
I’m not sure about a PDF version though. Good news, though, is that the book will be coming out in German sometime fairly soon. Other languages too, including Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and more. Maybe English too. ;)
I really like the audio interview. It keeps everything fresh with the different media. I especially like the point about children (and I guess by extension families) and how they cause us to examine our priorities.
By the way, was execited to walk int my local Barnes and Nobles and see your new book in hard copy!
GREAT!! Maybe you should link to the digital version as well, right under the big amazon-link on the right.
It’s also nice to hear, that there will be localized versions. However I prefer the english one to improve my skills and this way I don’t have to wait for a german version ;-)
Thank you!
It looks like you have some incredible questions. I’m just reading the keywords, and you covered his Inspiration, Conceptions, Motivations, and Direction. Those are all essential qualities that will be great for us to hear about. These pro bloggers are such role models for so many people, it’s encouraging to see their perspectives on things. Thanks for putting this together.
Cool!!! Checking it out now…
Excellent interview Leo!
I can’t wait to read your book! I hope I’ll receive it this week!
You’re gonna have some free advertising on the Milan Subway! ;-)
Just checked it out. Great interview all around. Merlin’s a funny guy! Thanks for sharing it with us, Leo! Eric.
Enjoyed the interview. Both blogs have helped me with productivity information. I thought it was a nice touch that he spoke about his family and specifically his daughter. We all want to be successful in terms of career, but not at the expense of our families.
~Gennaro
I liked the interview but I’m wondering if it would be possible to get a transcript because for me and I guess other readers of Zen Habits, it’s easier to read than to listem along. Just a suggestion, otherwise liked it alot.
Thanks for sharing.
You’re the man!
It would be great if there’s a transcript.
your friend Relax ~
I think I should start doing some interviews too. This kind of information is very interesting!
Fantastic! I’m sure it’ll make interesting listening, and I’m glad to have something to listen to while I’m on the train!
Thank you for the audio. I will definitely listen to it.
That was cool.
Great question and great insight.
My favorite parts …
- Expertise comes out of working hard, not random ideas. - Set aside time to get better at it.
- If you have to think that much about priority, it’s not a priority.
- It’s not about waiting for inspiration.
- What kind of ambiguity can you tolerate.
I heading over to check out the interview now
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
thanks Leo, great podcast. The books that Merlin mentioned can be found here:
‘On Writing’ by Steven King;
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Stephen-King/dp/0743455967
‘The Creative Habit’ by Twyla Tharp;
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Habit-Learn-Use-Life/dp/0743235274/
More photos of the guy please! :-)
I really like how lately you have been offering interactive blog articles with downloads and multimedia feeds. I decided to follow in your footsteps and offer a free downloadable “Improvement Plan” on my site Live for Improvement.
-Dan Malone-
Hey Leo,
Just went over to watch your “Video interview with Leo about The Power of Less” as well as the followup interview about building/promoting a blog you did the day after. They were fantastic - I really enjoyed seeing you interviewed and I am sure your readers as well as new people seeing you for the first time will really enjoy them.
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