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

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.

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• 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.