Create a Productive Void
Leave deliberate space before committing to the next major pursuit
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
Steven Bartlett recounts advice from a mentor after resigning: resist the urge to seize another project immediately and instead create a void. The reasoning is that his earlier success was powered by genuine hunger, which constant activity could prevent from returning. Joe Wicks connects the idea to his own pattern of continuous books, products, and promotions, and says he needs time off and a return to the free fitness content he enjoys. The method is a bounded transition practice: pause new major commitments, reject activity whose main purpose is escaping stillness, restore energy through intrinsically meaningful work, and wait for a goal strong enough to justify renewed intensity. It is deliberate space, not indefinite withdrawal.
Origin
Steven Bartlett shared advice from a mentor who urged him not to rush into another venture after resigning, but to create enough space for genuine hunger to return.
Core principles
- 01Immediate busyness can hide the absence of a worthwhile goal
- 02Rest and empty space can allow genuine hunger to return
- 03Not every month needs visible output or success
- 04A new commitment should be chosen rather than grabbed
How to run it
- 1
Bound the pause
Choose a realistic period during which you will not accept a new major project merely to replace the last one.
Pro tip State the review date so the pause remains deliberate.
Watch out A void without boundaries can become avoidance.
- 2
Reject reflex activity
Notice opportunities that are attractive mainly because they restore status, busyness, or familiar momentum, and decline them for now.
- 3
Restore intrinsic work
Spend time on useful activities you value without requiring them to become the next large commercial push.
Pro tip Return to the simplest version of the work that originally felt meaningful.
Watch out Do not turn recovery activity into another punishing performance target.
- 4
Watch for durable pull
Observe which problems and possibilities continue to matter after the initial urge for motion has faded.
- 5
Choose the next commitment
Re-enter sustained work when a worthwhile goal, sufficient energy, and a clear reason to act are present.
Pro tip Prefer a mission that can survive beyond one short deadline.
In the wild
Joe describes years of books, merchandise, products, and campaigns, followed by an intense period of workouts and media appearances. In response to the discussion, he says he needs to stop constantly selling, take time off, and reconnect with the free workout content that originally made him happy.
→ The proposed pause creates room for recovery and for a more meaningful next commitment to emerge.
Common mistakes
Grabbing the first new project
Immediate commitment can reproduce momentum without restoring the hunger or purpose that made earlier work effective.
Making rest performative
Turning a quiet period into another output contest defeats its purpose.
Leaving the pause undefined
A bounded void supports reflection; indefinite withdrawal can conceal avoidance or unmet needs.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for high-output people between major ventures who can afford a bounded period of reduced commitments.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when urgent financial, health, or caregiving obligations require immediate action.
From the transcript
“Create a void in your life.”
“Resist the temptations just to run back into something and just let it be.”
“it's okay to be not busy and not be successful for a few months”
From the episode
Joe Wicks on Addiction, Childhood Trauma, Depression And World Domination