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

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

April 15, 2026 · 44 min · Episode 593

About this episode

John Drury discusses how ancient spiritual practices can reshape productivity and life balance.

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…

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