462. In a Good Place with Leidy Klotz

It’s easy to live life on autopilot, with your eyes glued to a screen, completely disconnected from your physical surroundings. 

But as we learn in this episode with Leidy Klotz, the spaces you inhabit aren't just backdrops; they are actively shaping your mind, moods, and memories. 

Talking about Leidy’s latest book, In a Good Place, you’ll hear about Leidy’s framework of agency, growth, and belonging; why attention to physical environments matters in an age of screens and automation; how workplaces and homes can support different needs through thoughtful choice and design; and how spaces anchor powerful memories.

Listen and Learn: 

• Modern automation and screen time are subtly changing the way you interact with your physical surroundings and how you can intentionally reclaim your agency in the environments you navigate every day 
• Why some modern architectural choices and environmental distractions might actually be making it harder for you to form genuine connections with the people right in front of you 
• Breaking through modern habits, tune out your digital devices, and actively re-engage with the world around you 
• How different personality types navigate physical environments
• How having personal agency and direct control over one's space profoundly increases comfort levels 
• Allowing spaces to serve as powerful physical conduits for processing grief, honoring lost loved ones, and preserving their spirit through physical landmarks 

Resources: 

• Subtract The Untapped Science of Less https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781250249876
• In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live,  Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9780316567367
• Jill’s newsletter post about the sweet spot: https://jillstoddard.substack.com/p/the-one-question-that-can-unlock?utm_source=publication-search  
• Leidy’s website: https://leidyklotz.com/  

About Leidy Klotz: 

Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia whose research sits at the intersection of physical design and behavioral science. Before academia, he designed schools in New Jersey — and before that, he played professional soccer. A man who has never met a lane he wasn't willing to cross.

His first book, Subtract, uncovered our systematic bias toward adding rather than removing, and what we lose in the process. His latest, In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive, explores how the spaces we inhabit quietly shape how we think, feel, and connect — usually without our awareness. It's also a deeply personal book whose emotional resonance defies easy summary.

Related Episodes:

• 182. Stretch with Scott Sonenshein 
• 211. Subtract with Leidy Klotz

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