ProductivityCast

You can track almost any kind of data and then review and reflect on that data to make informed decisions about your productive future. Most people, however, do not. Movements, like that of Quantified Self, whose tagline is “self-knowledge through numbers,” aim to help individuals track data to improve their lives in whatever way they choose. In this cast, the ProductivityCast team looks at the st...

As we discussed email in the last episode, email management of multiple accounts has its positives and negatives. All of us, Augusto, Art, Francis and I have multiple email accounts. And, to be honest, I don’t know many people who have only one solitary email account. But, whether you have one inbox, or 10 inboxes, one methodology that’s cropped up and lingered for nearly two decades is the idea o...

We all use email every day. It’s hard to imagine work and personal life pre-email technology. And, while it serves many functions, it also tends to multiply in numbers--literally, the number of accounts we create and manage over time. In this episode, the ProductivityCast team discusses how many email accounts we have, and the purpose of each email account in our productivity systems. Enjoy! Give...

Have you ever taken time off of work and returned to find yourself not being as productive as you’d like? Whether it’s for a couple days away to a longer hiatus, leaving work behind and then getting back to work can be challenging to your productivity and systems. In this episode, the ProductivityCast team discusses how to get back to work effectively. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for list...

In today's world, it's impossible to remember everything we can know. From passwords to tasks to calendar appointments and more, there are data out there that simply don't belong rolling around clouding up our focus. And, thankfully, we have the ability to externalize this information from retention to recall. In this cast, the ProductivityCast team looks at the concept of the external brain as a...

25 episodes! Thank you all for listening and helping us grow the ProductivityCast community! As we grow and change in our personal and professional lives, we should all consider if the way you see your “next actions” (the granular, physical tasks we take to move projects forward, a la Getting Things Done by David Allen). If we approach next-action crafting in time chunks smaller or larger, or base...

On this cast, we have some fun! That is, we ask ourselves the question, can productivity be fun? The ProductivityCast team talks about the concept of adding fun into your productive life. We discuss the potential opportunities to incorporate play into your work, gamifying your productivity system, negative stereotyping by business about the idea of games in a professional space, and more. How are...

The winter holidays season is upon us and soon the new year! And, there’s no time like the present to start planning for the upcoming holidays and new year. To reduce distress and increase the opportunities to enjoy and celebrate time with family, friends and work colleagues during this season, good planning (and execution) is vital. What do you do to prepare for the holidays and new year? In this...

You know the productivity annoyances you deal with daily or weekly when coworkers or family or friends waste your time or resources. Some things get under all of our skins. And, it's best to occasionally talk about them, and even strategize how to address them and overcome them. What are your biggest productivity pet peeves? We'd like to know! We present ours on this cast for you to know how to id...

Clutter is a pernicious problem for many people. And, so is its cousin, digital clutter. Across your many desktop and mobile devices now prevalent in daily life, we house files piled high (metaphorically speaking) that as Art Gelwicks aptly notes, lives on "without a clearly defined purpose." Clearly this is a complicated issue and the ProductivityCast team has a healthy debate about the practical...

Augusto received mistakenly a letter from his local municipality, and the time-wasting process began of fixing another person’s mistakes. And, yes, people will make mistakes. You will make mistakes. But, the deeper issue here is valuing other people’s time. There are many issues when respecting and understanding the productive value of other people's time. And, in this cast, we guide you on how to...

Eight years ago Paul Graham wrote an article characterizing two different types of time management, each centering on either a maker or manager perspective. The maker schedule is that of the individual who needs longer stretches of time in order to create, whereas the manager schedule is structured around meetings and shorter periods of work times. But times, they are a-changing...and fast!  In th...

There was a recent study of ravens that found they can plan. They can do the simple-to-humans function of planning for future possibilities. Only known to be a capability of humans and apes before, ravens (or, corvids) have now joined the elite thinkers of planet Earth. But, what does planning have to do with productivity? Why, everything! And, that's what the ProductivityCast team entertains in t...

Ray starts out most productivity seminars with a fundamental definition of a productivity system: a dynamic set of skills, strategies and tools, that you adapt as your life circumstances change. And, as you'll hear from Francis in this episode, you have the system that usually developed organically, not out of planning necessarily. So, in many ways, you need to overcome your own productivity syste...

Consider this: you couldn't have gotten to this cast without reflection. Consciously or unconsciously, you reflected on taking that action that lead you here, right now, preparing to listen to ProductivityCast. But, downloading this episode won't simply, magically make you more productive. There's much more to it. You need to listen to the substance, then reflect on how the knowledge bomb Augusto,...

Where do you work best? And for what type of work (focused thinking work, diffuse thinking work, mundane/ministerial tasks, big projects that require multiple modalities, or specialized handcrafting) do you do best in what environment? Creating your ideal workspace is important to being able to be and stay productive. In this cast, the ProductivityCast team discusses the factors and tools to get a...

Is doing more faster really better? When is slow good for productivity? That’s what the ProductivityCast team seeks to find out in this cast on productivity and the need for speed! Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to discuss this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast Ray Sidney-Smith August...

Have you ever gotten stuck? Are you stuck right now? How do you get unstuck? Well, getting unstuck is tough, but it's doable! In this cast, the ProductivityCast team discusses what gets us stuck and methods for getting unstuck. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to discuss this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of...

Source: Google               "If the things we believe in are different than the things we do, there can be no true happiness." —Dana Telford The ProductivityCast team tackles the concept of integrity and its relationship to your productivity system. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to discuss this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jump...

In the last episode, Art asked a poignant and thought-provoking question of the ProductivityCast team? "What would it take to change to the opposite platform or operating system than the one you're currently on?" It piqued our interest to think and discuss this, so that's what we're doing on this episode! Enjoy! Have you thought about a change to the opposite platform, operating system, or ecosyst...

And, the gloves come off! In this episode, the ProductivityCast gang dukes out the merits of a productive smartphone. We discuss the specific models we use, customization, productivity app selection, ease of use / intuitiveness, form factor, customer / technical support, and how to be most productive on your smartphone. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to discuss t...

If you are looking to purchase your first mobile tablet, or you're in the market to buy a new one, you're in luck! In this episode, Ray, Augusto and Francis tackle some of the important questions you should ask yourself about what kind of mobile tablet you should own. As a quick overview, please take note of the following criteria you can use to make a decision: Operating System – Choose the opera...

Let’s get ready to ruuuummmmmblllllle! We’re going to battle until the last spreadsheet software is standing! Okay, not really. But, isn't that an exciting way to start anything!? In this episode, we introduce our latest, regular podcast contributor, Art Gelwicks of The Idea Pump, to ProductivityCast. We’re excited to now have Francis and Art join us going forward and really increase the value of...

In the last episode, Augusto posed a question for the ProductivityCast team about how we chose the hardware we use today, to be most productive. Much of the discussion centers on operating systems, as you’ll see from this second part of that discussion, about our own choices in hardware, software ecosystems, and operating systems. They’re so intrinsically connected today. Though, as Ray will note,...

On this cast, we are excited to introduce a new member of the ProductivityCast team, Francis Wade of 2TimeLabs. Francis joins us on this conversation about getting control of your hardware. We begin with this episode on our hardware setup at the moment and why we have chosen the hardware we have. In the next episode, we dive into the practical components of choosing good hardware for your producti...