ProductivityCast

Welcome to our Productivity App-apalooza! Premiere Edition! Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art use and experiment with hundreds of apps per year in our productive lives. So, we've decided to these Productivity App-apalooza episodes every so often to cover software and services that we use and recommend to others. We hope you enjoy, and let us know the apps you're using that are helping you be more prod...

In this episode of ProductivityCast, the weekly show about all things personal productivity, we have the pleasure of bringing you our very first interview! They won’t be often, but sprinkled in, we think that hearing outside voices of productivity experts would be a valued addition to the personal productivity conversations we have. This week, we’re delighted we got to sit down with Taylor Jacobso...

Today, so much of our lives are lived in the ever-flowing river of data that we produce, consume and discard. But, what if you lose that data? What if your data gets compromised by some bad actor on the Internet? Do you have a plan in place to backup that data? That’s the topic of today’s cast -- creating a data backup storage system. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visi...

This is episode nine, Reflections on GTD: What I Wish I Knew When I Started GTD, Part Two, and therefore the last in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. In this cast, Augusto Pinaud, Francis Wade, Art Gelwicks a...

This is episode eight, Reflections on GTD: What I Wish I Knew When I Started GTD, Part One, and our second-to-last in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. In this cast, Augusto, Francis and I discuss what we wish...

This is episode seven, where we discuss the powerful productivity practice of the Weekly Review, in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. “The Weekly Review is the time to: Gather and process all your stuff. Revie...

This is episode six, continuing our discussion of Step Five of the Workflow Diagram / Map, Engage (Doing), in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. It makes sense that each of [the Horizons of Focus] levels should...

This is episode five, on Step Five of the Workflow Diagram / Map, Engage (Do), in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. When it comes to your real-time, plow-through, get-it-done workday, how do you decide what to...

This is episode four, on Step Four of the Workflow Diagram / Map, Reflect (Review), in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team–as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. “[...O]ne of the requirements it that you have to come back and reflect and review on yo...

Host’s note: You will notice that Art Gelwicks stopped speaking about 13 minutes into this week’s ProductivityCast about the GTD step, Organize. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties. Our apologies for any parts where it may sound like we jumped from segment to another; it’s likely where Art was speaking and his audio wasn’t available. That said, this is episode three, on Step Three of...

This is episode two, on Step Two of the Workflow Diagram / Map, Clarify (formerly Process), in our nine-part series on the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity methodology and eponymously-titled book, from the perspective of the ProductivityCast team--as long-term practitioners, critics and observers of GTD. “Without a next action, there remains a potentially infinite gap between curren...

Over the next nine episodes, we are going to be in conversation about Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. We are going to talk about each of the steps in the GTD Workflow Diagram / Map. We will cover capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting and engaging, then a discussion about Weekly Review. Finally, we will cover what we wish we knew when we started our...

In Episode 037, we discussed the power of routines in your day, and specifically, your morning routine. In this episode, we cover the evening routine and how to make your evening routine a productivity enabler in your life. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit http://productivitycast.net/038 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy...

There’s a long-standing misconception (in Ray Sidney-Smith's humble opinion) that habits are how you become more productive. But, it’s actually your routines that power your habits, and therefore, your personal productivity. In this episode of ProductivityCast, we discuss the power of routines, and specifically look at the morning routine. We discuss each of our morning routines and discuss some c...

Commonly, we discuss how to better manage your personal productivity through the effective use of task lists. Today, we discuss a counterintuitive productivity concept that Augusto Pinaud has been using for many years--the "Do-Not-Do" List. In this way, this is another use of task lists but, in this case, it's a way to identify what you shouldn't do. In this episode of ProductivityCast, we discuss...

Do you use paper for your productivity system? Do you use a digital system? Or, a hybrid productivity system? In this episode of ProductivityCast, we highlight the Bullet Journal, an all-paper productivity system developed by a productivity enthusiast, Ryder Carroll. It doesn't matter what you use, you can learn a thing or two about your own productivity system when you look at how others "on the...

This week, we discuss on ProductivityCast the importance of productivity habits and/or routines. What are your best productivity habits/routines? And, we ask that of each of the ProductivityCast teammates. Spend some time thinking this week about how you can level up your productive habits and/or routines. And, let us know about them in the comments! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory,...

We get up every day, and we walk out of the house with the tools we need to get through the day. Do you stop and think about what it is that you carry, and why? Are there things that could help you? Are you carrying items that you don’t need? In this episode of ProductivityCast, the team discusses their everyday carry for personal productivity. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory, pleas...

In this cast, we tackle the questions: What is rejuvenating, re-charging, and rebooting your personal productivity system? And, what reasons might lead you to need a reboot of your personal productivity system? What are existing methods you know of or have tried for rejuvenating your productivity? What are some hurdles to be mindful of when doing a rejuvenation/recharge/reboot of your system(s)? T...

In our last cast, we discussed the power of active tracking for greater productivity. If not, it’s highly recommended you go back and listen to that cast first. You will learn about empowered choice and for that alone, the previous cast is worthwhile. Today on this cast, we discuss the importance of taking charge of the passive data being collected about you already and learning to track data that...

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...