The Productivity Show

Today Brooks and Mike continue the conversation that Thanh and Mike began last week on the TEA framework, a simple mental model to help you identify which levels to pull to get unstuck and help you reach your full potential. We'll dive deep on the first pillar of the TEA Framework, explain the 3 parts of making the most of your time, give you guiding questions to help you identify where you can ma...

Today we're introducing you to our new productivity framework, which we call TEA. This simple framework will help you identify the root causes when your productivity dips and show you which levers you need to pull to get back on track. If you feel like you're not living up to your full potential but can't quite figure out why, or are just starting on your productivity journey but could use a roadm...

Do you have trouble getting your habits to stick? Or maybe you have trouble breaking bad habits that keep you from realizing your full potential? Either way, you won't want to miss today's episode where I interview author James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits and creator of the Habits Academy. James' writing combines ideas from a wide range of disciplines including biology, neuroscience, psycho...

Today Mike is joined by Leo & Harry, creators of the iOS app Sorted, to talk about their unique approach to task management. We dive deep into the topic of scheduling your tasks, and why they believe it's so important if you really want to be productive. We discuss how this intentional approach towards organizing your day led to the development of Sorted, which was recently featured by Apple in th...

Today's episode is with Thanh, the CEO of Asian Efficiency, who's having a conversation with his friend AJ about how to design the life you want. He goes into detail about how you can envision the perfect lifestyle and take actionable steps to build it. They share their personal productivity strategies for doing it - some that you might not have heard of. What's also unique about this episode is h...

For many of the people we work with here at Asian Efficiency, the thing that is holding them back from reaching their full potential is simply the ability to focus free from distraction on the things that they already know are important. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about those distractions - you can't stop someone from barging into your office and derailing your day with an urgent project...

Mike is joined today by productivity expert Chris Bailey. Chris is the internationally bestselling author of The Productivity Project, and most recently his second book, Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. Chris writes about productivity at ALifeOfProductivity.com and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the pr...

Do you ever find yourself reacting emotionally to things that are beyond your control? Maybe you don't fly off the handle and say something you'll regret later, but you still find certain people or things in your work or personal life that make your blood start to boil. This is known as the fight vs. flight response, and unfortunately, in an effort to save us from physical harm our body tends to t...

A lot of people dream of working remotely. They picture themselves checking email occasionally from the beach or working a couple hours a day when it's convenient for them. But anyone who works on a remote team knows there's much more to it than that. Sure remote work gives you freedom and autonomy, but working with team members who are halfway around the world has its fair share of challenges. In...

Do you have trouble focusing on one thing for any length of time? You're not alone - in today's crazy-busy society, we've become addicted to distraction. Today we're going to show you how you can fight this through a mindfulness meditation habit. We talk about what mindfulness meditation is, how to do it effectively, the 10 major benefits that come from mindfulness meditation, and give you our rec...

We talk a lot about the concept of deep work here at Asian Efficiency, which is all about maximizing your intensity of focus so that you can produce excellent work and be more productive. But that assumes that you have time to focus on your important projects, which for many people is a luxury they don't have (especially those in a corporate environment who have to deal with pop-ins from bosses an...

On this episode, we're joined by Josh Fonger, a business performance architect and the co-founder of Work The System. He is an international business consultant, coach, and speaker. He's had the unique experience of personally helping hundreds of businesses grow simply, using the WTS Method. His specialty is taking stressed out entrepreneurs from working "in" their business to working "on" their b...

Do you like the idea of the 12 Week Year, but have trouble achieving your 12 Week Year goals? So did Mike, until he started implementing the concept of a personal retreat or thinking day that we're about to share with you in this episode. Brooks and Mike talk about how to make the most of your personal thinking time, Mike shares the process he uses to achieve my goals for the last few quarters, th...

Do you ever get overwhelmed? Ever feel like you've lost control of your day and there's absolutely nothing that you can do about it? Do you get frustrated with having to respond to things other people declare are urgent and find yourself with no time left for the things that are important to you? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then this episode is for you. Brooks and Mike talk ab...

It can be difficult balancing close relationships with the important people in your life and your desire to get things done as efficiently as possible. What do you do when you have friends or family members who don't share the same approach to getting things done? How can you win them over and convince them to implement new and better ways of doing things? In this episode, Brooks and Mike talk abo...

Do you ever get frustrated because your team or family members "just don't get it" and insist on doing things in a way that's completely unproductive? If so, you're not alone. We all struggle with people who are close to us that haven't yet seen the light when it comes to the way they choose to get things done. If you've ever found yourself in this situation, you probably feel like this is a battl...

Ever wonder why so many New Year's Resolutions don't stick? For most people, it's because they're relying solely on willpower to achieve their goals. Don't be like so many who start things but can't finish them. Tune in to understand: Why willpower alone isn't going to allow you to achieve your goals, the 2 different approaches you can use to maintain motivation, and 5 practical tips for increasin...

People seem to self-identify into 2 categories: those that thrive working from home, and those that say they could never do it. In this episode, we want to convince you that working from home is like any other productivity challenge - if you set yourself up for success, become aware of some best practices, and apply some creativity and flexibility, anyone can do it and do it productively. Full sho...

Ever wonder why some people seem to get so much more done than others? We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so today we're going to dive into the strategy of timeblocking and how high-achievers use it to become super-productive. Mike is joined by Curtis McHale, who recently produced a video training course for the Dojo to help people implement timeblocking for themselves and take massive action...

You're listening to the 200th episode of the Productivity Show which is a major milestone for us. Three years and almost 5mm downloads later we're still going strong and helping people like you achieve your goals in record times with our actionable content. To celebrate this special occasion we will reveal something at Asian Efficiency that we have never done before - an inside look at our plannin...

It's hard to think of something that has made as big an impact in the way we live and work during the past decade than the smartphone. The iPhone in particular, introduced with its large touchscreen and lack of a physical keyboard, has had a profound impact on our productivity and changed the way we get work done. Its capability and portability have allowed people to work when and where they like....

Ever wonder why some people get so much done compared to others? Behind every super-productive person is an intentional approach to how they manage their calendar. In this episode, Brooks and Mike dive deep on how to set your day up for success by managing your calendar well. They talk about why you need a calendar in the first place, what types of things should go on your calendar, the 3 simple s...

Do you ever feel like things are harder than they should be? Then today's episode about conative productivity is for you. Mike is joined by David Kolbe, CEO of Kolbe Corp, who has lived and breathed the Kolbe Concept® since its inception. 

Today he joins us to talk about how making small adjustments based on conative insights can improve your productivity in all areas of your life. We dive deep o...

Do you ever find yourself frustrated because the day has just gotten away from you? If so, we've got good news for you: there are things you can do to set yourself up for a successful and productive day. Today Mike is joined by writer, author, and podcaster Dave Caolo. Dave was the managing editor at The Unofficial Apple Weblog for eight years where he covered major Apple releases, produced podcas...

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting thinking to yourself, "when is this going to end?" or even "why am I here?" If so, you're definitely not alone. Meetings can waste a ton of time and are often not helpful in getting your actual work done. So in this episode, we dive into the 3 big problems with most meetings and share 6 things you can do to turn an unproductive meeting into a productive on...