The Productivityist Podcast: Ideas And Tools For Personal Productivity | Time Management | Goals | Habits | Working Better

On this episode of The Productivityist Podcast, Joey Cofone, the co-founder and CEO of Baron Fig, joins the show. Baron Fig is a company that started as a Kickstarter project which has evolved into a brand that designs and offers inspiring products to thinkers such as writers, illustrators, and entrepreneurs around the world. I just talked with James Clear on the previous episode, and now Joey Cofone is here! I’ve been wanting to chat with Joey for a while and on this episode, I finally got the chance. I had a great time discussing a range of topics from my well-documented affinity for Baron Fig, their collaboration with James Clear, what it’s like to create physical products, and how he builds a team that’s crafting these products. Talking Points Point, don’t plan: How to set goals, let them go, and keeping impostor syndrome and comparison at bay  The Beginnings of Baron Fig: From a notebook idea at a Thai restaurant to selling nearly 10,000 notebooks in 30 days and now taking over my life  Creating a de

This week on the podcast, I speak with James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. James is an expert on habit formation who offers not only theories backed by science, but also practical strategies that will help you achieve powerful, atomic-level results. On this episode, James and I had a really productive discussion on a range of topics from the journey of putting the book together, how alarm clocks fail me (or I fail alarm clocks), turning off the internet router at 10 PM to keeping the beer at the back of the fridge and Crossfit. Talking Points Designing and Defining Atomic Habits: Two main lenses to look the book through  The two-minute rule in scaling down a habit and actually making it stick Importance of slowing down and awareness for effective behavioral change  Having a variety of small things organized toward the same goal  Solutions for setting up efficient timing  Strategies for building good seasonal habits  Tools to make ha

On this episode, I speak with my good friend and author of Company of One, Paul Jarvis. I’ve known Paul for years and am elated to finally have him appear on the show to talk about staying small and how to build a company of one. My discussion with Paul nearly mimics the kind of thing we do every few weeks when we get together for coffee. I’ve admired how Paul goes about his work and we explore those elements during our conversation. Some of the things we talk about are how ego plays a role in building a business, how the “company of one” that Paul built happened accidentally at first, how you can implement the “company of one” mindset in business that are larger, and how to scale through automation in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you in the process. Relevant Links Company of One by Paul Jarvis | Amazon How talking to Seth Godin on the phone changed my life and business by Jeff Goins | Ladders Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday | Amazon Beyond The E-Myth with Michael Gerber | The Productivityist Podcast T

On this episode of the show, my guest is Steve Glaveski. Steve is an entrepreneur, author, and podcast host whose mission is to unlock the latent potential of organizations and their people so that they can create more impact for humanity and ultimately to lead more fulfilling lives. Our conversation focuses primarily on his book Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Earn Your Freedom and Do Work That Matters, as we explore the ideas and insights he peppered throughout its pages. We spoke about what one needs to have in mind before leaping from employee to entrepreneur, the importance of keeping a level head throughout an entrepreneurial journey (especially when you have a big spike in sales or performance that might not be sustainable), how to deal with the tough questions you need to ask and the answers that may come with those questions, and much more. Relevant Links Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Earn Your Freedom and Do Work That Matters by Steve Glaveski | Amazon The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live An

My guest for this episode is Dr. Bryan E. Robinson, author of the book #CHILL: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life. He is a licensed psychotherapist and Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He currently has a blog on Psychology Today called “The Right Mindset.” He has been interviewed by Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among countless other magazines. During our discussion I asked Bryan about why this was the book that he needed to write now. He also reveals an easy to remember acronym that can help you slow down in a deliberate fashion and what the concept of #CHILL means. Beyond that we talk about the specific structure of the book, how he suggests readers approach the book, why being curious is so important, and more. Relevant Links #CHILL: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life by Bryan E. Robinson | Amazon Creative Quest by Questlove | Amazon Elizabeth Gilbert | The TED Interview Bryan E. Robinson | Website Dr. Bryan E. Robinson – @brth

On this episode of the show, I speak with Joe Ferraro. Joe is the man behind The One Percent Better Project and is a teacher and podcast host who helps to dissect the mindset, language, and behavior of daily improvement across the worlds of business, communication, and education. During our conversation, we talk about the power of working towards getting one percent better, how making one change in your world can lead to so much more change that you’d never expect, where Joe starts with people when trying to help make a change, why embracing change that is unconventional can lead to great success, and much more. Relevant Links The One Percent Better Project One Percent Better: The Podcast TimeCraftingTV VidIQ The NOW Year Calendar | NeuYear & Productivityist (SAVE 20% with promo code FRESHSTART)      Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape This Book | Amazon Creative Quest by Questlove | Amazon Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom | Amaz

I’m joined this time around by Josh Kaufman, the author of three bestselling books – including his latest effort How to Fight a Hydra: Face Your Fears, Pursue Your Ambitions, and Become the Hero You Are Destined to Be. Josh’s research focuses on business, entrepreneurship, skill acquisition, productivity, creativity, applied psychology, and practical wisdom and he’s someone I’ve wanted to have on the show for a long time. Josh and I carry on a conversation that revolves around the differences between How to Fight a Hydra and his previous books, the power of story (particularly fables and parables), why I never thought of Josh as a productivity expert yet he describes himself as such, and much more. Relevant Links How to Fight a Hydra: Face Your Fears, Pursue Your Ambitions, and Become the Hero You Are Destined to Be | Amazon The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield | Amazon Josh Kaufman’s Website I had a fantastic time chatting with Josh and I hope you enjoyed our conversation as well. If you did

On this episode, after years of crossing paths both online and offline, I speak with Farnoosh Brock. Farnoosh went from electrical engineer and rising leader at corporate to business coach and entrepreneur. She shows businesses the mindset of serving over selling to build deep trust and sustainable profit. She is the author of several books, including the one we focus on during our conversation, The Serving Mindset. Farnoosh and I have a lively discussion around changing your mindset when it comes to selling your services – something that I offer through my coaching practices. We dive into a variety of elements of this, but the core of our conversation revolves around how The Serving Mindset is helpful in making one not just more successful but also more efficient in one’s business. Relevant Links Prolific Living | Farnoosh Brock The Serving Mindset: Stop Selling and Grow Your Business by Farnoosh Brock | Amazon The Coaching Habit with Michael Bungay Stanier | The Productivityist Podcast The NOW Year Ca

On this episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Brett Pinegar. Brett is the founder of the X Group, where he helps individuals and teams multiply their effectiveness by adopting the techniques and mindsets great leaders use. Brett is a three-time tech CEO, a trail runner, and most importantly, a dad to five great kids. During our conversation, Brett and I spoke about how to lead with excellence daily, how an aspect of our mind can sabotage our pursuit of excellence, and how to adopt a mindset of excellence. We also discussed the power of routines and reveal a condition that Brett struggles with that could have hindered his mindset – but he refused to let it define him. (And that’s just for starters.) Relevant Links Brett Pinegar’s Website Avoid Perfection – Embrace Excellence by Brett Pinegar X Notes – Living and Leading with Excellence by Brett Pinegar Brett Pinegar on Twitter I enjoyed my time chatting with Brett and I hope you did as well. If so, do me a favour and leave a rating and review wherever y

Scott Amyx joins me on this episode of the podcast. Scott is the author of Strive: How Doing the Things Most Uncomfortable Leads to Success, which has been endorsed by Tony Robbins, Forbes, Singularity University, Tribeca Film Festival and other influencers. Relevant Links About Scott Amyx Books by Scott Amyx Scott Amyx Redefines The Roadmap To Success With Six Simple Steps | Forbes Bitcoiners Take New York, but Wall Street Resists The Lure | MoneyBeat @ Wall Street Journal STRIVE: How Doing the Things Most Uncomfortable Leads to Success  | Amazon Scott’s Website Scott Amyx | Twitter I haven’t explored this area so much in the past – perhaps because I’ve found it uncomfortable – so having this conversation with Scott was quite refreshing. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please share this episode and make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to the show. Want to discover some of the books mentioned on the podcast? Check out Scribd, my reading app of choice. If you enjoyed the episode

I welcome Jennifer Dawn, creator of the Best Planner Ever, to the podcast this time around. Jennifer is a serial entrepreneur who has grown two multi-million dollar businesses and serves high-achieving entrepreneurs through private business coaching helping to take their companies further, faster. Since I’ve got a “mild” obsession with paper planners I wanted to talk with Jennifer about what went into building the Best Planner Ever. We discuss how it got its name, the elements that are unique to the planner, and why she thinks it’s important to bring what’s important to you into the planner that you use and how you can do that. Best Planner Ever Jennifer Dawn Coaching Jennifer and I could have kept going for much longer but there’ll (hopefully) be another time for that. Right now it’s time for you to check out her planner (linked above) and check out The Productivityist Playbook as well. You can get The Productivityist Podcast at a discounted price by clicking here. Want to discover some of the books ment

On this episode of the show, I speak with New York Times best-selling author Dan Schawbel. Dan is the author of Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation and the host of the 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel podcast. He’s also Partner and Research Director at Future Workplace, and the Founder of both Millennial Branding and WorkplaceTrends.com. Dan and I have a history back when I was the Managing Editor of Lifehack and while we’ve never spoken prior to this episode, we were able to jump into a lively conversation about using technology as a bridge to more human conversations rather than making it a barrier, how technology can also help deepen relationships, the importance of getting out to events and gatherings that push your comfort zones, and more. Relevant Links Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation | Dan Schawbel The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains | Nicholas Carr How our 269 billion emails a day have made us miserab

Tim Grahl joins me on this episode of the podcast to talk about his latest book (and most personal one to date), Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map To Winning Creative Battles. Tim and I have had several conversations before and we make every effort to get together whenever we’re in the same city. This time I speak to him over Skype (with some microphone issues on my end to start off the show) as we dive into why he wrote this book, how tough it was to write it, the productivity practices he has put in place to aid him in running down his dream, his thoughts on social media, and much more. Relevant Links Running Down a Dream | Amazon The War of Art by Steven Pressfield | Amazon Story Grid Podcast with Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl Free Time is the Enemy of Progress | Medium The Autofocus System | Mark Forster World Domination Summit How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe | Be More with Less Tim Grahl’s Website Tim Grahl on Twitter Thanks for listening to the show and if you enjoy the podcast, please subscri

On this episode of The Productivityist Podcast, I speak with Jay Miller of Productivity in Tech. I’ve known Jay for a few years now and it was a pleasure to have him in my studio to talk about productivity, technology, and the intersection between them. We cover a wide range of topics during our conversation so prepare to dig in for a lot of productivity neediness for this episode (more than usual). Relevant Links Productivity in Tech Blog Productivity in Tech Podcast An Interview with Jay Miller | Joe Buhlig Jay Miller on Twitter Thanks for popping by to give the show a listen. If you enjoyed the show, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts or whatever you use to listen to podcasts. Better still, rate and review the show to help more people find it (and help us make the show even better). Take care and keep moving things forward! Want to discover some of the books mentioned on the podcast? Check out Scribd, my reading app of choice. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rat

Have you ever wanted to hear the story of how one of the most popular productivity methodologies came to be? Then you’ll enjoy this episode as I’m joined by the creator of the incredibly popular Bullet Journal, Ryder Carroll. Ryder is also the author of the book – his first – The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future which goes deeper into the Bullet Journal phenomenon (as do we during our discussion). Ryder and I speak about how his creation took off, the importance of patience, how to deal with one’s own expectations, and more. It’s a fascinating conversation that will go beyond the “how” of The Bullet Journal Method and into the “why.” Relevant Links The Bullet Journal Method The Bullet Journal Method Collector’s Set The Productivityist Podcast: The Best Kind of Paper Pushing BulletJournal.com Ryder Carroll on Twitter I had an absolute blast chatting with Ryder and am excited to share this episode with you. I hope you enjoy it! Want to discover some of the book

On this episode of the show, I speak with Andy Molinksy. Andy is a professor of International Management and Organizational Behavior at Brandeis University, an author of two business books – Global Dexterity and Reach and a columnist at HBR, Psychology Today, and Inc.com. He lectures, teaches, and consults on helping people step outside their personal, professional, and cultural comfort zones. Talking Points How Andy helps people get past the mindset shift it takes to reach beyond their comfort zone. The pain points that keep us in our comfort zone, preventing us from stepping outside of it (and what ones are what Andy calls “The Big Three”). What Andy learned during a “ride along” that has helped him with his work. You’ll find out if (and how far) Andy went outside of his comfort zone when writing Reach. What the 3 Cs approach is and how it helps you reach outside of your comfort zone How both of us use avatars and triggers to help us do things that are uncomfortable…or things that we may feel as if w

On this episode I speak with fellow Canadian and productivity expert Chris Bailey. Chris Bailey is the international bestselling author of The Productivity Project and 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 process. It’s always fun to chat with Chris and in this particular discussion we talk about focus and its effects on productivity, the different types of focus that he has written about, how to get around distraction, and much more. There is so much productivity goodness in this episode! Relevant Links Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction The Productivity Project The Productivityist Podcast Episode 77: The Productivity Project with Chris Bailey A Lesson from “About a Boy” on Hyper-Scheduling The Hyper-Scheduling Experiment | MacSparky Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Essentialism by Gre

If you’ve ever faced burnout, then this discussion I have with Dr. Clark Gaither is definitely for you. Dr. Gaither is a family physician, author, speaker, blogger, corporate consultant, personal life coach, and an expert on Job Related Burnout. His latest book on this topic, *Reignite*, was released in March 2018. Talking Points Why he is so fascinated with job-related burnout. How burnout nearly led him to leave his thriving medicine practice. What steps he took to take on his burnout…and beat it back. What “presenteeism” is and how it can impact burnout. How to recognize the signs of burnout – even those that are a little more subtle than others. The relationship between stress and burnout and what the 3 principle hallmarks of burnout are and how to face them so you can reignite your work (and more). Relevant Links REIGNITE Designing Your Mindset with Andy Murphy | The Productivityist Podcast The REIGNITE Workbook The 8 Steps to Recognize and Eliminate the Burned Out Mindset ClarkGaither.com

On this episode, I chat with Erin Acton, someone that I’ve known for a few years since we’re both based in Victoria, BC. Erin spends her time providing coaching in groups and in one-on-one settings, which allows her to nurture her passion – supporting business owners and leaders to improve their soft skills, which often have the power to create massive shifts both personally and financially. Erin and I discussed the idea of helping people with hard and soft skills – how you can take the temperature of your own hard skills and soft skills sets so that you can figure out where you’re at with them, how she helps people balance qualitative and quantitative results in their business, and how a sick day with her daughter changed everything for her. Relevant Links Erin Acton | Website Erin’s Work/Life Balance Assessment Erin Acton | Twitter This was a fun conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Want to discover some of the books mentioned on the podcast? Check out Scribd, my reading app of choic

I’m pleased to welcome to Chris O’Neill on this episode of the podcast. Chris is the CEO of Evernote and I spoke with him over the course of the show about the past, present, and future of Evernote. I’m really happy with how this conversation went down. Whether you’re new to Evernote, have been a long-time user, or have dabbled in it from time to time over the years, there’s plenty of food for thought that you’ll find in this conversation. Relevant Links Evernote Evernote’s CEO Reveals The 5 Keys To The Ultra-Productive Team Of The Future | Forbes Chris O’Neill | Twitter I hope you liked this episode. You can always keep up with episodes through subscribing to the show in your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.). And feel free to share this episode with anyone and everyone you think would be interested in hearing about all things Evernote! Want to discover some of the books mentioned on the podcast? Check out Scribd, my reading app of choice. If you enjoyed the episode,