102: Analog Productivity with Brad Dowdy
The Pen Addict Brad Dowdy joins in to explain how he struggles to stay focused and discovers that he's a time blocker. We also get very nerdy about pens and paper toward the end.
Episodes
Focused
David Sparks and Mike Schmitz are not nearly as productive as they’d like to be. Join these fellow travelers (and a bunch of special guests) as they share the best ways to get focused, and talk through their successes and failures along the way. Hosted by David Sparks and Mike Schmitz.
Episodes
101: Taking a Sabbatical, with Sean McCabe
Sean McCabe is back to talk about sabbaticals - and to convince David to take one of his own.
100: Staying Focused with Episode 100
It's Episode 100 and Mike and David are looking back and looking forward in terms of focus.
99: Working From Home, with Dave Caolo
Dave Caolo joins us to talk about games & productivity, how his bullet journal helps him stay focused, and working from home without going crazy.
98: Floating with Dave Hamilton
Dave Hamilton joins in to talk about how to keep your focus in the workplace and during a pandemic. Also, Dave uses an isolation tank and we have questions.
97: Emotional Overload
David & Mike continue the overload series with a look at emotional overload. They consider the value of introspection, share some fun distractions, and discuss being ok with not being productive.
96: Working from Home
Mike and David consider keeping your focus while working from home.
95: Five Years of Freedom
David shares the big lessons he's learned from five years of working independently. He and Mike talk about the fear of failure, intentional constraints, effective delegation, and the impact David's furry new coworker has on his productivity.
94: Journaling with Matt Ragland
Matt Ragland explains how he uses his paper bullet journal to stay focused.
93: Attention Overload
In this second part of the overload series, David & Mike discuss emotional hijacking, the myth of multitasking, and how to tame the lizard brain.
92: Getting Focused Kourosh Dini
Author, physician, and busy guy Kourosh Dini joins us to talk about how to stay focused when you have a lot of things going on.
91: Information Overload
David and Mike kick off a new series on overload by examining their own FOMO triggers and make the productivity case for intentionally missing out.
90: Habits > Goals
David and Mike are not fans of New Year's resolutions but they are fans of creating new habits.
89: The Magic of Mind Mapping, with Harald Eckmüller
MindNode designer Harald Eckmüller joins us to talk about using mind mapping as a focus tool.
88: Annual Check-Ins
As we approach the end of the year, Mike and David check in on their own Focus journeys. Also, David has a secret life as a Jedi and Mike is using coffee to hack focus.
87: Nerds Like Us, with Myke Hurley
Relay co-founder Myke Hurley joins us to talk about the power of yearly themes, becoming more intentional, and working with other humans.
86: Rest is a Weapon
In this episode, Mike and David tackle sleep, napping, and how important they are to Focus.
85: The Depth of Our Madness
David and Mike reveal their obsession with calendars. They discuss time and tasks, maintaining motivation, and their own calendaring workflows for how they plan their day.
84: Focus is a Super Power
In this episode, Mike and David dive deep on why Focus is so important. They also share thoughts about Ultralearning and why sometimes survival alone is good enough.
83: Ideas Over Art, with Mike Rohde
Author and Designer Mike Rohde joins us to discuss the practice and process of sketchnoting. We talk about choosing the right tools, the benefits and drawbacks of analog vs. digital, and why sketchnoting is for everyone - even if you don't think of yourself an artist.
82: The Hustle
In this episode, Mike and David tackle The Hustle. Is that a good thing or bad thing? The hosts also get around to gratitude and virtual help.
81: Breaking the Twitch, with Anthony Ongaro
Anthony Ongaro joins us to talk about practical minimalism, designing an intentional life, and his multipotentialite resume which covers everything from musician to log roller.
80: The Power of "No"
Mike and David tackle the challenges that come with saying "No" and why a well-intentioned decline can make all the difference.
79: Reclaiming Margin, with Shawn Blanc
The Focus Course founder Shawn Blanc is back to talk about the importance of margin, how it gave him the space he needed to work through a personal crisis, and life lessons learned from his orange 1984 Jeep CJ-7.
78: Changing Defaults with John Zeratsky
John Zeratsky had the dream job at Google but left it all to write a book, Make Time, and reset his defaults. Learn about John's journey and how resetting your own defaults can make all the difference.
77: You Can't Hack the System
David and Mike are sick and tired of being sick and tired, so in this episode they share some things they've learned about managing energy. They discuss staying positive, Mike continues his digital Bullet Journal experiment, and David spends some time "reseaching" the perfect notebook.
76: A Failure Across the Board
In this episode, David and Mike dispel a myth about their feelings toward time tracking and David outs himself about exactly how unproductive he was on his last trip. Mike's getting serious about bullet journaling and also has a distinction between Personal Retreats and Greycations. Also, imposter syndrome is still a thing.
75: Intentional Constraints
The conversation on moving the needle continues as David and Mike talk about intentional constraints. Mike embarks on a task management spirit quest, David shares his Bullet Journal advice, and together they consider the balance of process and results.
74: Moving the Needle
David & Mike unpack David's new system to help focus on important work, talk about stepping off the hamster wheel of efficiency, and discuss what to do about productivity shame.
73: Productivity and Art with Bob Reynolds
David and Mike interview professional Saxophonist Bob Reynolds to talk about the importance of productivity when creating art.