A Productive Conversation

My guest on this episode is one of my good friends, David Knapp-Fisher. We met at the World Domination Summit where we found out that we live 4 blocks apart, and have been constantly connecting ever since. David is a father, speaker, and writer who loves connecting with people – especially the passionate and inspiring ones who lead remarkable lives. He describes himself as a guy who bumbled through school but always knew that he was smart outside of the standard school setting. He worked as a chef for some time until he realized that his passion is connecting with people. We chatted (with David right in my home office) about keeping connections alive, his routine, and the power of saying hello. Some specific topics we talked about are: How we met and first said hello to each other at the World Domination Summit. The importance of having the right knowledge to be productive. And in cases when you don’t how you can tap into gaining more knowledge by finding and saying hello to someone who does have it. David’s method to foster and maintain authentic connections through priority, productivity, and doing the right things, and a morning coffee-and-email-routine he’s been doing to ensure that this aspect is covered in the first hour of his day. Why it is important to always ask ‘How can I help you?’ which according to him may even be more important than saying hello. My takeaway on his point of view translated into productivity practice - such as going into his email app with missions rather than questions, and being deliberate in maintaining connections. The idea that by going into "self-serving mode" that we can wind up serving others. On that note, David shared the story of how merely introducing two people served a larger purpose. People’s tendency to perceive arrogance due to systems we put in place. An example of which is illustrated in my story involving scheduling podcast interviews via Acuity, and David’s experience managing Inspired Victoria and how he was able to resolve this through fairness and honesty. The process he uses if he wants to reach out to people or include people more closely in his life. An interesting rule he enforces in the Inspired Victoria community so people get to connect based on their passions, and a related story during my theater days about connecting through passions, and how we often miss opportunities like these when we only see things at face value. A story of saying hello that took so long to happen – maybe brought by fear of rejection – that ultimately led to a friendship. David's take on processing rejection, and his final words of advice. Relevant Links: Inspiration for Awesome Lifestyles | David Knapp-Fisher Discipline or Regret - A Father's Decision | David Knapp-Fisher | TEDxStanleyPark | YouTube Inspired Victoria World Domination Summit Acuity Scheduling Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang | Amazon The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz | Amazon This episode was definitely special because we were actually sitting face-to-face, and our conversation was more insightful as we fed off each other's energy. Thanks for listening! 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is Claire Tompkins (a.k.a. the Clutter Coach). Claire works with clients to organize and declutter their homes and offices, to manage their time, and get things done better. She works with artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and more as a professional organizer by creating simple, practical systems for real people. If you’ve been following the podcast and my other work, you’d know how big a fan of simple I am. That's something that Claire also promotes. Claire and I chatted on this episode about clutter - from physical to digital, workflows, apps, clients, books, and influencers. Some of the specific areas we discussed were: Her perception of what clutter is – from the physical ones occupying our spaces, those hidden behind drawers and cupboards, to the ones that occupy our minds and our devices. An epiphany that motivated her to start decluttering her. How she starts the process of decluttering, and dealing with clients who identify and define clutter very differently. One of the methods she uses in task management – to make your tasks into a card game. Books she is interested in that deal with resistance, willpower, habit-creation, and procrastination. The process of she uses when working with her clients, including identifying pain points and urgency, sorting clutter and items, and dealing with resistance and the return of clutter. Getting people to step back and recognize the need to re-organize and declutter, and a very interesting story of how one client did not recognize their own living space immediately after taking a photo of it. Her preference for paper to-do lists, and the influencers that have inspired her to fit her to-do list within the larger context of how she intends her life to be. How she observes her clients’ productivity and organization techniques, asking them the logic behind their habits and practices to help them personalize their workflow so they can create a sense of ownership and accountability. The reason for her shift from productivity to zero in on clutter, the lack of women working in productivity and why she thinks that is the case. We also discussed how we want to introduce workflows so it becomes easier for people to absorb the importance of productivity practices, the problems we’ve experienced with systems and clients, and the integration of online and offline task management. Relevant Links Clutter Coach | Less Overwhelm = More Joy Podcast 029: Make your tasks into a card game | Clutter Coach The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield | Amazon The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal | Amazon The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg | Amazon It's About Time!: The Six Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them by Linda Sapadin and Jack Maguire | Amazon 43 Folders zen habits Getting Things Done with David Allen | The Productivityist Podcast The Ivy Lee Method: The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity | James Clear The Emergent Task Planner™ | Dave Seah 52 Simple Ways to Get Organized (download) | Clutter Coach Clutter Coach Claire Tompkins (@ClaireTompkins) | Twitter Clutter Coach Claire | Facebook Thank you for joining me today- and remember to stop guessing and start going. 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest for this episode is Philip McKernan. He is an inspirational speaker, philosopher, writer, and filmmaker who works with entrepreneurs and leaders to live a life that benefits all aspects of their lives. This is one of the most impactful episodes I’ve ever had. We had a very refreshing conversation that covered so much it can get you to see things in a different light. He talked about letting go, alignment, consumption of information, and authenticity. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Some highlights of this episode are: The mindset that puts money on a pedestal, the freedom people think it provides, and how that doesn’t equate to peace of mind, sense of fulfillment and purpose. How long it took him to realize that what he was chasing was out of alignment with who he really was. How "busy-ness" and chaos indicates an underlying pain, how staying busy is just a rationalization of the feeling of disconnection, and how society evolved such that busy became socially acceptable. Indicators and manifestations of a life that is not aligned. The problem with people consuming so many how-to-guides and information instead of trusting their internal wisdom, gut, and intuition. His insights on retreats and conferences, and finding those that actually resonate with an individual in a way that can serve them emotionally and intellectually. The film he put together titled Give & Grow, his definition of what gifts are vs. talents, what drove him to create a film, and why he used this specific medium. The two core things human beings want to do. Strategies to let go on an emotional level and what things that we carry deep down end up sabotaging ourselves. How being aligned is a human possibility that creates fluency making things easier, instead of thinking that life must be hard and hard work is necessary. His thoughts on minimalism as not merely letting go of material things but is deeply rooted in alignment and emotions. The overwhelming expectation for perfection, productivity, and success people are subjected upon – which may not necessarily be their personal truth but a reflection of their family’s, friend’s, or society’s expectations. His thoughts on consumption of information – whether online or offline and how to move from mere information to knowledge, wisdom, and awareness. How he spent a huge chunk of his life suppressing his real self. His advice on how everyone should deal with life. Relevant Links Philip McKernan (@PhilipMcKernan) | Twitter PhilipMcKernan.com | Are you destined for more? Uncover Your Gift | GIVE & GROW A 5 Minute Plea to Do by Gary Vaynerchuck - YouTube Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss Stoic Optimism: Ryan Holiday at TEDxUChicago 2014 Thanks for listening. See you next time! 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 5 YEARS since my very first podcast recording with Michael Schechter. I thought it would be fitting to bring him back this week. We caught up on what has happened since we stopped recording podcasts together roughly 2 years ago. This episode at its core is just the two of us being nostalgic. I even injected in some clips of our podcasts together. Here’s what we did talk about on this episode: We reminisced during a very "professional" segment we did on Mikes on Mics called "What Are You Drinking?" I caught up with what he has been up to lately, and how his work on A Better Mess and in the productivity scene is being applied to what he is doing now. We discussed what motivated us to get into productivity, the backstory of our podcast’s Episode 0, and what the trajectory of his career and life has looked like since then. He specified habits and things rooted from his productivity days that he still finds helpful to this day, some things he's missed, and memories that stuck with us. He also recalled the things that he doesn’t quite miss, his tendency to be a bad friend, and my suggestion on how he can improve in this area. Relevant Links Workflowing/Mikes on Mics | Podcast Chart Workflowing/Mikes on Mics Thanks for listening. This was a fun one. 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining me this week as my guest is Mridu Parikh, the woman behind Life is Organized. She is a productivity coach, business strategist, speaker and trainer. She made it her goal to help individuals get clear on their priorities through effective time management, efficient processes, systems and life-changing habits – to do more in less time. A big fan of simplicity, we talked about introducing and learning productivity processes and systems, the methods she employs to make sure that these become habits, and how doing these alleviate stress and results in clarity and growth for individuals and teams. Here are just a few of the things you’ll learn about in this episode: How she reveres simplicity as the easiest way to introduce a process, and the importance of writing things down. Working with other people, how to get them motivated to do a task or enforce a process into their life and be consistent about it. The concept of the learning curve, and how to speed up this often-tedious phase through research and by reaching out to people. Her insights on alignment as a product of goals, action plans and prioritization, how to make these happen through the concept of ‘two-week sprints’, and samples to explain how it works. The importance of improving communication and technology, and intertwining the two to enhance processes for an individual and/or a team. The tool that she’s been using which allows for transparency and easy collaboration, and the how and why she chose this specific tool. We also delved into a blog post she’s written that made her look at limitations and excuses from a different angle and reframe these into motivation to maximize potential. Relevant Links Home - Life Is Organized Do This and Get Results - Life Is Organized How to Avoid the Dreaded Learning Curve (Of Anything New!) - Life Is Organized What Got Me From "Amateur" To "Pro" - Life Is Organized How to Write the Perfect To-Do List - Life Is Organized Why Thinking Like Legos Will Change Your Business - Life Is Organized Mridu Parikh (@LifeIsOrganized) | Twitter Productivity Freebie - The Productivityist - Life Is Organized The Productivityist Podcast: Beyond the E-Myth with Michael E. Gerber The Productivityist Podcast: A Closer Look at Automation with Wade Foster Use Asana to track your team’s work & manage projects | Asana Thanks for spending time with me this week. Enjoy 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, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The guest on this episode of The Productivityist Podcast is my good friend Chris Ducker, whom I will be joining at the Tropical Think Tank event happening this coming March. Chris is a Virtual CEO, as he manages a BPO Call Center company and a Virtual Assistance business. But it hadn’t always been this way for Chris, who has also gone through long days and nights working IN his business before realizing that it wasn’t the way to live a truly productive life. In this episode we’ll discuss his life and business principles, Youpreneur and his other businesses, and the upcoming Tropical Think Tank. Here are some subjects we talked about: Chris discussed the evolution and intentional changes in his businesses. Why people prefer to work with people instead of businesses or big brands, and Chris's insights on how to set up businesses around the P2P philosophy. How Chris decided on making his name his own brand, and his mantra when it comes to marketing your brand. We also discussed how productivity isn’t always about speed, an anecdote on what made him decide to slow down, start delegating and making an intention to flip the switch, get away from work and just have fun. We talked about deleting certain tasks and projects that are no longer serving him, and why saying no to certain things, opportunities and engagements free him up to intentionally do things that he really wants to do. Chris dives into how to be everywhere, the behind-the-scenes process to do this, and choosing which platforms - based on your brand and personality to create a regular presence in. He also provided update on the Youpreneur community and what it currently offers to its members. Relevant Links ChrisDucker.com - Helping Entrepreneurs Become More Productive & Profitable Why You Need to Slow Down to Achieve More Fun with Joel Comm by Joel Comm on iTunes Why Focusing On ‘Being Everywhere’ is STILL Important, with Pat Flynn Youpreneur.com – The Entrepreneurial Community Where Nobody Gets Left Behind Chris Ducker (@ChrisDucker) | Twitter Tropical Think Tank - Where Business IS Pleasure! Thanks for listening! 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is Lisa Woodruff, a professional organizer, productivity specialist and author of the book The Mindset of Organization: Take Back Your House One Phase at a Time. She coaches people to organize their households and their lives through systems she designed specifically for whichever part of your life or house that needs help tidying up and organizing. Lisa and I tackle one of the most popular systems she has created: The Sunday Basket. We also discuss her experience working with people as a professional organizer and how sometimes admitting that we need help is really all that’s needed to be more organized and productive. Here are some of the things we talked about on this episode: The three phases of life, and how her experience working with lots of clients made her efficient in identifying which phase they’re in and systems to put in place for their specific needs and hang-ups. The concept of the Sunday Basket as an organization and productivity tool, not just for women, but for anyone who needs help dealing with mail, paper, tasks, and other projects. How does The Sunday Basket system work in a dynamic household...and how does her family do it. A story that led her to conceptualize The Sunday Basket – which involved an 18-inch paper pile and staying up till midnight. The importance of realism and acknowledging when we need help to juggle work, home, and other facets of life as a step towards organization and productivity. How she advocates going paperless, and how The Sunday Basket is designed to handle more than just paper. The evolution of her business and the vision she has for it in the future. Relevant Links Welcome to Organize 365 | Organize 365 - Resources For Getting Organized | Organize 365 - The Mindset of Organization: Take Back Your House One Phase at a Time by Lisa Woodruff | Amazon Productivity | Organize 365 - Organization 101 - Organize 365 - Start Here - Organize365 - Lisa Woodruff (@organize365) | Twitter Thanks for listening. Until next time remember to stop guessing...and start going! 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is a long-time friend whom I met at the World Domination Summit. He is the founder of Productive Flourishing, a best-selling author, the host of the Creative Giant podcast, and a productivity expert: Charlie Gilkey. Charlie helps creative people to start finishing stuff that matters. This involves weeding out through the noise of various tasks, priorities, and projects through Project Cagematch, and other productivity concepts up his sleeve. Half an hour is never enough for the two of us as we geeked out and chatted on various subjects. In this week’s episode, we discussed: Charlie’s views on starting the year and how (like me) he decides on starting it in a different month than January. What got him – or necessitated him – to get into productivity, and how being a person of multiple interests had him realize the lack of conversation on productivity in the academe. A brief background/history of the productivity movement and resource people, and how the productivity scene is much more competitive and challenging to break into currently. His tips on what people can do to wade through opportunities amidst ongoing projects. How to apply the Project Cagematch (a concept that originated from wrestling) in planning and prioritizing, which starts with self-compassion and how the process reveals our true values and goals. The one word to remove from our mental dialogues. Priorities and aspirations: The difference between the two and our tendency to confuse these ideas. How the starts and finishes of projects are more "hyped" concepts, leaving behind the middle part – and how to deal with messy middles and thrashing. His thoughts on letting go – which involves reviewing stuff periodically, updating awareness, recognizing changes, and the idea of sustainable mediocrity. Relevant Links Productive Flourishing How to Referee Your Project Cagematch (and Unveil Your Values & Priorities) Think Better, Live Better Fat and Lazy by CaseyNeistat | YouTube Twitter | Charley Gilkey Thanks for listening. Until next time remember to stop guessing…and start going. 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anytime is a good time to establish a "well life", and it just so happened that we’re starting 2017 with a means to help you do just that. On this episode of The Productivityist Podcast, my guest is Briana Borten. She is a peace engineer and wellness entrepreneur who owns The Dragontree Spa and co-wrote The Well Life. Backed up with their experiences in alternative healing and a genuine yearning to help their clients to live a more fulfilling life, Briana and her husband Dr. Peter Borten wrote the book The Well Life: How to Use Sweetness, Structure, and Space to Create Balance, Happiness, and Peace, which Briana and I talk about throughout the show. Here's just some of what you'll learn: How Briana and Peter's wellness advocacy started 13 years ago, as they established the Dragontree with their background in acupuncture and Ayurvedic medicine, and what motivated them to write this book. The concept of "sweetness", and how and why it should be constantly present in our lives. The tools, techniques, and habits that they shared in the book that they found to have greatly impacted and improved their lives. How important a healthy foundation is, and how it involves seemingly mundane activities that allow us to nourish our minds and body. The connection between thoughts and feelings as well as intentions, and the body’s reaction to these intentions. The human data stream flowing into our lives all day long, the element of space, and the need to have space where we're not connected to anything or anyone but ourselves. What’s up with the current fascination and attraction of people to nature-based, alternative philosophies and healing? How space plays out vis-à-vis with her concept of scheduling - which ought to give us a greater understanding of our capabilities and limits. Briana’s journaling and meditation habit, and how this integrates into her life. The concept of "The Baggage List" and how accomplishing it can help individuals feel freer. Relevant Links The Well Life The Well Life: How to Use Structure, Sweetness, and Space to Create Balance, Happiness, and Peace: Briana Borten, Dr. Peter Borten | Amazon The Productivityist Podcast: Dr. Michael Breus The Dragontree Briana Borten Thanks for listening. Until next time remember to stop guessing...and start going. 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Productivityist Podcast I zero in on Evernote with a guest who knows the ins and outs of the app. Charles Byrd will be talking Evernote with me with the goal of helping anyone get started and familiarize themselves with Evernote. He'll be giving insights, sharing tips, and offering hacks along the way. Charles lives in Northern California and worked in the Silicon Valley for tech companies for a significant time. He is now the founder of Byrd Word and hosts a 3-hour training course on productivity – specifically the uses of Evernote – and how this can save people time and, in effect, impact our lives. We talk about: How long Charles has been using Evernote, his initial reaction to the app, and how it has helped him in his career and, ultimately, his business. Where people should start when trying to adopt Evernote to help them with their productivity practices, and what the three concepts Charles teaches people when they are starting out with Evernote. Charles’s thoughts on the changes made recently by Evernote in its pricing structure, and on paying for the premium versions of apps and software. An anecdote of how useful Evernote has been in Charles’s life and how that story convinced a man to take Charles’s Evernote course. Evernote features that are not as heralded as they should be but have proven to be very useful for Charles. An overview of Charles’s Zero-to-60 with Evernote course to get people to do more in less time, and help them get up and running with the basics of Evernote quickly. Relevant Links Zero-to-60 with Evernote Byrd Word | Website Byrd Word | LinkedIn Charles Byrd | Facebook Charles Byrd | Twitter Thank you for listening. Until next time, remember to stop guessing...and start going! 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 rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices