Systematic

Mike Schmitz (Product Director at Asian Efficiency, writer for the Sweet Setup, author, and musician) joins Brett to talk about productivity and religion, raising 4 boys, freedom of faith, and coffee. Sponsored by TextExpander: Communicate faster, smarter, and improve you (and your whole team’s) productivity. Check out smilesoftware.com/systematic for a free 30 day trial. Show Notes @bobbleheadjoe mikeschmitz.me Thou Shalt Hustle – Live the Life You Were Created For Asian Efficiency Bookworm–Podcast Book Club The Productivity Show Brett on Macworld: Wrangling email – How I keep my inbox under control Jarvis sit/stand desk Heil PR-40 Schmitz Family Core Values AxcessAbles SF-101 Desktop Recording Studio Microphone Isolation Shield with Pop Filter Top 3 picks Mike: Cafflano – All in One Coffee Maker Kickapoo coffee Ruby coffee Thrasher coffee AeroPress AeroPress Timer LifeStraw Go Reigns Brett: Plenty How Chef Yotam Ottolenghi Reset the Table Parallel MicFlip 2

Aaron Mahnke, creator and host of the Lore podcast, joins Brett to talk about the success of Lore, paying your creative dues, and Gundam models (among other things). Show links Aaron Mahnke Lore @amahnke @lorepodcast Still untitled The Gundam Wiki Top 3 picks Aaron: Locke and Key The Room Three Kings Quest The Battle of Polytopia Evernote Brett: Duet Near Lock Pexels

Brett is joined by Rob Stenzinger—an Interactive Storyteller, and UX and Game Designer—to talk about autodidactic exploration, self-advocacy and marketing, and going from corporate jobs to indie (and then back). Sponsored by The PDFpen Family: PDFpen for macOS, PDFpen for iPad & iPhone, and PDFpen Scan+. See smilesoftware.com/systematic for details on the PDFpen Family. Show Notes @robstenzinger robstenzinger.com Lean Into Art Video Game Construction Kit: Underwater Tomato Ninja Edition The Shuttle This Panda Needs You Top 3 picks Rob: The Upside Of Stress The Emergent Task Planner Clip Studio Paint Brett: Coolors RunKeeper/Spotify Running Scrobl

Aaron Dowd (The Podcast Dude) joins Brett to talk about his love of podcasting and the work he does to help everyone make better podcasts. Aaron also has a fascinating story, and there was so much to talk about that this episode ran long. Sponsored by TextExpander, a simply indispensable productivity tool. Learn more at smilesoftware.com/brett. Show Links @thepodcastdude thepodcastdude.com Sean Wes seanwes podcast Top 3 picks Aaron: Sure BETA 87A Reverb Guitar Center Deep Work by Cal Newport Best Self Journal Brett: Exist.io Launch Center Pro Squatty Potty

Molly Holzschlag continues the story of her life and career (this is her second appearance on Systematic, find the first here). Molly was part of a core group influential in the development of the world wide web, and she authored and edited myriad books on the subjects of design and accessibility. Most recently, she joined the team at Vivaldi, where she is forging ahead in working toward a truly open web, despite her personal tribulations. Show Notes hyperverbal @mholzschlag Vivaldi Opera CSS HTML5 W3C Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner Internationalization – W3C CSS Working Group TPAC Knowbility ARIA Open Web Camp Bone Marrow Failure Disease Tim Berners-Lee Vint Cerf

Jay Dixit — writer, editor, and storytelling teacher — has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Slate, Wired, and Psychology Today. He joins Brett to talk writing: college life, comedy, psychology, and how it all ties together. Sponsored by PDFpen 8 from Smile: learn more at smilesoftware.com/systematic. Show Notes Jay Dixit New York Writers Intensive @jaydixit George Carlin’s Last Interview Advantage Kinesis Top 3 picks Jay: Philips Blue Light Machine Rainy Mood Lululemon ABC Pants Brett: Charm (iOS) ProCamera Annotable

Brett chats with Liz Lazarra, freelance writer and mental health activist, about job transitions, therapy, and the habits of prolific writers. @lizlazzara on Twitter Liz Lazzara Montage of Heck Top 3 picks Liz: Story tracker Talkspace Litsy Brett: Associate Sound Asleep Headphones Welcome to Happiness (2015)

Greg Scown joins Brett to talk about running, cooking, reading, traveling and software development. Full Disclosure: Smile, of which Greg is a founder, is a frequent supporter and sponsor of Systematic. Smile is not paying for this episode, and the interview was scheduled long before the recent snafu regarding the TextExpander 6 subscription model. Smile TextExpander TextExpander iOS Brand Correction TextExpander Group PDFpen Code. Cook. Read. @macgreg on Twitter Top 3 picks Greg: Indian author Amitav Ghosh — The Hungry Tide Margo Price Dorkfood Sous Vide Temperature Controller Big Sur, California Boundary Waters Brett: Olloclip Hemingboard Kimmy Schmidt

If John Lydon worked in media relations, he would probably seem a lot like Ed Zitron. If only Ed (founder and CEO of EZPR, author and writer) liked The Sex Pistols. Brought to you by PDFpen: The swiss army knife for using and editing PDFs. Show Notes EZPR Ed Zitron This Is How You Pitch Hiring PR For The First Time? Here’s What Should Scare You John Lydon James Frain Fire Your Publicist, read by James Frain Brett’s post on mental health issues Black Blood of the Earth Top 3 picks Ed: Novae Servae Totom Kanye of the Stone Age Totom Kickstarter John Wick John Wick: Chapter 2 Jaydiohead Sad But Superstitious Wax Audio Girl Talk 4K Curve Samsung UHD 1 Eero Brett: MicFlip Dungeon Boss Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto 2004

Victor Yocco, UX researcher, joins Brett to talk about psychology in UX and alcoholism in the modern workplace. victoryocco.com Design for the Mind (use discount code smayocco for 39% off the book) What it’s like to be a recovering alcoholic in an office where booze is everywhere UX of Alcohol Abuse @victoryocco Top 3 picks Victor: March Madness Cross platform gaming MSQRD Brett: Slice MeisterTask integrations with Zapier Swype Keyboard