Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

This week I’m excited to welcome Anna Dearmon Kornick to the show to discuss her new book Time Management Essentials: The Tools You Need to Maximize Your Attention, Energy, and Productivity. Recently Anna invited me on her podcast, ‘It’s ABout Time’ for a chat about my journey through the world of productivity and why better time management takes time. I really enjoyed my appearance on that show so I was happy to pass along the invitation for her to join me here on Beyond the To-Do List.Anna is a Time Management Coach who helps busy professionals and business owners master time management so they can stop feeling overwhelmed and start spending time on what matters most. In our chat Anna shares her personal journey towards finding purpose, setting goals, and maximizing productivity while unpacking the inspirations behind her great new book. Time management isn't just about rearranging your schedule to fit everything in. It starts from a place of purpose and knowing what truly matters to you. In Time Management Essentials Anna aims to anchor us to time management with purpose and provide readers with a roadmap to identify and articulate your own purpose in order to both structure our priorities and our schedules. In addition to helping us finding deeper significance in our scheduling Anna also implements a visualization technique using boulders, big rocks, and pebbles to prioritize tasks, and discusses the importance of getting mentally organized, as well as sharing tips for scheduling parenting and homeownership responsibilities. This is a small, easy to read book that packs a powerful productivity punch for anyone interested in learning tried and true techniques from a true time management master._________________________________________________________Erik’s appearance on Anna’s show ‘It’s ABout Time’ Big Rocks VideoConnect with Anna:WebsiteBookLinkedinTwitterInstagramConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Make sure to check out our sponsors here to help support the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oliver Burkeman, author of 'Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals', shares his fresh perspective on productivity, urging a humane approach to managing our limited time. He emphasizes accepting our human limitations as a path to realistic goals instead of stress. The conversation dives into the balance between flexibility and intention in productivity, advocating for decisions driven by intuition. Burkeman argues for redefining tasks as enjoyable pursuits rather than obligations, ultimately promoting a richer experience of time and personal fulfillment.

This week I’m excited to welcome Brittany Berger to the show to discuss productivity, fighting hustle culture, and helping creatives balance, work and rest. Brittany is the founder of Work Brighter where she talks and teaches about inclusive productivity and helping disabled, chronically ill, mentally ill and neurodivergent creatives find work balance. I’ve admired Brittany’s writing for some time now and enjoy reading about what she's doing with Work Brighter in her weekly newsletter. In this episode we explore how productivity is all about finding the “best method for you” that both empowers you to get things done without experiencing exhaustion, feelings of laziness, or even guilt. Brittany breaks down some of her favorite techniques for working productively without experiencing fatigue or mental stress. In addition we discuss the value in journaling or tracking your time and your energy levels so you can find those ebbs and flows not just in your personal physiology, psychology and emotions, but also as a way to match your tasks so you're not overloaded and not expecting more of yourself than you should. Connect with Brittany: WebsiteNewsletterTwitterDiscover Work Brighter:WebsiteInstagramConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I’m excited to welcome Mike Williams to the podcast to discuss his new book Doing to Done: Productivity Made Simple Illustrated For Busy People Like Us. I was really delighted by the design, illustrations and readable nature of this book. Doing to Done is all about simplified, illustrated, easy-to-implement techniques that help you decrease overwhelm and turn chaos into clarity. It's a better way to be the best. This book teaches anyone how to cultivate quick wins that lead to big-time impacts in all areas of your life, for the rest of your life. Mike Williams is a speaker, author, executive, and coach who helps leaders obtain small wins with a big impact on their lives and businesses. He gives people the actionable tools to succeed on their terms with less effort AND be at the top of their game in all areas of life.Through his leadership roles with General Electric, The David Allen Company, and Zappos, Mike kept noticing that people were desperate for a better path to productivity to help them fight digital distractions, mind clutter, and wasteful uses of their time. But the only resources available involved complex approaches, reading thick self-help books, or participating in boring seminars. He knew a better way existed—one rooted in simplicity and realism. So in his pursuit, he spent two decades working with thousands of people across different industries--from rocket scientists to students to nonprofit organizations.Connect with Mike: WebsiteFree Webinar Book TwitterInstagramLinkedinConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I'm excited to welcome Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst to the show to discuss their new book, Workstyle: A revolution for well being, productivity and society. If you're like me, perhaps you have heard or even used the term “workstyle” in the past without truly reflecting on the overall meaning or concept. As it turns out my guests this week coined the term nearly a decade ago during an inspired conversation at a pub. Little did they know that that conversation would lead them to co-found the multi-million pound social enterprise Hoxby to test and prove the concept of workstyle. Today Hoxby has helped thousands of workstylers around the world to set, project and respect their own workstyles. They have set up their own longitudinal research study into the link between autonomy, productivity and wellbeing and have delivered projects for some of the biggest businesses in the world including Unilever, Amazon, AIA, and Merck. Forbes.com have described them as 'creating the freelance revolution 3.0' and they have been featured in the FT, Times, Telegraph, Stylist, Marie Claire, Metro and The Guardian, among others.I really enjoyed this book and believe that it will start to help countless people and businesses find relief from their work conditioning, inspire them to create a workstyle for themselves, and enable them to take part in the most significant change to working practices since 1817. By giving you the complete freedom to identify and pursue a way of working which fits around the unique nature of your lifestyle, this book can teach us how to be well, work better and do great things on our own time. Connect with Lizzie and Alex WebsiteJoin The RevolutionBook Lizzie’s InstagramAlex’s Instagram Connect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I was excited to welcome Scott Miller to the show for a great talk about his latest book, Master Mentors Volume 2: 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds. As the book’s title suggests this is the second installment in a ten volume series collecting the best insights and observations from hundreds of episodes of the FranklinCovey on Leadership with Scott Miller podcast. This is a great, easy to read book filled with practical insights on everything from productivity to planning systems. In our chat Scott and I discuss a number of these insights including thoughts from Michael Hyatt, Guy Kawasaki, Marie Forleo, Tiffany Aliche, and more. I always love talking with fellow podcasters and Scott was no exception. This free-flowing conversation is packed with the types of observations and tips that Scott is so qualified to illuminate and illustrate for us. Scott Miller, a highly sought-after speaker, author, and podcast host, is currently FranklinCovey’s senior advisor on thought leadership, leading the strategy, development, and publication of the firm’s bestselling books on leadership. Prior to this role, Scott was a 25-year FranklinCovey associate, serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President. He hosts FranklinCovey’s On Leadership with Scott Miller, the world’s largest and fastest-growing weekly leadership podcast. Connect with Scott:WebsiteTwitterFacebookInstagramConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I was both excited and intrigued to welcome Gaia Bernstein to the show for an eye opening talk about the addictive nature of technology. Gaia is a Law Professor, Co-Director of the Institute for Privacy Protection and Co-Director of the Gibbons Institute for Law Science and Technology at the Seton Hall University School of Law. She writes, teaches and lectures in the intersection of law, technology, health and privacy. In her new book, Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies she shatters the illusion that we can control how much time we spend on our screens by resorting to self-help measures. Unwired shifts the responsibility for a solution from users to the technology industry, which designs its products to addicts. The book draws out the legal action that can pressure the technology industry to re-design its products to reduce technology overuse.Gaia has academic degrees in both law and psychology. Her research combines findings from psychology, sociology, science and technology studies with law and policy. Gaia’s research has been featured extensively by the media including the New York Times, Forbes, ABC News and Psychology Today.Connect with Gaia: Website Book Linkedin Connect with Erik: Facebook  LinkedIn  Twitter  Instagram  ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I was excited to welcome Phil Simon back to the show to discuss his new book, The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace. Phil is the world's leading independent expert on workplace collaboration and technology. He is the award-winning author of 14 books, and helps organizations communicate, collaborate, and use technology better. Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, Wired, NBC, CNBC, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and The New York Times have featured his contributions. He also hosts the podcast Conversations About Collaboration.In our chat Phil and I discuss the 9 forces that are redefining the workplace. These forces include generative AI, automation, dispersed workforces, blockchain, immersive technologies, employee empowerment, and the return of systemic inflation. The workplace is undergoing a massive, irrevocable shift. The only question for business leaders is, What should you do about it? Phil and I begin to unpack some of the first steps that he has been observing within corporations and workplaces. In addition, Phil also helps listeners understand how we can strive to keep our humanity, creativity, and ethical constraints while harnessing the power and time-saving productivity of various tools and trends that are evolving at an exponential rate.Phil’s Previous EpisodeErik’s Conversation with Christopher S. Penn About Chat GPTConnect with Phil: Website Linkedin Twitter Connect with Erik: Facebook  LinkedIn  Twitter  Instagram  ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I was excited to talk with Monica Parker about her new book The Power of Wonder: The Extraordinary Emotion That Will Change the Way You Live, Learn. Monica is an author, speaker, and the founder of global human analytics and change consultancy HATCH, though her career has been punctuated with such highlights as being an opera singer, a museum exhibition designer, and a homicide investigator defending death row inmates for Florida’s Department of Justice. With such an eclectic and varied set of interests Monica has observed that the key component that ties them all together is a sense of curiosity and wonder. In this conversation we unpack exactly what wonder is and why it can seem at times difficult to access. We also address the practical steps that you can take to rejuvenate and reconnect with the wonder of this world in your everyday life your observations and even your workplace.This is a vital episode for anyone who feels like their intellectual curiosity or even inner nerd has been fading and who wants to reconnect with the childlike wonder that fueled their early curiosities and passions. Monica helps listeners explore some of the research she has been uncovering about our brain's plasticity and how it's never too late to start living a life with more curiosity, more intentionality and more wonder.Connect with Monica:   Website Linkedin Twitter Instagram Connect with Erik: Facebook  LinkedIn  Twitter  Instagram  ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week I was honored and privileged to speak with Seth Godin about his new book, The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams. For most listeners Seth needs no introduction. Seth is perhaps best known for his prolific daily blog, as well as his books Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip and Purple Cow. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation for a long time now, and Seth of course did not disappoint. In our chat we unpack the purpose and passion that led Seth to writing this latest book. For anyone familiar with his book Linchpin, The Song of Significance is in many ways the spiritual sequel and companion piece to that book. If Linchpin was all about being indispensable on an individual level, The Song of Significance is about how to work together as a team of Linchpins. This was a really encouraging chat for anyone who might be feeling anxiety about how their skills or unique voice fits into the modern workforce or for anyone considering taking their skills into a freelance or entrepreneurial journey. Seth and I explore how the desire for agency and dignity lie at the core of the modern employee’s desires and how for all of the innovations and progress that have occurred since The Industrial Revolution these two key components have been lost. The purpose of this new book is to help teams and individuals find this dignity and autonomy again to remind people of their unique voice and how no amount of technology, AI, or automation can replace the song that only they know how to sing. This is truly a book to be read as a team and then have discussions to plan action steps that come out of it, coming together to build a team, organization or business that empowers and trusts everyone to deliver their best work and harmonize together. Connect with Seth:WebsiteBlog LinkedinTwitterInstagramConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram ________________________________________Support the show by checking out our sponsors!Make sure to grab Shortcasts from Beyond The To-Do List by Blinkist. A Shortcast is a 7-10 min version of a podcast where you get the core takeaways.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.