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

This week I'm excited to share my conversation with Chris Bailey. Chris has been a guest on the show a number of times, and in this episode he unpacks the origins, research, and results of his new book, How to Calm Your Mind: Finding Presence and Productivity in Anxious Times. This was a really timely conversation for me and I suspect it will be for you as well. Chris and I discuss the events that led up to him writing this book while exploring a number of techniques, and tips for finding presence and calm that he developed and practiced along that journey. We discuss digital fasting, the advantages of analog items for productivity, and how slowing down your lifestyle can often lead to speeding up your efficiency!Chris Bailey is a productivity expert, and the bestselling author of two books about productivity: Hyperfocus https://amzn.to/3iGCsCF, and The Productivity Project https://amzn.to/3CP2dHT. Chris writes about productivity at https://chrisbailey.com, and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the process. 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 my old friend Matt McWilliams to the show to discuss his new book, Turn Your Passions into Profits: The Proven Path for Building a Rewarding Online Business. Matt is a successful entrepreneur and in-demand online business coach who specializes in helping entrepreneurs gain clarity on the exact steps it takes to start, grow, and monetize their online platform. So many entrepreneurs either run a profitable business but hate their work or run a business they love, with a message they’re proud of, without making any money. There’s a better way to build a business, one that helps you wake up every day excited and full of purpose and make a profit.In this conversation Matt outlines the details on how to find and attract your audience, build a following, and ultimately how to monetize your venture quickly and sustainably. Matt shares a variety of stories from clients and entrepreneurs he has worked with through the years while illustrating how to build up the confidence necessary to share your message with the world while acquiring the tools and strategies needed to succeed with an online business and compete against established platforms.Book Link: passionsintoprofitsbook.com/erik 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 re-share an episode I recorded almost two years ago with Ryan McRae. Ryan has had ADHD all of his life, but he wasn’t going to let it slow him down. He has worked hard to figure out how to take all the benefits and cancel out all the drawbacks of this condition that many people only associate with young people yet affects millions of adults as well. Ryan has been on the show previously to talk about ADHD, but in this conversation he and Erik talk about Setting resolutions and sticking to them.With the new year upon us many people are either setting or recommitting to resolutions for 2023. Though this practice is by no means unhealthy or unproductive, the act of setting resolutions can at times be demoralizing, resulting in more harm than good. In this hour Ryan and Erik talk about the power of setting realistic resolutions and how having grace and patience with yourself along the road of resolutions can result in more long-term and sustainable practices that will go far beyond 2023. Ryan’s Guide to ADHD: https://medium.com/the-adhd-nerd/the-ultimate-adhd-guide-to-time-management-232c9af94a3e 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.

In this episode I'm excited to re-release a conversation I had with Greg Mckeown. Greg is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, 'Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less'. His latest book is 'Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most'. In addition to writing Greg is also the host of the 'What's Essential Podcast'.In this conversation, Greg talks about what essentialism is and making the most essential activities the easiest ones, so you can achieve the results you want, without burning out. We talk about turning tedious tasks into enjoyable rituals, setting a sustainable pace instead of having to power through and easy setting up of one time choices that eliminate many future decisions, simplifying processes, removing unnecessary steps, making relationships easier to maintain and manage. This is all under that umbrella of effortless making things that matter most easier to do and this is a great conversation and a great book to kick start that process in your life.In addition to discussing Essentialism, we talk about Greg’s follow up to that book, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. This was such a powerful and timely conversation that centers on figuring out what matters most and then making it easier. As we head into 2023, I cannot imagine a more relevant productivity goal than that!  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 thrilled to re-release this episode with Allison Fallon. Allison is an award winning author, sought after public speaker, and nationally recognized writing coach. She has coached hundreds of thousands of writers - from NYT Bestselling authors to total beginners to help them finally get their books written and on shelves.Her most recent book The Power of Writing Things Down walks anyone - even those who swear they aren't "real" writers - through a simple daily practice they can use to reduce anxiety, curb depression, improve their confidence and gain clarity in their life. Grab the first chapter free here.I wanted to bring this episode back out and top of mind moving forward into the new year because even though I don’t particularly subscribe to the idea of doing New Years Resolutions, I do believe in making progress and have been thinking about goals I want to push forward next year.  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 Dr. Cassie Holmes to the show to discuss her new book,Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.Cassie is a professor of marketing and behavioral decision making at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is a renowned expert in the field of time and its correlation to happiness. In this conversation Cassie guides listeners through a variety of insights and exercises she’s shared with MBA students in her wildly popular UCLA course. Dr. Holmes unpacks concepts such as time poverty, what it is, why it’s damaging, how it’s subjective, and ways you can quickly increase your time affluence. We discuss how the use of time tracking can easily and quickly guide those suffering from time poverty to a more fruitful, fulfilling and happier pace of life.In addition to sharing techniques and research that she has discovered while writing the book, Cassie also reveals some of the psychology and behavioral science that can lead to the sometimes overwhelming feelings of time poverty and the power of embracing quality time over mundane time-costs such as excess social media, and pseudo-work. Follow Cassie’s Work:https://www.cassiemholmes.com 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 reshare with you a conversation I had with Megan Hyatt Miller. Megan is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Full Focus, previously known as Michael Hyatt & Company, and the co-host of the popular business podcast, Lead to Win. She's the oldest daughter of Michael Hyatt, whose name you'll recognize because he's been on this show a number of times.I wanted to reshare this conversation because I've been thinking about it a lot lately for two reasons: She and Michael are coming back on the show in January to talk about their new book: Mind Your Mindset: The Science That Shows Success Starts with Your Thinking I've been thinking a lot lately on the topic of this conversation which is all about their previously co-authored book: 'Win at Work & Succeed At Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself From the Cult of Overwork' In this conversation we talk about the five principles that help you rethink work and productivity from the ground up so that you can achieve what they call the Double Win. We talk about those five principles, we talk about it from a high level, and then drill down into practical steps that you can take at home and at work to achieve true work-life balance and how to make that work for you. 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 share an episode of Social Media News Live in which my friend Jeff Seih interviewed yours truly about the process and productivity mindset for podcasting. I guess you could say these topics fall within the perfect venn diagram of two of my biggest interests. In this episode Jeff and I discuss a wide array of topics and hurdles that face anyone looking to start a podcast either for their professional career or simply as a hobby. Topics include recruiting and working with guests, how much time per week you should spend on your podcast, how to set up and manage scheduling, and the importance of working with an editor. In addition to laying out many of the things I’ve learned in my ten years of hosting Beyond the To-Do List, Jeff and I also discuss some of the advice I would have given myself when I was just getting started!Jeff Sieh is an international speaker and visual marketing consultant, specializing in Pinterest, visual marketing, and video. He hosts the Social Media News Live show and podcast and is also “Head Beard” at Manly Pinterest Tips. Jeff has worked with and produced visual content for various companies, including Guy Kawasaki, Kim Garst, Social Media Examiner, and Tailwind.Link To a Video of this Episode: https://socialmedianewslive.com/podcast-productivity-with-erik-fisher-2/ 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 Heather Adams to the show to discuss the many facets and benefits of both mentorship and becoming a mentor. Heather is the founder and CEO of Choice Media and Communications and host of the top-ranked podcast, Make Me Known. As a mentor too many Heather’s experience and passion for elevating the women around her has inspired her to take women under her wing and usher them into the next phase of their careers. Through one-on-one conversations and group settings, Heather relies on her experience, having played an instrumental role in launching more than 100 New York Times bestsellers and securing clients' coverage in a host of national and international media outlets. In this conversation we talk about the value of both finding a mentor and the rewarding experience of being one. In addition we discuss some of the barriers that prevent people from seeking out mentorship and talk through some of the ways that virtual mentorship is connecting people to both coaching and information like never before.  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 privileged to welcome Michelle Segar to the show to discuss her new book The Joy Choice: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Changes in Eating and Exercise. Michelle is a researcher at The University of Michigan who studies sustainable behavior change and the science of habits. In this conversation Michelle unpacks the science behind our choices and explains how thinking around behavior change has often made the mistake of an all or nothing approach to changing our habits and lifestyle.The Joy Choice offers a fresh, brain-based solution that turns the old behavior-change paradigm on its head. This groundbreaking book liberates you from the self-defeating obligations and rigid requirements of past diet and workout regimens and reveals what emerging research suggests really drives the consistent choices that power sustainable change.Michelle Segar, PhD is an award-winning lifestyle coach and sustainable behavior change researcher at the University of Michigan. For nearly three decades, she has pioneered methods to create sustainable healthy behavior changes that are being used to boost patient health, employee well-being, and gym membership retention.  Website: https://michellesegar.com 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.