Justin and Tara Williams, founders of Millionaire University, discuss achieving success in business, marriage, parenting, and life. They share their innovative color-coding system for to-do lists, strategies for prioritizing tasks, and using the calendar as a productivity tool. They talk about the importance of grit and courage, scaling a business, delegating tasks, and finding work-life balance.

Former COO turned life strategist, Jason Silver, shares inspiring methodologies for unlocking big impact at work without burnout. He discusses the importance of considering how work should feel, effective communication techniques like the brief back, and preventing burnout for work-life balance.

This week I was delighted to welcome my friend of nearly ten years Lauren Gaggioli to the show for a practical and insightful conversation about purpose, parenting, and productivity. Lauren is a dynamic entrepreneur, educator, and a true advocate for purpose-driven living. She excels at leveraging technology to make her mark on the world, but she also finds joy and fulfillment in domestic activities like knitting, gardening, and brewing beer. In our conversation, we dive deep into the challenges of finding balance and control in our daily lives. Lauren shares her experiences of being productive as a spouse, a parent of young children and as an entrepreneur, highlighting the importance of communication, compromise, and creating a family culture that works for everyone. We also explore Lauren's passion for teaching and helping others realize their dreams while discussing her new duo of online courses. Big Why Life, the first of Lauren’s courses, is designed to help individuals assess their values, determine their purpose, and take action. A perfect course for high school or college students, it leverages the observations Lauren made while running a tutoring company that offered online ACT and SAT courses, prioritizing completion over perfection and embracing frameworks over strict formulas. In her second course Organic Marketing Ecosystem, Lauren examines business and content strategy, with a focus on search engine optimization (SEO) to help entrepreneurs refine their target audience and convert online strangers into clients. Join us on this episode as we delve into the intricacies of parenting, entrepreneurship, and finding balance in a rapidly changing world. Discover how you can align your actions with your purpose, improve communication within your family, and cultivate a meaningful life that harmonizes personal pursuits with responsibilities.Make sure to check out our sponsors to help support the show!Connect with Lauren:Website Linkedin Instagram Connect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram ________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I was really excited to speak with my friend and former colleague Phil Mershon about his new book, Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences. Phil is the director of experience for Social Media Examiner where for over 12 years he has created amazing customer experiences at events like Social Media Marketing World and the Social Media Success Summit. Phil and I worked together at Social Media Examiner and throughout his 30+ year career he has been creating memorable experiences for businesses like non-profits, schools, and churches. In this new book Phil has compiled the knowledge that he has accumulated throughout his career into an amazing guide for both event creators as well as conference or event attendees. I’m sure you're aware of the adage, “This meeting could have been an email.” Well in many ways if you're anything like me you have been to conferences or events that feel like they should have been a meeting. Phil’s book looks to correct this trend by laying out the principles and best practices for building unforgettable events with truly useful takeaways.In this conversation Phil lays out some of his tried and true techniques for creating events both in person and online that generate team building while encouraging the interplay between in-person and online interactions. Phil also points out how events can minimize distractions and create an environment conducive to both focus and engagement. In many ways Phil sees himself as a kind of “game designer” responsible for creating experiences that are both engaging while simultaneously being rewarding and fun. Listeners will gain valuable insights into maximizing the impact of in-person events, improving engagement and productivity, and developing a deep understanding of attendees' needs while also improving their own attendee IQ to get the most out of their next work event or conference.______________________________________________________________Connect with Phil:Website BookLinkedin Twitter Facebook InstagramConnect 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/adchoices

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/adchoices

This week I’m really excited to share this conversation with Oliver Burkeman. I was inspired by this chat as Oliver is proposing a fresh and humane look at productivity that goes far beyond time management systems and software trends to reach into the finite nature of time and the intuitive skills that we all possess to handle our daily tasks and schedules in a way that is more forgiving and human. In his latest book, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Oliver unpacks how the approximately four thousand hours that the average person has on earth is often spent thinking about, and even stressing about time management rather than embracing the natural flow of time and work cycles. As a contrast to this dread or even guilt that so many of us have regarding our productivity, Oliver stresses the importance of recognizing our limitations and finitude in terms of time and control. In our talk Oliver also emphasizes the value of understanding these limitations and how it can be freeing, allowing us to focus on realistic goals instead of feeling overwhelmed. In addition we explore the concept of intentional choice in using our limited resources and how it can lead to greater productivity. Oliver also points out techniques for how to distinguish between pursuing groundbreaking projects and trying to do everything at once, highlighting the latter as a futile struggle that often hinders meaningful work. Oliver Burkeman is the author of The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking and Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done. He wrote a long-running column for the Guardian, This Column Will Change Your Life, and has a devoted following for his writing on productivity, mortality and the power of limits. To receive his writing as soon as it’s published, subscribe to his twice-monthly email The Imperfectionist.Connect with Oliver:WebsiteLinkedinTwitterYouTubeConnect with Erik:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices