The Productivity Show | Getting Things Done (gtd) | Time Management | Evernote

We have completely replaced internal emails at Asian Efficiency. No one sends emails to co-workers anymore. Think it’s impossible? It’s not. You can do it too within your team and organization. There’s one communication and collaboration tool that you need. That’s either HipChat or Slack. In this episode we discuss how we’ve replaced company emails […]

Mike is joined by his wife Rachel share her perspective on the topic of core values and vision. They share the process they followed to created a vision and set of core values for themselves and their family, and they discuss how they came to their values as well as 10 handy tips for identifying and […]

This episode is all about FOMO – The Fear of Missing Out. It’s a troubling trend with major productivity costs, and Mike and Thanh help you understand and solve it. They chat about FOMO’s symptoms and common causes, as well as 9 tips to help you overcome it once and for all. Cheat Sheet Why […]

What’s the best way to brainstorm and take notes? We discuss mindmapping vs outlining, and when to use each technique. There are times when you should mind maps – especially if you have the personality type for it. For others, outlines and text notes might be superior. Listen to this episode to find out which […]

Today we are talking about getting up early – a polarizing topic and one that we’ve discussed a lot with our community lately. Thanh and Mike share 8 strategies for getting up early, finding the motivation to get up earlier, and things you should avoid when you do get up ahead of the sun. Cheat […]

Brooks and Mike go round-by-round picking their top 10 essential Mac productivity apps. From menu-bar apps to task managers, this is the definitive list for 2017 on a Mac. The 2017 Essential Mac Productivity Draft Round 1 Brooks: 1Password Mike: TextExpander Round 2 Brooks: Alfred Mike: OmniFocus Round 3 Brooks: Hazel Mike: nvALT Round 4 […]

We welcome new Asian Efficiency team member Brooks Duncan on the show to chat with Mike about solutions to common corporate productivity problems. If you work for an organization and are trying to make productivity systems work for you in a corporate environment, this episode will help with ideas about meetings, distractions, email, and more. […]

How can you design your life and your environment so that is it inevitable that you will be productive? We are tackling this question on today’s episode, as Mike and Thanh discuss the tools, systems, and concepts you can use to make your lifestyle more productive. Cheat Sheet How Thanh came upon the concept of Lifestyle […]

Mike and Thanh explore the Asian Efficiency core values, how they came to them, and why they’ve changed over the years. They discuss the benefits of having core values for your personal life and your company, and how you can use core values to make decisions, hire new staff, and create a more productive work […]

Mike is team iOS, arguing that this platform is superior for getting things done with ease, mobility, and focus. Thanh represents team Mac, making the case that laptops and desktops are far better at getting important things done in less time and with more automation. Listen in and decide for yourself which platform is best […]

Mike and Thanh break down their productivity predictions for 2017, and discuss how the future of inboxes, notifications, and the Internet of Things will take shape over the next year. Cheat Sheet Why the term “productivity” is such a buzzword and a brief look back at the history of the productivity industry How productivity has […]

Mike and Thanh discuss the tools, environments, and time needed to do your best work – deep work. Deep work is when you are devoting your entire attention to your most important task, and it’s something many people struggle with. In this episode we cover ideas like clearing to neutral, managing your energy levels, sounds […]

Mike and Thanh host this episode as Zachary plays guest, discussing his run as host of the Productivity Show. They talk about how Zack was hired to the Asian Efficiency team, some of Zack’s favorite episodes of this podcast, and what he’s learned from hosting the show and talking to guests. Cheat Sheet How Zack […]

Chris Bailey spent a year trying out different productivity concepts, using himself as the subject of his experiments. Mike Schmitz talks with Chris about what he learned from experiments such as not talking to other humans for 10 days, working only 20 hours one week, and more. They also discuss other topics covered in Chris’s […]

The AE Holiday Gift Guide is here! Thanh and Mike each give you their top 10 gifts for the productivity junkie in your life. The AE Holiday Gift Guide Thanh’s pick, then Mike’s pick Round 1 Amazon Echo LifeStraw Go water bottle Round 2 Bose QuietComfort 20 | Bose QuietComfort 25 Esington Glass Productivity Timer Round 3 […]

This is part 2 of our conversation on the 80/20 rule with Tim Francis. If you missed part 1, visit theproductivityshow.com/118, where we covered the 5 levels of 80/20. In this episode, we talk about how businesses have used the 80/20 rule to create exponential growth. Tim and Thanh take us through real world examples […]

The 80/20 is an important concept, one that is often appreciated but also relatively difficult to find practical applications for in your own life. In this episode, you’re going to learn the framework for implementing the 80/20 in all areas of your life and work. The 5 levels laid out by our guest Tim Francis will […]

Alistair Clark is a former management consultant and current founder of Work. Life. Fitness. He helps overworked professionals create a competitive advantage at work using fitness, productivity and lifestyle strategies. We chat today about creating systems that will help you keep a balance between work and life. Cheat Sheet How management consulting killed his work-life […]

Zack and Mike revisit the Getting Things Done method and chat about common obstacles that prevent people from successfully implementing the system into their lives. They chat about keeping things simple, not following the system exactly, and evolving as you use the GTD method. You’ll get something out of this episode whether you’re new to […]

Technology is a huge part of our modern-day lives, and it’s easy to forget that technology was meant to serve us and make our lives easier, not the other way around. Today we talk with Rick Stawarz about how to make technology work for us, not get in the way, and automate tasks we don’t […]