Beyond The To-do List

This week I was excited to speak with Kevin Eikenberry about a host of topics revolving around remote working, company culture, and clear communication. Kevin is an expert in communication, collaboration, and cohesion within organizational cultures and structures. He is recognized as a world expert on leadership development and is the best-selling co-author of Remarkable Leadership, The Long Distance Leader, and The Long Distance Teammate. Kevin’s latest book, The Long Distance Team: Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success explores the challenges and opportunities of designing virtual or hybrid teams. In addition to writing, Kevin is also the founder and Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a leadership training and consulting firm who believe that real useful learning comes from a continual process of doing, trying, experiencing and applying. In our conversation we discuss how team design and culture are often presented as separate concepts when they are in fact intertwined in the remote

This week I was really excited to speak with Shawn Lemon about digital organization and decluttering our digital workspaces. Shawn is the founder of The Digital Organizer, a virtual one-on-one coaching platform that transforms digital workspaces from chaos to order while improving communication, efficiency, and productivity. In our conversation, we dive deep into the importance and power of digital organizing discussing how it can positively impact both your personal and professional life. In addition we address the knock on effects of disorganization and clutter on our ability to focus and be creative, and how you are probably wasting a lot of time that you aren't aware of, time that adds up when accumulated.Shawn and I also explore the benefits of creating systems that are intuitive and easy to follow, and how this can lead to improved efficiency and reduced stress for you and those you work and live with. In conclusion Shawn breaks down the importance of consolidating tools and resources within an organiza

This week I was excited to talk with Chris Sparks about all things poker and how the principles of the game can elevate both your professional performance and productivity. Chris is a professional poker player who at one time was ranked in the top 20 online players in the world. Chris Teaches CEOs and portfolio managers elite poker frameworks for unlocking new levels of optimized decision making and investing. He is also the host of the Forcing Function Hour Podcast. In our conversation Chris shares invaluable lessons on negotiation, collaboration, leadership, and the development of intuition. We also learn about Chris's personal journey from online poker to becoming one of the top players worldwide, and how he applies his expertise to help high performers dispel myths about decision making and risk. In addition Chris and I delve into his principles and tips for reducing uncertainty through information gathering and experimentation. Listeners will uncover valuable advice on embracing their emotions and person

This week it was my privilege to welcome Jon Acuff back to the show to discuss his new book, All It Takes is A Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap Into Your Massive Potential. Regular listeners to the show are of course familiar with John as he has been on the show a number of times to talk about his previous books, Start, Finish, Soundtracks, and Your New Playlist. I consider Jon a good friend and in this new book he brings his trademark style of humor and clear communication back to the subject of achieving your goals. Fans of Jon might be familiar with his book Finish which begins to outline his philosophies on goal setting. In All It Takes is A Goal he both expands and codifies his thoughts on how we can set goals that are smart and achievable. In our conversation Jon introduces the concept of guaranteed goals, setting easy, middle, and potential goals to achieve a balance between comfort and chaos zones. In addition Jon also highlights the importance of what he calls sustainable fuel, goals tha

This week I was excited to welcome the dynamic duo of Justin and Tara Williams to the show to talk about family, business, grit and determination, and their advice for business owners and entrepreneurs. Justin and Tara are the founders of Millionaire University, a unique online set of courses designed to help anyone create a seven figure business. In this episode we dive into the world of clarity, and goal-setting as we explore how Justin and Tara have achieved success in both their business, their marriage, parenting, and life.In addition Justin and Tara share their wisdom on developing clarity in your life, honing your goals, and staying focused on what truly matters. They reveal their innovative color-coding system for to-do lists, their strategies for prioritizing tasks, and how they use their calendar as the ultimate productivity tool. Justin and Tara also open up about the importance of grit and courage when facing oneself, the challenges they have overcome, and the lessons they have learned along the w

This week I was excited to welcome Jason Silver to the show for a preview of his upcoming book Quietly Crushing It: Unlocking Big Impact at Work Without the Burnout in Life. This is a special sneak peek into a book that I think is going to be incredibly impactful when it’s released later next year. However in the meantime Jason takes us inside some of the methodologies and techniques that he was putting into practice when inspiration for the book struck.Jason is a former COO turned life strategist and startup coach and in this conversation he shares his inspiring journey of self-discovery and how he began applying everyday startup methodologies to transform his own life. In our chat Jason reveals the wake-up call that made him question societal expectations and reevaluate how he approached work and personal challenges. We dive deep into the experiments he conducted to challenge traditional assumptions, leading to a higher impact at work and greater joy in everyday tasks. Throughout the episode, Jason highligh

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 the

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

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

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 fo

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

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 figh

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

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, lea

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 studi

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 w

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

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.

This week I was privileged to welcome Dr. Luana Marques to Beyond The To Do List to talk about her new book: Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power. As the Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Director of the Community Psychiatry Program for Research in Implementation & Dissemination of Evidence-Based Treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Marques is a national and international expert in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) and a leader in increasing access to scientifically rigorous mental health practices. In our chat Dr. Marques addresses the many forms that anxiety can manifest both in the workplace and our personal lives. We discuss the spectrum of anxiety and stress and the unique ways every person’s thoughts, behaviors and emotions begin to change in periods of anxiety. This is an extremely broad topic and by no means do Dr. Marques and I begin to address the many forms that anxiety, stress or depression can manifest; however

This week I'm excited to welcome Nick Sonnenburg to the show for an informative discussion about his new book Come Up for Air: How Teams Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning in Work Nick is an entrepreneur, Inc. columnist, and guest lecturer at Columbia University. He is the Founder and CEO of Leverage, a leading operational efficiency consultancy that helps companies implement his CPR® Business Efficiency Framework. Coming Up for Air and what Nick calls The CPR Framework is the culmination of Nick’s unique perspective on the value of time, efficiency, and automation which stems in part from the eight years he spent working as a high-frequency trader on Wall Street. The CPR Framework consistently results in greater output, less stress, happier employees, and the potential to gain an extra full day per week in productivity per person—just by using the right tools in the right way, at the right time. Nick and his team have worked with organizations of all sizes and across all industries, from high-gr