David Sparks and Mike Schmitz are not nearly as productive as they’d like to be. Join these fellow travelers (and a bunch of special guests) as they share the best ways to get focused, and talk through their successes and failures along the way.

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David Sparks

MacSparky.com

Mike Schmitz

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    Latest Episodes

    #215: The Sparkly Language Model

    October 22nd, 2024 · 84 minutes

    David & Mike revisit the topic of AI to consider what's changed in the last year and discuss how it can be helpful for those of us who strive to live a focused life.

    #214: Solving Gnarly Problems, with Clarke Ching

    October 8th, 2024 · 79 minutes

    Clarke Ching ("The Bottleneck Guy") joins us to talk about finding solutions and fixing systems, both personally and professionally.

    #213: Developing Skills

    September 24th, 2024 · 67 minutes

    David & Mike discuss deliberate practice and the art of skill development — for both fun and profit.

    #212: Living the Llama Life, with Marie Ng

    September 10th, 2024 · 82 minutes

    Llama Life founder Marie Ng joins us to talk about the relative time-boxing, the importance of systems, and eating your productivity vegetables.

    #211: The Focus MOB

    August 27th, 2024 · 87 minutes

    David & Mike consider the role of Margin, Ownership, and Boundaries in the pursuit of living a focused life.

    #210: Media Strategies for a Focused Life

    August 13th, 2024 · 82 minutes

    David & Mike share the different ways they apply intentionality to their media consumption.

    #209: A System for Writing, with Bob Doto

    July 30th, 2024 · 86 minutes

    Writer Bob Doto joins us to discuss creative systems, connecting ideas, and why you really should care about zettlekasten.

    #208: Moving the Needle Revisited

    July 16th, 2024 · 63 minutes

    David & Mike revisit the topic of moving the needle to discuss what's working and what's changed.

    #207: What Would Sparky Say?

    July 2nd, 2024 · 75 minutes

    In this feedback episode, David & Mike revisit scheduling, journaling, delegation, and lots of listener thoughts on slow productivity.

    #206: Rapt

    June 18th, 2024 · 83 minutes

    David & Mike read Rapt by Winifred Gallagher and discuss how to protect your attention and cultivate a focused life.