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.

Hosts

David Sparks

MacSparky.com

Mike Schmitz

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    Latest Episodes

    #145: Focus & Your Environment

    February 15th, 2022 · 81 minutes

    David & Mike consider how the environment affects our ability to focus and share the very different ways they set up their workspaces.

    #144: Enough, with Patrick Rhone

    February 1st, 2022 · 86 minutes

    Patrick Rhone joins us to talk about analog productivity, knolling, mise en place, and staying focused while wearing many hats.

    #143: Thinking Annually

    January 18th, 2022 · 90 minutes

    David and Mike share some thoughts about what they’re up to in the new year and the personal changes they’re making to their routines.

    #142: Sparky Gets Focused

    January 4th, 2022 · 72 minutes

    Sparky finally put his money where his mouth is and he's doing just one thing now. In this episode, Mike has questions and David has answers.

    #141: You Never Arrive

    December 22nd, 2021 · 76 minutes

    David & Mike discuss the arrival fallacy and the importance of finding joy in the journey.

    #140: Your Brain is Not a Computer with Cory Hixson

    December 7th, 2021 · 79 minutes

    Engineering professor Cory Hixson joins the Focused crew this week about staying on target, not letting your kids eat take your brain, and why you are not a computer.

    #139: Soundtracks & Self-Talk

    November 23rd, 2021 · 69 minutes

    David & Mike consider the source of negative self-talk, the power of positive thinking, and taming the rebellious brain.

    #138: Hyper-Scheduling Revisited

    November 9th, 2021 · 94 minutes

    Mike and David return to the subject of hyper-scheduling after they've both been at it a few years. What works? What doesn't? And how did Mike's experiment go where he stopped blocking time?

    #137: Managing Busy

    October 27th, 2021 · 81 minutes

    Mike and David return to the insidious problem of "busy". Mike and David are not beyond getting caught in this trap and share some ideas about how to avoid it.

    #136: Social Focus, with Taylor Jacobson

    October 12th, 2021 · 82 minutes

    Taylor Jacobson joins us to talk about groundedness, vulnerability, and accountability on his journey to founding Focusmate.