ProductivityCast

This week, we continue our dive into the world of Artificial Intelligence with another episode in our series, The AI-Powered Professional. Today, we are exploring AI in Everything, focusing on the shift of AI from being a standalone tool to becoming a core, embedded capability within the software we use every day, making AI truly everywhere. The biggest productivity gains are coming from smarter versions of the platforms we already rely on, rather than from brand-new tools. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/153 for clickable links and the full show notes an...

This week, we advance our series, The AI-Powered Professional, by exploring the "AI Coach." We'll dive into how AI is moving beyond simple task automation to becoming a force multiplier for personal transformation, focusing on "Accountability and Behavioral Design." We'll explore how these tools leverage data, psychological principles, and customized nudges to help us close the intention-action gap, consistently execute goals, and build lasting, productive habits. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/152 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks fo...

Stop treating AI like a simple search engine and start using it as your own personalized, tireless mentor. This episode explores how to leverage AI-powered tools to bridge knowledge gaps, master complex skills, and accelerate your professional growth through the science of adult learning. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/151 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing The AI Learning Partner: Socratic Skill Acquisition and Rapid Mastery from this episode, please cl...

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the AI-Powered Professional by returning to the AI Researcher persona. Picking up from the prior conversation (episode 149) on information overload and information toxicity, Ray, Augusto, and Francis explore how AI can help professionals move from traditional search toward more collaborative research, synthesis, comparison, and knowledge discovery. They discuss deep research tools, source verification, using multiple AI systems to challenge each other, Google NotebookLM as a grounded research workspace, AI-assisted book reading and writing, proactive information discovery, and the importance of treating AI research outputs as drafts or hypotheses that still require human...

In this episode, we continue our series on the AI-Powered Professional by introducing the AI Researcher persona. Ray, Augusto, and Francis discuss how AI is reshaping research, learning, and knowledge work by moving us beyond simple retrieval toward active knowledge synthesis. Along the way, they explore the problems of information overload, low-quality information, over-trusting AI-generated answers, news and social media overwhelm, and what Ray calls “information toxicity.” The ProductivityCast team also discusses practical ways to curate inbound information, reduce cognitive friction, use AI-generated briefs and drafts responsibly, and stay in control of your attention while working with smarter tools. (If you’...

In this episode, we continue our conversation on The AI Assistant as part of The AI-Powered Professional series. Picking up from Episode 147, the ProductivityCast team shifts from using AI merely to offload administrative friction and shadow work to thinking about AI as a true collaborative assistant. Ray, Augusto, and Francis discuss how to define roles for AI assistants, train them with useful context, manage multiple AI tools and personas, review AI-generated work as drafts, and build prompt workflows that help professionals get better results while staying firmly in control. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please vi...

In this episode, we’re discussing how to use AI to automate "shadow work", the boring, repetitive tasks like data entry and invoicing that drain our energy. By viewing AI as a "million interns" that need clear instructions and human supervision, the hosts share how to streamline everything from professional billing to personal life choices like cooking and movies. While AI can sometimes make mistakes or "hallucinate," the episode explains that investing time in training your AI assistant can remove administrative friction and help you focus on the work that actually matters. (If you’re reading this in a podcast dire...

In this episode, we're discussing the concept of perspective as a contrast to the GTD concept of control. We explore the "Horizons of Focus" and the different altitudes of self-management, ranging from the "runway" of daily actions to the "50,000-foot" level of life purpose. We debate whether perspective is a tactical relationship or a pseudonym for context while contrasting top-down visioning with bottom-up execution. From discussing the "elasticity" needed in planning to identifying incongruencies between our values and our careers, we explore how these various layers of focus can transform mundane tasks into meaningful progress toward a fulfilling life. (If...

In this episode we're discussing the concept at the core of personal management: control. Specifically, we’ll be philosophizing about what control truly means within the context of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. We'll start with David Allen’s definition, which ties control to the workflow stages of capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting, and engaging. But does that definition fully capture the complex, often psychological, reality of feeling "in control"? Then, we explore how to build tangible systems and "guardrails" that move us from simply feeling overwhelmed to being confidently in command of our work and personal lives. (If you’re rea...

In this episode of ProductivityCast, we continue our deep dive into the psychological and tactical differences between stalling out and stepping back. While Part 1 focused on defining the core constructs of procrastination and conscious deferral, Part 2 moves into the "why" and the "how." (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/144 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing the concepts of procrastination, conscious deferral and/or unconscious deferral from this episode, please click he...

What if procrastination is not always procrastination? In this episode of ProductivityCast, we begin exploring the difference between true procrastination and conscious deferral, and why that distinction matters more than most people realize. This conversation challenges the labels we use, the judgment we attach to delay, and the hidden reasons we avoid certain tasks, making this a thought-provoking starting point for anyone who has ever wondered whether they are putting something off or making a more intentional choice. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/144 for clickable links and the full show no...

What if the world's #1 brain coach wrote a book that's better suited for someone else than you? The ProductivityCast crew puts Jim Kwik's Limitless under the microscope, and their verdict might save you 12 hours of listening time (or not! 😉). Today, we're doing a book review of Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik. (NOTE: We recorded this book review before Kwik published his latest edition, Limitless Expanded Edition (December 2025); however, at least for Ray, who had a chance to read the latest version, his opinions shared in this episode haven't changed.) (If you...

We are thrilled to announce that ProductivityCast is officially relaunching on April 6th! We have missed our community and are so excited to get back to our regular publishing schedule. We have a wealth of all-new topics prepared and plenty of fresh insights to discuss regarding the world of personal productivity.To ensure you don’t miss our return, please take a moment to check your favorite podcast app. While seeing this update means you are likely already connected with us, we recommend verifying that you are properly subscribed and that your notification and auto-download settings are turned on. This en...

Today on ProductivityCast we’re going to be talking about stepping away from getting things done so you can review and reflect, and then get back to getting things done better. It’s halfway through the year and so it’s a good time to discuss the mid-year review.

Today, the ProductivityCast team talks about terminology, that is, what are the terms that we use in the personal productivity space? And why is there so much confusion around those particular words that we use? (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/140 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Defining Personal Productivity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the po...

In this week’s episode, the ProductivityCast team debated subjective versus objective time as commentary on the article, “My Fixation on Time Management Almost Broke Me.”Thanks to Brian C. for the recommended reading! (See https://www.personalproductivity.club/posts/14785370.) (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/139 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing ProductivityCast - Subjective versus Objective Time from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jum...

Today, we’re releasing this episode which was recording live at the Task Management & Time Blocking Summit 2023 stage. The theme of the conference is “One Size Doesn’t Fit All” and so the ProductivityCast team spent time discussing in front of the live audience what our thoughts are on challenges of one-size-fits-all and some thoughts of solving for it. Enjoy! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/138 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue d...

In a post entitled, Hyper-Scheduling, David Sparks (a/k/a MacSparky) writes about his method of time blocking on a granular level. This week, the ProductivityCast team provides their commentary, challenges and methods on this concept of hyper-scheduling, which will hopefully spark ideas on how you can better manage your time-based work. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/137 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Hyper-Scheduling: Commentary on MacSparky's Granular Time Bl...

In this week’s episode, the ProductivityCast team continues their conversation about sequencing for greater productivity, this time about ordering projects to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/136 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Projects Sequencing: Ordering Your Projects to Enhance Productivity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Proj...

This week, the ProductivityCast team tackles the topic of ordering tasks conditionally and task sequencing for momentum. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/135 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Task Sequencing: How to Condition and Order Tasks for Greater Momentum, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Task Sequencing Ray Sidney-Smith Augusto Pinaud Art Gelwicks Francis Wa...

In this week's episode, the ProductivityCast team chats about how to track and manage time in a calendar/agenda style format to be more productive. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/134 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Get More Out of Your Calendar from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Get More Out of...

This week, the ProductivityCast team talks about how to set up effective reminders when you're time blocking (or time chunking) as your primary productivity system. The conversation turns out much more useful for anyone looking to set up an effective reminder system. Enjoy! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/133 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Time Blocking and Time Chunking: Setting Up an Effective Reminder System from this episode, please click he...

In this week’s cast, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art discuss why task lists fail in your personal productivity systems? And, we offer some tips for making task lists that are resilient to our workaday worlds. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/132 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Why Task Lists Fail? from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of t...

This week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art discuss learning and four stages of curiosity. Curious what they are? Listen in and learn! 😉 (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/131 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing learning and the four stages of curiosity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Learning and the Four Stages of Cu...

Last week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art started a discussion about caffeinated productivity. This week, they continue their conversation about their favorite caffeine beverages, timing them for greater productivity, and many of the varieties of caffeination available to the productivity enthusiasts out there. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/130 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing caffeine-based productivity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this ju...

This week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art start a conversation about coffee and tea and all things caffeine! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/129 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing caffeine-based productivity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Caffeine-Based Productivity Ray Sidney-Smith Augusto Pinaud Art Gelwicks Francis Wade Show Notes | Caffeine-Based Productivity Re...

This week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art continue the conversation about tags, discussing how they use tags in their own lives and work, and how to deal with the limits of software when tagging. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/128 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing productivity taxonomy from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In th...

This week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art start a conversation about tags. Classifying information in our productive lives comes in many different ways. We discuss what tagging is, how tags are different from other types of organizing, and how to jumpstart your use of tags. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/127 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing productivity taxonomy from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down be...

This week, Augusto and I sat down with co-author of The Power Bible, Brendon Lemon. Brendon is a comedian and with his co-author William Betweet, III, are the authors of this unique book on how to manage power dynamics in relationships. (We had some technical recording issues, so you may notice we jump a bit in the conversation. It still came out to be an intriguing conversation with Brendon, so we hope you enjoy it!) (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/126 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of...

This week, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art start a new series on ProductivityCast, BookCast, to discuss books in time management-related genres. To start us off, we’re discussing The Myth of Multitasking, Second Edition by Dave Crenshaw. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/125 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing BookCast: The Myth of Multitasking, Second Edition by Dave Crenshaw from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down belo...

This week, in continuing on our recent episodes about note-taking methods, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art are taking on a closely-related topic of personal knowledge management to discuss Zettelkasten. Don't know about Zettelkasten? Listen in and learn! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/124 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Personal Knowledge Management With Zettelkasten from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to th...

Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art art starting a new "series" called Productivity Labs here on ProductivityCast. We're going to be discussing tools, methods and research we're experimenting with in our own personal productivity systems (even when they are not what we normally use) so we can report back to you what we've learned. This week, we're diving into how using the Bullet Journal method worked for us. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/123 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, th...

In this week’s ProductivityCast episode, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art voiced their thoughts on note-taking methodologies. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/122 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing note-taking methodologies from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | Note-Taking Methodologies Ray Sidney-Smith Augusto Pinaud Art Gelwicks Francis Wade Show Notes | Note-Taking Methodologies Resources we m...

In this week’s ProductivityCast episode, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art voiced their thoughts on note-taking—the value of note-taking, methods we use, and tips and tricks for taking notes in different contexts. Note: I say that we're covering note-taking methodologies in this episode, but we will actually be discussing those in the next several episodes, so stay tuned. Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing A Love Letter to Note-Taking, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). In this Cast | A Love...

The four-day workweek is lately in the news. Its promise is greater economic benefits for businesses and governments, and increased productivity for organization’s human resources. How should we think about this from a personal and business productivity perspective? Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art share their thoughts on the four-day workweek. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/120 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Four-Day Workweek's Impact on Productivity from this epis...

In this week's episode, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art explain the concept of building a memory palace (a/k/a Method of Loci, or Journey Method) and then discuss its veracity in work and personal life, and some productive uses of the memory palace for someone starting out. (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/119 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing building a memory palace from this episode, please click here to...

In this week's episode, Ray, Augusto, Francis and Art gathered round the microphones to discuss what they noticed happening in the world of personal productivity, and then what their plans are for next year (in terms of their own systems and other work they are doing). (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/118 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing 2021 in Review, 2022 in Preview from this episode, please click here to leave a...

A few times per year, the ProductivityCast team comes together to share with you a few software products and/or services that we know/use in our personal productivity systems, or with our client’s systems. We call this series Productivity App-apalooza, and do this in three rounds, with each of us taking the opportunity to explain the tool and why we believe it provides value to our productivity (and possibly yours). With that, here’s Productivity App-apalooza, Fourth Edition! (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/117 for clickable links and the full s...

Back when smartphones first came out, some (including Francis) asked the question: is a smartphone superior to a knapsack full of gadgets? For example, was a sack with a camera, pda, phone a functional equivalent?  If so, did it offer more than convenience? Was there a real improvement in productivity? Since then, the question has been answered by apps which rely and interact with multiple other apps, but the question is still valid. Just because a technology allows something to be done more easily or conveniently, may not mean that it allows for a bona fide improvement in personal productivity. W...

Today we are discussing about Voice Productivity. the ProductivityCast team explains how to use Voice on our devices and technology to be more effective and productive. We have in the past We discussed voice assistants in episode 071 (Personal Outsourcing) and episode 086 (IoT Productivity). (If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit https://productivitycast.net/115 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.) Enjoy! Give us feedback! And, thanks for listening! If you'd like to continue discussing Voice Productivity from this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this ju...