This week’s podcast is sponsored by MoreDays. Head on over to MoreDays.com and try out a fun and free service that simply put, makes productivity fun. You can watch the service in action with videos provided on site, you don’t have to be a GTDer or a follower of Covey’s work to make use of it, and it looks and feels good to use. Give MoreDays a try — you won’t be disappointed. In fact, you might just make a few of your dreams a reality by giving it a try.

What happened then

• David shares his story on what led to the choosing of Mike Williams as the CEO of The David Allen Company, and Mike offers his thoughts on the process as well.
• Our host asks David and Mike discuss the one thing they recommend people do to get ready for the year that has just arrived.
• Mike asks his guests about their thoughts on something that Cal Newport talked about regarding the “post-productivity era”.
• All three gentlemen reveal what’s on their “wish list” for 2012 when it comes to GTD.
• Finally, Mike Vardy talks about the future of ProductiVardy.

What happens now

Want to help shape the future of the podcast? Drop Mike a line at mike(at)vardy(dot)me with your ideas and thoughts on where he should take ProductiVardy going forward.

Don’t forget to check out all of Mike’s other goings-on at his website and his weblog, Vardy.me. And watch for news on the forthcoming Lifehack podcast and Mike’s new venture with Michael Schechter, launching in February 2012.

Thanks for joining Mike over the past 15 episodes — and stay tuned for what’s in store for ProductiVardy when it returns from hiatus.

What happened then

• A lot of contemplation on the year that was 2011.

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo credit: Tom Y. Lees

This week’s podcast is sponsored by MozyPro Online Backup: Simple, Automatic & Secure Backup – http://mozy.com/pro.

Businesses of all sizes and consumers use Mozy to back up everything from emails, contacts, important documents to family pictures and music. It’s automatic and it works.

Call MozyPro Online Backup now at 1-877-669-9776 or visit MozyPro.com and use the promo code PODCAST15 to save 15%. Keep your data — and your business — in a safe place with Mozy for Business.

What happened then

• Mike talks about what is coming up on the final episode of the podcast next week, and what the beginning of 2012 will hold for both himself and the podcast
• Thanks to Gina Trapani, Mike discovered Clay Johnson. Clay gives a brief introduction about his book, The Information Diet, including on how he got the idea for the book — before we dive in a little deeper.
• Clay tells us about “infoveganism” and his thoughts on how to better handle the information that comes our way and how less information isn’t necessarily better.
• Clay debunks the myth of “information overload”.
• Clay talks about some of the tools he uses, such as RescueTime, and explains other tools such as his “bias journal” and exploring digital literacy.
• Listeners can head over to make the resolution to take the Information Diet and Clay explains about what the resolution involves.
• Clay breaks it down: Who is The Information Diet best suited for?

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. We’d really like to have more people listen to the show, and leaving a rating and review helps people find it that much easier.

Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook. And don’t forget to check out all of Mike’s other goings-on at his website and his weblog, Vardy.me.

Happy holidays!

Photo credit: Clay Johnson

What happened then

• There were some audio problems on my end, microphone issues to be specific. Apologies all around, but it’ll be fixed for next episode.
• Todd and I touch on our love-hate relationship with the Cincinnati Bengals, both at the onset and tail-end of the interview.
• Todd talks about some of the challenges that get in the way of our creativity — and the ability for us to reach our full potential of what we can do in terms of creativity.
• Is “shipping” all that it’s cracked up to be? Todd talks about the problems with just shipping things.
• Todd steps out of his scope a bit to talk about a possible shift in our society being driven by what we love to do that being driven by the dollar.
• Todd talks about one of the biggest things creatives struggle with.
• What does FRESH mean? Todd tells us.
• Todd talks about paper and his digital tools, including how he uses Evernote, Scrivener, PlainText, DEVONthink and OmniFocus. (There’s also a shoutout to Brett Kelly in there.)
• What gives Todd his edge? Who won the Carson Palmer trade? Do the Bengals make the playoffs? Todd reveals his thoughts on all. (He was partly wrong on one of them so far…)

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo credit: http://toddhenry.com

What happened then

• Mike highly suggests you check out the Read & Trust network. Seriously.
• Chris discusses why he started Idea Cafe and the challenges of running an online store in Canada.
• Mike asks Chris about his workflow and how he gets all that he has to get done…done.
• Does Chris work in Context Mode or in Project Mode? He gives us the goods.
• What are Chris’ writing instrument and notebook of choice right now? (Hint: He has more than one choice, and you can get most of them here and at JetPens.)
• Chris describes his work environment (slightly altered from the link provided due to his recent move), and Mike discusses what his environment plans are.
• Mike asks Chris a question he never thought he’d get asked on a show like this.
• Does using a productivity system promote increased mindfulness? Mike asks Chris’ thoughts — and it goes from there.
• What gives Chris Bowler his edge? (Hint: You’ll have to listen to find out.)

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo credit: http://chrisbowler.com

What happened then

• Mike takes a moment to not just discuss the future of the podcast, but the importance of replenishing yourself in order to avoid burnout.
• The segment SingleTip makes a return, with Chris Guillebeau offering his tip on where to start if you’re going against the grain while trying to start doing something that you really want to do.
• More talk with Charlie about the World Domination Summit, and then talk about Charlie’s site.
• Charlie discusses the article series, “Great Connections Lead to Great Ideas”, which recently appeared on Productive Flourishing.
• Mike gets the abridged version of the tools that Charlie DOESN’T use to get things done.
• What does Charlie use? Mailplane and TextMate are two examples.
• Charlie talks about his email workflow.
• Mike mentions Merlin Mann’s thanksno as a way he manages his spam; Charlie doesn’t seem to get much.
• Charlie doesn’t “get” Instapaper. Why is this so?
• Since Charlie is writing a book, Mike asks him about his habits on that front.
• Charlie is asked about “Lift-Off”, an intensive he has developed with Pam Slim.
• And about that book…?

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

^{Photo credit: Cynthia Morris}

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Shopify.

Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. Organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store.

You can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up. Shopify makes e-commerce so much easier.

What happened then

• Mike and Cal talk about the post that drew Mike’s attention — and the attention of virtually every “productivityist” on the web.
• Cal explains what got him into examining productivity at such a deep level.
• Cal offers what he’d like to see more from productivity-type sites such as Lifehacker and Lifehack.org online.
• Cal talks about his “information diet”, and how he keeps his intake at a level that allows him to stay on top of things.
• Mike asks Cal about the need for people to “search for what we’re meant to do” and whether or not the way people look at finding passion is a real problem.
• Cal talks briefly about his forthcoming book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, due out in Fall 2012.

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

^{Photo credit: Meng Heng Touch}

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Shopify.

Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. Organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store.

You can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up. Start your store now with Shopify.

What happened then

• Mike discusses a bit about procrastination, mentioning Neil Fiore’s book The Now Habit in the process.
• A great post is mentioned that’s definitely worth reading: Cal Newport’s Welcome to The Post-Productivity World
• More on procrastination: You Are Not So Smart (Book Trailer) Buy the book here.
• Enough: The Minimal Mac Podcast – Episode 83: Hip to Be Bored
• Leo talks about how he shifted Zen Habits away from productivity and where it is now.
• How does Leo get it all done? He tells you.
• Leo explains what “zen” means to him, as Mike confronts him with a post he wrote back during his time with The Next Web on productivity buzzwords.
• Is Leo a digital or analog tools kind of guy? You’ll find out (sort of).
• Peter from Washington, DC, asks Mike’s thoughts on Stickk, a goal setting web app that offers risk and reward.

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

(Full disclosure: All book links are linked to my Amazon Associates ID. If you buy them using my link, I get a little bit of money. If you’re thinking of buying one (or all) of the books, I’d love it if you did it from here. Thanks.)

Photo credit: wmrice (CC BY 2.0)

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Shopify. Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. Organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store. Shopify gives you that power and control. Leave it to the experts at Shopify — they’ve put together a great software solution to handle what you need. Let Shopify do that work so that you can do your work.

You can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up.

What happened then

• Mike does a bit of follow-up on the long and unexpected hiatus from the podcast, including a few apologies put in for good measure.
• Dave discusses the nuts and bolts behind why he wrote the book.
• How did Dave get to where he is? He tells us.
• Dave goes through his writing process — fitting even now with NaNoWriMo in full swing.
• Want Dave to bring his book tour to your city? Help him out here — and give to a great charity in the process.
• What about the thing that gives Dave his edge? It’s in here…

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook.

And thanks again for sticking with me. I truly appreciate it.

Photo credit: Greg Shumchenia

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Shopify. Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. Organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store. Shopify gives you that power and control. And who doesn’t want that? Especially when it’s so easy to have it.

You can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up. I’ve jumped on board the Shopify e-commerce train. Why don’t you join me?

What happened then

• Pace Smith of The Connection Revolution offers this episode’s SingleTip.
• Corwin discusses how he manages to get everything done — and the challenges of getting everything done well.
• How Corwin pushes through the “urgent” to get to the “important” — and offers advice on how others can as well.
• We get an introduction to Clamorate! from one of the people making it happen.
• Corwin discusses the future of collaboration on the Internet.
• What gives Corwin his edge? You’ll have to listen…

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook. They are the only places where I write stuff about the podcast — so get it on your lists, folks!

This week’s podcast is sponsored by the fine folks at Shopify. What is Shopify, you ask? Well…

Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. Organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store. Shopify gives you that power and control. And who doesn’t want that? Especially when it’s so easy to have it.

You can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up. I’m gearing up to use Shopify now that I’m developing my own wares. Give it a go…Shopify your site today.

What happened then

• Chris explains what exactly the World Domination Summit is — and what it takes to put together an event like it. (want to see and hear more about it…check this out.
• Since you just checked that out, Chris tells you how to get in on WDS 2012.
• Who (or what) inspired Chris to do what he does?
• Chris delves into what he believes people can do to be more engaged and to dabble in (or dive into) the art of nonconformity.
• What’s travel hacking? Chris tells us.
• Chris also discusses his relationship with his email inbox, what tools he uses (such as OmniFocus) to stay on task and get all he has on the go, well…gone. Oh, and he’s working on another book and he tells us about it.

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook. They are the only places where I write stuff about the podcast — so get it on your lists, folks!

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Shopify. Shopify is a fully hosted application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. It lets you organize your products, customize your storefront, use your own domain, accept credit card payments through payment gateways, track and respond to orders — all without the hassle of running a physical store. You can can set up a gorgeous online store in minutes and sell just about anything. Want to give it a try? For a 60-day trial, enter the coupon code VARDY when you sign up. Shopify is pretty awesome, and I’m stoked to have them as a sponsor.

What happened then

• A new segment, called SingleTip makes it debut. Zaid Zawaideh, co-founder and innovator and Sandglaz offers a single tip on how people can stay productive.
• Mike talks about a “Charlie Brown Moment” that led up to this episode, most notably the technical problems he entailed with the interview he recorded with his scheduled guest…and how he resolved them. It involved a mixture of proactivity from the past, reactivity in the present and actions to be taken in the future.
• Ben Brooks joins Mike and talks about how he manages to get all that he does done. His writing, his business, everything.
• Ben discusses what circumstances cause him to be proactive and what ones benefit from him being so great at being reactive.
• Is Ben Brooks a minimalist? Is Ben able to disconnect? Does Ben like the colour blue? All these and more get answered during this productively short interview.
• And before the episode wraps, Mike announces the winner of the Ludicrous Password contest.

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook. There’s some stuff there that you just won’t see here. (Like contests, for example.)

What happened then

• Despite my troubles with my aging MacBook Pro, I put aside my recent frustrations and thought about the years of uninterrupted service it had given me. I discuss what led me to nearly throw it out the door and what led me to bringing a shiny new 11-inch MacBook Air through the door into my office instead.
• I announce the winner of the WakeMate for iPhone contest. Not in the show notes, but actually on the podcast. You’re gonna hafta listen…
• Before talking with the man who wrote the comprehensive guide to Evernote (Evernote Essentials — a wise investment for anyone who wants to get the most out of the software-as-a-service solution), I offer how I use Evernote in the segment Practical Practices.
• Brett Kelly joins me as we talk about the AeroPress (my coffeemaker of choice), Technivorm (his coffeemaker of choice) and what his brewing and roasting rituals are.
• He spoke at the inaugural Evernote Trunk Conference. Despite not having done it before our chat, I heard it went well. But he was kinda nervous.
• Something I use to stay on task: AwayFind.
• Something Brett uses to stay on task: Concentrate.
• Something Brett uses to actually do tasks: MacVim.
• Something Brett doesn’t use/get: BBEdit.
• Stuff Brett & I both use to be productive: OmniFocus, Sparrow and, well…Evernote.
• Does Brett quote Derek Sivers? Hell, yeah he does!

What happens now

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that. Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

You can keep up with all of the goings on with the podcast on Twitter and Facebook. (So go and set that up now, okay?)

What happened then

• My first decision was how to deal with a technical gaffe (or glitch, whichever I’d prefer to call it) that held up this episode. I decided to delay the episode by a week rather than hastily re-assemble the thing. I think it was a good move.
• My second decision revolved around the discussion with Harley, as it went well beyond the usual time limit I’ve imposed. Totally my doing, as I was right into the discussion…but some editing had to be done. Trimming it down was a difficult task, as there was a ton of great stuff in there. What am I going to do with the trimmings? Well, let’s just say I’d keep my eyes open for an uncut version somewhere down the line. (That said, our discussion pretty much takes up the episode’s entire length.)
• The third decision was choosing a winning entry in my tagline contest. Decision made, and you’ll hear the winning entry at the end of the show. Thanks to everyone who entered — and there will be more contests to come, so be sure to “play again” when they do.
• As for non-decision-related stuff, check out Paul Graham’s Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule post that Harley mentions. It’s a great read.
• Harley also mentions a fondness for 37signals — a fondness that I share.
• …and he uses a Moleskine. I “kind of” use one as well.
• He also uses Tungle.me, which I never really got into.

What happens now

If you want to win that WakeMate for iPhone that I promised to give away, simply follow @ProductiVardy on Twitter (and/or “like” the Facebook ProductiVardy page) and tell us why you want to win it before Monday August 22 at 12 noon Pacific time. The winner will be selected at random and will be announced on next week’s podcast.

Want to help support the podcast? Leaving a rating and review on iTunes is one of the best ways you can do just that.

Want to partner up your business with the podcast? There are sponsorship opportunities available.

What happened then

• I offered thanks to my wife for backing me up all these years. More thanks went to Alex Blackie at  X96 Design for the amazing work done on the PV website — and on the theme song. Same goes for Aaron Mahnke at Wet Frog Studios for the excellent branding. Oh, and he writes books that you should buy. And I thanked you, the audience for coming along for the ride.
• The very first segment (bound to be a trivia question for years to come) was “Hey, what are you doing?”, during which I discuss new things and old habits, as well as give Leo a mention. Then I ask for your take…and I’m hoping you’ll offer it below in the comments.
• I spoke with Tom Merritt about workflow, his podcasting routine, what stuff he uses to stay on top of things and a lot more — including a mention of his brief stint at a pizza joint employee. We don’t talk about hockey, despite my best efforts. After all, I’m Canadian and he’s a Blues fan.

What happens now