Shutdown Ritual: Get 8 Hours of Productivity – Wisdom Wednesday

“Did I Have A Productive Day?” is an important question you’re probably not asking yourself. Or if you are, you’re answering with “vibes” like “I crushed it!” or “Meh, it was OK,” or “I couldn’t get anything done.” But with productivity, “vibes” can be deceiving. If you spend all day checking off small tasks from […]

Win back time with a new email app, hit your goals with accountability tips, and the way you’re working might be holding you back. We cover a wide range of topics to boost your productivity in this episode. We also cover what’s new like the new Amazon Kindle Scribe (a competitor to Remarkable 2), smart […]

How to prioritize your todo list and find one task that makes the biggest impact on your day. Let me ask you this. Have you ever looked at your todo list and everything on your list looked equally important? Do you have a hard time figuring out where to start and how to begin your […]

We go over the pros and cons of minimalism with Courtney Carver. She’s a thought leader on minimalism and shares her big mistakes and lessons learned from living a minimalist life. We go over: The mistakes and pitfalls of minimalism you need to be aware of How to build a minimalist wardrobe with her Project […]

How do you stand out in a world of noise? With silence! It may sound counterintuitive, but in this episode, leadership coaches Leigh Marz and Justin Zorn from Astrea Strategies share how you can use the power of silence, and how to find moments of peace and clarity in our increasingly busy lives. They also […]

There are SO many different productivity apps and tools out there. How do you know what is important and REALLY helpful? Three stand above the rest, and we call them the “3 Essentials”. If you have your 3 Essentials set, you’ll know what to work on, when to work on it, and have created the […]

Discover a simple party-hosting formula with step-by-step instructions that help you meet new people, strengthen your relationships, and make you the person everyone wants to know. We also cover: How to host your first party and meet new people The 3 common mistakes you must avoid when you host social gatherings The word-for-word script of […]

If you don’t ask the right questions, you won’t have the right information. And without the right information, you can’t make the best decisions. Thinking Time is essentially making time to think with a clarifying question so you get the right solutions to your problem. Spending a little bit of time upfront thinking is 20% […]

Become financially independent, save money and be extremely productive all at once. It’s possible and our guest Alan Donegan shares how you can do it. We cover: The 4% Rule for Becoming Financially Independent How Much Money You Need to Have Saved Up To Be Financially Free The Daily Routine of Someone Who’s Financially Independent […]

When you have little to no energy, it’s hard to get started on tasks and be productive. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are in Getting Things Done or some other productivity method — when you have no gas in the tank, things likely won’t go the way you want them to. The solution? Peak […]

News you can use from Notion, Apple, Wunderlist’s founders, and more productivity topics… Can a “Reduced Distractions” phone improve your Attention? Are iOS16’s Focus Filters feature as awesome as we think? Why Personality Tests are underrated for teams Go to EthosLife.com/tps to get your FREE life insurance quote today. You can find links to everything […]

Have you ever said I just don’t have time to do everything!” or “I’m SO busy all the time”? To fix your Time problem, you need to know what you’re doing during the week now. Use a Time Audit to discover how you’re spending time now and how to improve it in the future. It’s […]

Become organized and never forget things when you have these 3 checklists in place. You’d think the better and more experienced you get at something, the more consistent and error-free you are, but that’s often not the case: When we “know” what to do, we are often less careful Things get missed, balls get dropped, […]

Athletes rely on a structured recovery ritual to get results in their training, and you can do the same thing for your productivity. Create a structured Renewal Ritual and use rest, recovery, and rejuvenation to become even more productive. It’s one of the 25 skills we teach as part of our 25X Productivity System, it’s […]

Art Carden is a Professor of Economics who wears many hats and juggles commitments, responsibilities, and organizes and interprets a huge amount of information. He’s a professor of Economics at Samford University’s Brock School of Business, and his research has appeared in Business Ethics Quarterly, the Journal of Urban Economics, Applied Economics, and Public Choice, […]

Overcome procrastination, meet your deadlines way before they are due, and become the person who is known to get stuff done. This is possible when you master self-management, an advanced productivity skill.  It’s one of the 25 skills we teach as part of our 25X Productivity System, and one of the least talked about. What […]

Your Browser is your most important productivity tool. We share some of our favorite shortcuts, plugins, extensions, and ways you can be a productivity ninja with your browser on Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android. We usually think of the tools we use IN our browser – the web apps and websites – but not so […]

Why is it so hard to be consistent with a Weekly Review? Many people associate the Weekly Review with David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity system, but anyone can benefit from it. Many people also have trouble being consistent with their Weekly Review, so in this episode we’re going to share ways you can solve […]

There are so many tech tools to help kids with schoolwork. Even if you don’t remember anything from school, these apps and services can help your kids with math, languages, reading – almost anything. In this episode we’ll cover: 1. A math app that helps solve formulas and word problems – with the phone’s camera!2. […]

Introducing live workshops to supercharge your productivity! We have two workshops coming up for the 25X Productivity System, which is our new productivity method that will help you become more productive at work and in life. The dates for these workshops are: September 15-16, 2022 September 29-30, 2022 It’s a two-day workshop where you’ll learn […]

Stress-free productivity: Alexis Haselberger is a time management coach who has worked with Google, Lyft, Workday, Capital One, Upwork, and many more. Thriving in those stressful environments is the through-line in this episode, but even if you DON’T work in corporate, there’ll be lots of practical and actionable advice for you too. Thanks Avast.com! You […]

You probably don’t get enough sleep, and you’re not alone. The CDC says that 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep, and sleep is a huge part of the “Energy” part of the TEA Framework. In this episode, we are going to talk about a specific area of helping you with your sleep: Sleep […]

These Windows apps will make you more productive. Even if you can’t install them on your computer, we share our favorite built-in settings and MS 365 tools. Certified Online Business Manager Kimberly Charron joins us to share her tips, so if you use Windows at work, at home, or have Windows users in your life, […]

Improve your team’s time, energy, and attention with this simple tweak. We’ll share how you can build your team’s internal communication strategy, and the things to think about, and we’ll provide a link to ours that has worked well for us for years. We cover: 1. How to choose the right tool to communicate in […]

Stay on top of the newest productivity trends like the Metaverse, how SpaceX is changing the way we work, and important Apple software updates. Other topics we’re going over: What is the point of a 3rd party password manager in 2022? The true “Work from Anywhere” might be coming Why we think “real life” is […]

The CEO of Boomerang talks about productivity, team-building, successful meetings, and creating a “Guiding Principles” book for your team. Aye Moah, CEO and Co-Founder of Boomerang joins us in this episode. If you’ve ever read any list of “ productivity tools and apps online, someone always mentions Boomerang, for good reason. Aye Moah shares her […]

Whenever we do a Q&A or a webinar, we always get asked about our workstation, our favorite apps, tools, and workflows we personally use to get stuff done efficiently. In this episode, we’re going to cover all that and more. So if you’re looking to redo your setup at home, at the office, and want […]

Social Media CAN be like productivity kryptonite – distraction and disruption are literally one tap away. One solution is the Cal Newport route – just get rid of social media altogether. He’s written books like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism – and was on TPS88 – where he makes the case that whatever benefit we […]

In this episode, I’m excited to welcome Edward Sullivan, who has been coaching and advising start-up founders, Fortune 10 executives, and heads of state for over 15 years. His clients include executives from Google, Salesforce, Slack, and dozens of other fast-growth companies. Edward is CEO & President of Velocity, which is an executive coaching consultancy. […]

Let’s catch up on what’s been happening in our industry and new trends that you need to be aware of so you stay ahead of the curve. Aside from the industry news, we also have 3 important topics to go over: The weird middle ground between DMs and meetings The problem with the “996 Work […]

Imagine you lost everything. How do you overcome that? I was recently traveling in Europe and had… an incident. Long story short, I lost pretty much EVERYTHING except my phone. As I recovered from this, I found that there are some things I had done well that helped me out, and there were some lessons […]

Optimize your health following the latest health & wellness supplements. Today I’m joined by Shawn Wells. He is the world’s leading nutritional biochemist and bestselling author of the book The ENERGY Formula: Six Life-Changing Ingredients to Unleash Your Limitless Potential. He’s an expert on Health Optimization and has formulated over 700 supplements, food, beverages, and […]

One of the most important things you can do to help your productivity is to create an easy-to-follow routine that you follow after you wake up. We don’t even like the term “morning routine” – we prefer “Rise Ritual” – because you can do it anytime, not just in the morning. Doesn’t matter what time […]

Let’s catch up on what’s been happening in our industry and new trends that you need to be aware of so you stay ahead of the curve. Aside from the industry news, we also have 3 important topics to go over: Can you get away with the task manager built into your platform? Do you […]

Something we’ve been wondering for quite some time is this question: “How do you know when you’ve reached mastery of productivity?” Many people have told us what they like about AE is that we are not system, app, or tool-specific, and we are focused on PRACTICAL productivity, not just theory. With this in mind, we’ve […]

Getting Things Done, or GTD, is a productivity system developed by David Allen, and it was introduced to the world in the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.” Here’s the thing about GTD though; a lot of its promoters are very… opinionated about how you follow it. If you don’t follow it […]

The Productivity Show podcast has been around since 2015 or so – this is episode 404 – and at the beginning, whenever we had a guest on, the host would end it by asking the guest three questions: “What’s your Book, Tool, and Frog”? Book: What’s a book you’re either loving right now or you […]

Today I’m joined by Chris Sparks. He’s the founder of Forcing Function where he helps executives achieve peak performance. As a former top 20 poker player in the world, he takes lessons and frameworks that helped him become one of the best at poker to help others perform at the highest level and make better […]

Let’s catch up on what’s been happening in our industry and new trends that you need to be aware of so you stay ahead of the curve. Aside from the industry news, we also have 3 important topics to go over: Is the 40-hour workweek an outdated concept? Are Google’s suggestions helpful or annoying? What […]

In this episode, we’re going to talk about 3 ways you can use your money to buy back time. We’ll be covering some very inexpensive ways, and some more advanced ways, you can get back more of that precious time. Because Time is the first part of our TEA Framework – the 3 levers of […]

We’ve been helping people become more productive at work and in life since 2011. The podcast has been around since 2016 and we surpassed 11mm downloads which makes us the #1 productivity podcast in the world. We don’t take this for granted. We’re taking this episode to celebrate this major milestone. It’s fun to mix […]

Today I’m joined by Alice Ferris, the founding partner of Goal Busters Consulting where she helps small to medium size organizations in the non-profit sector with fundraising. She has more than 30 years of professional fundraising experience. Fun Fact: Alice is the 90th fundraising professional in the world to earn the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive […]

In this episode, we’re going to talk about 3 ways you can revamp your productivity by doing a spring cleaning for your schedule, your workflows, and your environment. Even if it is not Spring where you live, do a little “fall cleaning” along with us. Here are 3 things you’ll get out of this episode: […]

Today’s episode is a new format we’re experimenting with. We know many of you like listening to podcasts to learn new things and also to stay on top of what’s happening in the world. So we thought it would be helpful to also share some industry news on the podcast so you’re always up to […]

In this episode, we’re going to talk about ways to have a good weekend that leaves you feeling refreshed and ready for whatever comes during the week. Even if you’re self-employed or an entrepreneur and don’t follow the M-F work week, you can apply these concepts to whatever leisure time you do take. Here are […]

Let’s talk about team productivity and how you can double the output of your team without making drastic changes. We’ve been running AE since 2011 and learned a lot of things about individual productivity and team productivity. A few years ago we were always behind on schedule for product releases and nowadays we tend to […]

Today’s episode is a new format we’re experimenting with. We know many of you like listening to podcasts to learn new things and also to stay on top of what’s happening in the world. So we thought it would be helpful to also share some industry news on the podcast so you’re always up to […]

Today is going to be another App episode, but this time we are going to get specific and talk about Wellness Apps. We’ll each share 3 apps that we love, broken into the following categories: FOCUS: How to zero in on what is important to you ENERGY: How to have the energy to do what […]

It’s been a while since we talked about Evernote on the podcast, and this episode was triggered by the end of year letter that the CEO makes every year. In his 2021 recap, he said this “Your subscriptions propelled Evernote to its highest annual revenues in history. When we read that, we both said “What!!? […]

Today’s episode was inspired by feedback from a listener: “My only feedback would be that the barrier to entry might be a little high, particularly for people who are already efficient and motivated but not bought in.” It made us realize we all know people like that: people who maybe could benefit at least SOME […]

Today’s episode is going to be a bit different: we’re going to talk about… Date Nights! You might be asking yourself … why on earth would a productivity podcast be talking about date nights? Am I listening to the wrong podcast? We know Valentine’s Day is coming up and that many of you are in […]

In today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about the 3 P’s of productivity to use every day to make an impact. We’ll talk about what the 3 P’s are, and how to make the system work for you. We’ll talk about some specific tools and techniques you can use to stay on top of […]

This episode is all about how to Keep Momentum Going, no matter what time of year it is. Maybe you have goals or resolutions, or maybe you haven’t made them yet and are just taking what comes. Either way now is the time when many of us start to lose momentum, no matter how good […]

In today’s episode, we’re going to be diving into the world of Personal Knowledge Management This is a topic that is super-hot right now, and linked editing tools like Obsidian, Roam, and others are having an impact in a way that I haven’t seen since the early Evernote days. There’s definitely something big going on […]

Today we are going to talk about something that has been in the news a LOT this year and will likely impact most of us in the year ahead: issues with the global and local supply chain. You might have experienced that prices are going up, packages are delayed, and stuff you want to buy […]

In today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about productivity and procrastination, but with a special focus on STUDENTS. 90% of students procrastinate, but the reasons are very different than with adults. We’re going to dive into that, and we’re going to share some special strategies to help the students in your life manage their […]

In today’s episode, we’re going to share how to set boundaries and SAY NO. This is the last episode of 2021. If you could set one intention for this upcoming year, a great one is to say NO to more things to prevent yourself from being overcommitted. It’s hard for a lot of us – […]

In today’s episode, we’re going to share how to get ready for next year. In our last episode, TPS382, we talked about how to review the past year, see how you did, and maybe come up with some changes you want to make for the next year. In THIS episode, we are going to connect […]

Today’s episode is going to be a bit different. From time to time we do episodes about how we do things at AE, for two reasons:  Going back to the early days of the blog in 2011 and the podcast in 2015, we get a LOT of questions about behind the scenes aspects of running […]

Today’s episode is going to be slightly different than what you might be used to from us. This is Thanh Pham, the founder of Asian Efficiency. I was recently interviewed by Sachit Gupta, the host of the Conscious Creators Show: https://link.chtbl.com/thanh If that name sounds familiar, I actually interviewed Sachit on episode #348: https://www.asianefficiency.com/podcasts/348-sachit-gupta/ This […]

In this episode, we are going to talk about Calendars, or more specifically doing a Calendar Cleanup. Any way you can get your Calendar in top shape will have an immediate impact today and going forward. There aren’t many productivity changes you can make that will do that! If your calendar has become cluttered with […]

Today’s episode is going to be slightly different than what you might be used to from us. We’re always looking for ways to make the podcast better, more fun, and insightful. Every podcast episode is still actionable but the format might be different every now and then like today’s episode. We are going to talk […]

In this episode, we are going to do our Annual Productivity Gift Guide. What do you give to someone who is into productivity? Or maybe you’d like to give them something that would help them out. This year, we are going to do something different. We are going to share some of our favorite productivity […]

In this episode, we are going to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: Meetings. Believe it or not, there’s a way to make meetings less painful, and to even make them events that people WANT to attend (or at least don’t actively hate) If you run meetings, we’re going to give you tips to make them […]

Apple released a new feature for iOS and macOS called Focus Mode to help you focus and customize your notifications for fewer distractions. In this episode, we’ll unpack this feature, how we use it and how you can use it to focus and get less distracted. Even if you don’t use an iPhone or Mac, […]

A comment in a recent podcast recording Livestream made us realize that there’s this misconception that we are these notification-less monks, who have all of our devices on Do Not Disturb and never get notified about anything. This is not quite true – we actually embrace notifications and reminders! The only difference is that they […]

Even if many of us are back in the office, at least part-time (or never left), it is inevitable that so much of our day is spent in online meetings. We fire up our computer, connect to Zoom or Teams, sometimes for back-to-back calls! There are some things you can do to make your Zoom […]

We’ve all been there. You had a day that just went all wrong. Maybe you or someone else made a mistake, or some crisis came up and your day went totally downhill, or maybe you have some sort of habit you’re trying to keep (or break) and you backslid a bit. Maybe it was a […]

Every year at The Productivity Show we have an episode where we share our favorite productivity apps. This time we’re making it different by only highlighting the apps we don’t frequently talk about, but we absolutely love. We have six apps for you that are about to make you more productive and efficient. You can […]

The average person spends about 2.5 hours a day on prepping food, cooking, eating and drinking. That’s a lot of time and an opportunity to save time. Not only that, many of you struggle with eating healthy because it might be time consuming. You come home, you’re tired and not sure what to eat, so […]

Over the years, we’ve done many podcast episodes about organization and decluttering, but we always get questions about one specific area: photos! We decided to call in an expert, so in this episode, I am joined by Isabelle Dervaux, a professional photo organizer and family photo curator. She has a background as an artist, is […]

At Asian Efficiency we follow a project management philosophy called “Scrum”. You might have heard of it. It’s popular in the software industry but not so much outside of it which is a shame because it’s a powerful way of getting things done for teams. One of the elements of practicing Scrum is called a […]

Today I’m joined by Jeffrey Madoff, the founder of Madoff Productions, based in New York City. His company has produced commercials for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, Tiffany, and other big name brands you’ve heard of. He also teaches a course on creativity at the Parsons School for Design, and that is also […]

Have you ever wanted to work on a project after work, you knew what you needed to do, you had the time to do it….you come home and then….you crash. You were too tired to work on it and then moved it to another day, for it only to repeat this cycle again. This is […]

Nowadays, many of us have the option to work remotely and from home. This opens a whole new world of possibilities. What used to be reserved for digital nomads, people like you and me can now work from anywhere in the world and still get stuff done. That’s what we call a workation, you get […]

In this episode I’m thrilled to welcome Valerie Recore – she’s a productivity specialist who works with overwhelmed and overcommitted moms. With a background in mental health and corporate training, she helps people who feel like they’re pulled into different directions. Even if you’re NOT an overcommitted mom, you’ll get a lot out of this […]

Some of our favorite episodes are ones that come directly from listener feedback, and this episode is no exception – how has our productivity thinking evolved over the years? Are there any “productivity rules” we used to have, but we now do the opposite? What causes these changes, anyway? We’ll dive into all of it […]

On The Productivity Show we’ve talked a lot about the power of habits but we know it can be difficult to add new habits to your life. One strategy that helps you introduce new habits is called “habit stacking” and that’s what we’ll be going over today. It’s an easy way to add habits and […]

We’ve done travel podcast episodes before, but never one right during and after a global pandemic! You might be wondering what has changed and how you can do it in the most stress-free and productive way. You might also be wondering how to keep your routines going while traveling in this “new normal”. I’ve been […]

This podcast episode is going to be slightly different. We recently surpassed 10 million downloads for The Productivity Show so we thought it would be fun to give you a look behind the scenes of what it takes to run a successful podcast. We’ll share what technology, gear, and workflows we use to produce our […]

Have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique? It’s a popular time management and focus strategy and something we’ve been teaching for a long time at Asian Efficiency. One question we get often is how many pomodoros should you do in a day? Or in other words, how many hours of work should you do in […]

Today I’m joined by Dan Clark. He’s the CEO of Brain.fm which is an app that offers focus music. I had the opportunity to discuss the science behind focus music, how the brain works, what we can do to focus better, and other ways we can be more productive in our daily lives using scientific […]

We’re continuing our series on the TEA framework and this time we’re talking about Attention. How do you become more focused? How do you have more attention for what matters? How can you eliminate distractions? We cover all these topics today and more. If you feel like you want to become more focused, this episode […]

Do you find that even when you know what you want to do, it just doesn’t happen? Or maybe by the end of the workday you’re feeling so ground down, you don’t feel like doing things with friends or family or working on a side project or hobby. Chances are, it’s not a time problem, […]

Do you wish there were more hours in a day? Are you starving for more free time? Then this episode is for you! We’ll show you 3 ways you can create more free time and we’ll share tons of examples of how we’ve done it ourselves to win back over 5 hours a week. Thanks […]

Today I’m joined by Ari Meisel of Less Doing. He helps founders replace themselves in their business and have more time for the things that matter to them. I heard of Ari many years ago when he shared his outsourcing philosophies but we never got to connect. We were finally able to do so and […]

If you’ve been studying productivity for a bit you probably have come across different systems like the TEA Framework, Getting Things Done, 12 Week Year, and many others. They all promise to help you become more productive and in this episode, we’ll be comparing all of them and by the end you’ll know which one […]

One of the biggest struggles many of The Productivity Show listeners and Asian Efficiency clients have is that they are in meetings all day. Oftentimes they’re on back-to-back-to-back meetings and they have no time for themselves so they end up working long days, on the weekends, and missing out on life. What can you do […]

Will Henshall is the CEO of Focus@Will which is a productivity music company. They have different genres of music and playlists that help you get focused and into a flow state. We talked about how different music works for different people, the 5 types of brains, how to take care of your brain for optimal […]

Do you want to make a change in your life? Most people think you need to make drastic changes that usually don’t last. At Asian Efficiency we believe that when you make small, consistent changes you’ll have much better results getting what you want. In today’s episode, we’ll show you different ways you can make […]

We all have these things in our work and personal life we call Time Squanders — those 5-10 minute activities that somehow work their way into our days. These really add up and have a surprising impact on your Time, Energy, and Attention. A perfect example of this is dealing with your files, notes, and […]

Back in 2013, at Asian Efficiency we first introduced the evening ritual which is the idea of having a routine at the end of the day to help you wind down, get ready for the next day and have a great night of sleep. Since then, we’ve helped people all over the world implement an […]

At Asian Efficiency we’re known for the TEA Framework which is our productivity method. It stands for Time, Energy, and Attention which are the three pillars of productivity. Today’s episode will help you maximize Time, the first pillar in our framework. On The Productivity Show, we’ve talked a lot about weekly and quarterly planning but […]

Today I’m joined by Sachit Gupta, host of the Conscious Creators podcast and an expert helping people launch their platforms. We discuss how you can build self-awareness and why it’s the ultimate productivity hack, powerful questions to ask yourself for self-discovery, and his rules of productivity that allow him to be creative and get stuff […]

Have you ever been working away on something and you felt like time just melted away? You came out of it feeling like you made a ton of progress, and that everything just came together. That feeling was a state of Flow, and in this episode, we are going to share some tactical ways that […]

On the Asian Efficiency website, we have over 600 blog posts. That’s close to a million words that have been written and we didn’t even include all the newsletters, course materials, workbooks, and everything else we produce. We write a lot and in this episode, we’ll share how we get so much writing done. We […]

How many things in your work or personal life do you just “put up with”? It could be mistakes that happen, a tool that annoys you, or someone that you work with that slows things down. At Asian Efficiency we have a principle called the “3 Times Rule” to get to the root of all […]

Want to know the secret to achieving your goals and getting your important work done? It’s not time management, apps, or tools – it’s ACCOUNTABILITY. But what does that mean? And how do you find accountability for yourself?  In this episode, I’m joined by Debbie Rosemont – a Certified Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant who […]

If you’re just starting out in your productivity journey, you are in a GREAT situation. You can optimize right away, and you can learn from what has worked for others and, where it makes sense, apply it to yourself. It’s a gift that will pay off for years to come. However, maybe you’ve been working […]

When searching for productivity apps, you’ll find thousands of apps out there. How do you know which one is right for you? What if you had a limited budget? It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars on apps only to find out that most are garbage. So in this episode, we set a challenge for […]

I’m a big believer in the idea that a majority of our happiness comes from the people we surround ourselves with. Imagine when everyone in your family, friends, and closest contacts are all cheering for you, are regularly letting you know how much they care about you, and that you can always count on them […]

One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself online is to be smart about how you create and store your passwords. In 2021, you don’t want to be re-using the same passwords on multiple sites, writing them on sticky notes, or storing them in Passwords.doc on your Desktop. So what should […]

Imagine for a moment that you only have $100 in your budget to spend on productivity tools. What would you spend it on? We asked ourselves that question and came up with a list of gear and tools that we would buy on a limited budget of just $100. Every dollar counts so we made […]

Your calendar is so important – it’s the ultimate record of where you put your priorities and where you spend your time. It is also one of the productivity tools we use the most, so any improvement to the way you USE your calendar will have an immediate impact every single day. There aren’t many […]

Digital clutter is the hidden enemy of productivity. Bit by bit, it steals your time, energy, and attention. And since we use our computers, tablets, and phones so much every single day, the distraction and wasted time really adds up. In this episode, we will share 5 ways you can do a digital declutter, and […]

When this episode is released, it’s the end of January and you know what that means – it means it’s the time when those goals and resolutions many of us made at the start of the year begin to fade away. Well, not this year 2021! In this episode, we are going to share a […]

Today I’m joined by Paul Maskill, a business coach helping home service business owners systematize and scale their businesses. He’s also a big productivity nerd like the rest of us and we dove into his personal productivity system, how he uses buffer blocks, why he wakes up every day at 5am, and how he delegates […]

The web browser is one of the most commonly used tools. You probably spend more than 4 hours a day using it and it’s a powerful tool. If you’re like most people you haven’t looked much into how to use this tool and turn it into a productivity powerhouse tool. That’s going to change today […]

Do you find it hard to find the time, energy, and attention to do everything you want to do each week? It could be that you’re doing things that you really shouldn’t be doing. Maybe they’re things you don’t like to do, or maybe they’re things that you ENJOY doing, but they are taking you […]

Today I’m joined by Joe Fier. He’s the co-host of the podcast Hustle & Flowchart where they interview successful entrepreneurs and go deep about their unique business strategies. He’s also the co-founder of Evergreen Profits where he helps people start and grow online businesses. In this episode, we talked about how to incorporate more fun […]

It sounds counterintuitive, but sometimes we need to slow down a bit in order to achieve our goals. Burnout is a real thing, and it is impossible to stay productive if we are going at 100% all the time. The solution is to find opportunities to decompress — to find even short periods of time […]

Here at The Productivity Show, we all use at least an adapted version of David Allen’s GTD or Getting Things Done productivity system. Once you start using GTD the question becomes – what do you use to keep track of your Projects, Tasks, and Next Actions? For most people it is an app, but which […]

If you deal with people in your business (and who doesn’t?), a key tool is a Customer Relationship Management system or CRM. Not having one can hold you back, and if you implement the right one the right way, it can help take your business to the next level. In this episode, I talk to […]

2021 is just around the corner and we want to help you get ready for a productive year. I know 2020 has been a weird year for all of us, and we all want to forget about what happened but in order to have a great year ahead of you, you do have to reflect […]

The holidays are just around the corner and that means it’s gifting season for many of us. What would you gift someone who is obsessed with productivity? What would you give someone who you’d like to be more productive? And let’s be honest, many of us also like gift guides for ideas to spoil ourselves […]

Have you ever sat down to work on what you are supposed to be doing, and you just don’t feel like it? It’s not an energy problem, you feel fine, but you’re just… not in the mood. Being in a bad mood is obviously not an excuse to stop working, but you know the more […]

The most underrated part of our TEA Framework – which stands for Time, Energy, Attention – is ENERGY. Many of us are trying to improve our time and focus, when it’s often energy that is the real underlying problem. What do you do when you’re feeling low on energy? Like most people, you’ll down a […]

Since our name is Asian Efficiency, you might think that we are 100% focused on your efficiency. I mean, it’s right there in the name! Well, efficiency is important, but we think it gets too much focus — what’s just as important is making sure you are doing the right things efficiently. In this episode, […]

We’ve all had situations where we know what we WANT to do to be more productive, but it just doesn’t happen. Maybe it’s a habit we once had but it fell apart over time, or maybe we are stuck and are having problems getting started. If that’s you, this episode will give you 5 strategies […]

Getting Things Done, or GTD, is one of the most popular productivity systems on the planet, and for a good reason — it helps you be on top of your tasks and obligations by getting them out of your overloaded brain and into your trusted system, so you can focus on execution, not juggling. In […]

Welcome to The Productivity Show, a podcast by Asian Efficiency, to help you maximize your productivity so you can get everything done without having to sacrifice your health, family and things that matter to you. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people save time, be happier, and become more productive. What happens if you have […]

I’m joined today by Jeff Sanders. He is a keynote speaker, productivity coach, author of The 5 AM Miracle, and host of the 5 AM Miracle Podcast. As a fellow productivity junkie, I asked him about his morning routine, what his personal productivity system looks like, and how he balances work and life while raising […]

Is your downloads folder a huge mess? Do you find it hard to find email attachments you downloaded a few weeks ago? Do you easily get frustrated trying to find files and documents? Then you want to listen carefully to today’s episode! We’re going to share with you 3 tips to help you organize your […]

How often do you find yourself saying “I can’t deal with this right now… I’ll figure it out later” or you just avoid decisions altogether? For busy professionals, it’s extremely common, and the culprit is usually decision fatigue — the more decisions you make in a short period of time, the poorer quality your decisions […]

If you’ve worked in a decently-sized organization, there’s a good chance that you are, have, or will at some point use Microsoft Outlook. It’s everywhere. The problem is, most of us just start using it, and don’t spend any time making it work FOR us. In this episode, we’re going to share 5 – ok, […]

Today I’m joined by Chris Reynolds, the founder of the Business Method podcast and Get Shit Done Live! Chris’ business and events help entrepreneurs optimize their productivity to reach peak performance consistently, and scale their businesses rapidly using research-driven techniques. Chris has been a location-independent entrepreneur for 11-years, living in multiple countries & traveling the […]

How do you prioritize your projects? How do you know which project to work on first and ignore everything else? It’s not as simple as it sounds. Today we’re going to show you how we prioritize projects at Asian Efficiency using a tool called the ICE Matrix. It’s what we use for our annual goals […]

Have you ever been working on a work or personal project and you realize you’ve made massive amounts of progress? It feels like the time just flew by, and instead of feeling drained after, you feel awesome and energized. In this episode, we’re going to talk about how to get into a state of Flow, […]

Being productive at home can be a challenge when you don’t have the right tools. By “tools”, we are talking about your physical gear – things like desks, chairs, technology, AND digital tools – things like desktop & mobile apps. Like any job, we think the tools you use can make working from home easier […]

In this episode, I am super excited to introduce Tim Stringer to the Productivity Show. Tim is a professionally-trained coach, productivity expert, and an accomplished yoga and meditation teacher. He’s the founder of Technically Simple and LearnOmniFocus. As you can imagine, we cover a wide range of topics like how to best use a task […]

If you’ve tried David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology, you’ve probably run into this scenario: You start doing your Weekly Review, and then you miss one, and then you miss another one, and before you know it, things are starting to slip. It doesn’t have to be that way — in this episode, we are […]

Today I’m joined by Tiago Forte, founder of Forte Labs and the creator of Building A Second Brain. It’s a system he developed for organizing ideas and information to help people become more productive and creative. If you’re a knowledge worker and want to be more efficient and organized, then you’re going to love today’s […]

GTD or “Getting Things Done” is a productivity system that has been a lifesaver for us going back to the mid-2000s. As we’ve talked to members of the community and podcast listeners over the years, we’ve found that there are certain things that almost everyone does when they’re just starting out, and most of the […]

Had the pandemic put you behind on your goals? Maybe you’ve completely abandoned your goals altogether when life got too crazy. Given what has been going on in the world this year, you might be thinking “Goals? Those went out the window in March” — we get it. But there’s still half a year to […]

Have you ever noticed that at the end of a long web conferencing call like on Zoom or Teams, you feel way more drained than if it was an in-person meeting? The term for this is “Zoom Fatigue”, and even if you use another tool like Microsoft Teams or Skype, it’s a real thing and […]

Your calendar is your most important productivity tool. It represents so much — what your commitments are, what your opportunities are, and what is going on in your life and your work. In fact, we’d even say that your calendar is the true reflection of your priorities. It represents what you ACTUALLY spend your time […]

Today I’m joined by Jen Shultz, founder of The Non-Nine-to-Five where she helps people transition from a full-time career to starting a business. She has helped many people over the years and still manages to do everything herself without any staff which to me is crazy. So I asked how she’s able to be productive, […]

At the start of the year or quarter you made a goal which sounded fantastic. You were all in. Now? Maybe you’re not so sure. How do you know whether the goal you THOUGHT was a good idea truly is a goal worth pursuing for the rest of the year? In this episode, we’re going […]

We all know that you can’t buy your way to productivity. The biggest factor to you becoming more productive is for you to have focus and to execute as consistently as possible. HOWEVER, applying the right tool, app, book, or course can make things go faster, run more smoothly, or can just make things more […]

If you’re listening to this podcast, we’re going to bet that you’ve had some sort of productivity challenge in your life. Maybe you found yourself repeating the same negative habits. Maybe you haven’t adapted as well to a new situation than you’d like, or maybe distractions get the better of you and you get to […]

Do you find yourself with scattered thoughts, not sure what to work on at the start of your day, or do you go to bed with thoughts, tasks, and ideas swirling around in your head? One of the most underrated but powerful productivity techniques is to journal. It’s something that anyone can do, and it […]

This is Episode 300 of The Productivity Show, and we thought we’d celebrate by turning the show over to you! This is our first Q&A episode of the show, and we invited listeners of the podcast, readers of the Asian Efficiency blog, and our followers on Social media to ask us anything. There are questions […]

There is a lot of information out there about working from home, but most of it is little hacks and tips and tricks. Those are definitely useful, but they ignore the mental and physical side of being stuck at home. We always say that happy people are productive people, and that theory has never been […]

The perfect storm has finally happened. Many of us are working from home whether we want to be or not, and if that wasn’t complicated enough, if we have family members, they’re stuck at home too! If you are working from home with kids, you’ll know how hard it is to get your work done […]

Recently a lot of people transitioned to work from home and feel out of their element. They’re finding it harder to focus and get things done. They don’t have the right tools, they have their kids at home, a partner around them 24/7 and they’re going crazy staying inside the whole time! Don’t worry, anyone […]

Recently, we did a survey of the Asian Efficiency audience and did a check-in: we asked what kind of impact the global pandemic we’re going through is having. As we suspected, a *lot* of us are struggling. Even if you and your family are healthy, and even if you’re used to working from home, there’s […]

Let’s talk about failure. It is easy to be productive when everything is going well, but what happens when you have a setback? Even a small failure can be discouraging and get you in a rut. What can you do to get yourself to be productive again? We’re going to share 3 strategies for how […]

The first quarter of the year is done — how are you doing on your yearly goals? Are you on track? Are you behind? Have you dropped some goals and added any new ones? Have you even made any goals for the year? In this episode, we will be reviewing the goals we made on […]

Do you ever get to the end of the week and realize that you haven’t made real progress on any of your goals and priorities? You see stuff on your todo list that didn’t get done. And then maybe you thought to yourself: “How did this happen?” The key to having a productive week is […]

I did a Google search for “productivity advice”, and it brought back 210,000,000 results. A lot of those results are giving the same advice over and over, and a lot of time we just accept it. Someone puts it in a book, so it must be true! Here’s the thing though: it may not be […]

As you know we’re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought it was our duty to help you stay productive throughout this period, and that’s why we put this bonus episode together at the last minute. The reality is, for most of us life goes on and we have to adapt to what’s […]

Whether you are working in an office or working from home, the environment you are in is either supporting or hurting your productivity – you just may not know it! This episode is about designing your environment. We don’t mean whether your walls should be “Raspberry Truffle” or what size your baseboards should be — […]

Today’s episode is about how you maintain a full-time job while starting and growing a side hustle. This could be a passion project, freelancing gig, or something else you want to start on the side while maintaining your full-time job. It can be tough to balance the two without feeling overwhelmed and for a lot […]

One of the most common questions we get is: “Should I keep my work and personal tasks together? Or should I separate them? How about my email and calendar?” In this episode, we’re going to tackle this controversial topic and give you 4 strategies that have worked well for us and others in the Asian […]

Do you have trouble achieving your goals? Even if you’ve meticulously planned out your year, taking those plans and translating them into accomplishments doesn’t always work out the way you hope. A powerful framework for achieving your goals is called The 12 Week Year, which is based on a book by Brian Moran and Michael […]

If you’ve looked at productivity apps at all, you will have come across Evernote. Some people think about Evernote as a “note-taking app”, but it is so much more than that. It’s where you can remember everything that is important, and it’s the tool you can use to stay organized, wherever you are in the […]

I’m joined by Eric Tivers who runs the podcast ADHD Rewired and is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people with ADHD succeed in life. We dive deep into what ADHD is, how to diagnose it and what to do be productive if you think you have ADHD. Thanks to Freshbooks for supporting The […]

We talk about health quite a bit here on the podcast, and for good reason: we believe that good health leads to energy, and energy is a key part of our TEA Framework: if you don’t have enough energy, it doesn’t matter how focused you are or how much you master your time – you […]

I’m joined this time by Cathryn Lavery. She’s the co-founder of the Best Self company that you might recognize as the creator of the Self Planner and Self Journal. Cathryn considers herself a maker and creator so we dove deep into how she approaches the creative process, gets things done and what her personal productivity […]

This isn’t going to be your normal “New Year” productivity podcast. You may or may not know that a few days after this podcast is released, it will be the start of a new Chinese New Year, or more accurately called Lunar New Year. 5,000 years of Asian culture can’t be wrong, so since this […]

Usually when people talk about “automation”, they’re talking about turning the lights on and off with smart lights or automating things on the computer like moving files around or text expansion. Those are all super-useful automation, but what about a huge chunk of our work and home technology use: the web? In this episode, we’re […]

In today’s episode, we’ll be covering 6 strategies for how to stick to your goals this year and even if you lose momentum, we’ll give you practical tips for picking it back up. We know that this is going to be an awesome year for you, and we want to give you the tools to […]

The day this podcast is released is the day before New Year’s Eve. By the time you’re listening to it, it will either be right at the end of the year, or your new year has already begun. Either way, it is never too late to set yourself up for success for the rest of […]

In today’s episode, we’ll be giving you the tools to conduct an annual review the right way and share new practices we’ve learned over the past year to help you achieve your goals. Whether you’ve never done an annual review before or you already do them, if you want to make 2020 your best year […]

Working while studying has many benefits, but it can also be overwhelming and exhausting. Don’t let the juggle between the two overtake your life or jeopardize your academic or career success. Whether you’re working your way through college, working in a field that you love or expanding your experience and knowledge while having a full-time […]

Today I’m joined by Corina Frankie, the founder of Brand Besties that helps companies with experiential marketing services. She’s a good friend of mine and a very smart, successful single mom and entrepreneur. We talk about how she’s able to run a business while raising a kid by herself, how she approaches work-life balance and […]

Today we are going to be talking about Productive Networking. You’ll discover 5 tips and strategies you can use for your next networking event to meet new people. Whether you’re introverted and have trouble meeting people, or you are looking for ways to improve your networking, this episode is for you. Thanks to Grammarly for […]

A year ago we unveiled the TEA Framework here on the podcast, which is our simple framework that will help you get laser-focused on the root cause when your productivity dips. We’ve learned that there are three currencies that you must master in order to be as productive as you can be, and one year […]

Think back to when you started your productivity journey — are there things you know now that you wish you did back then? Is there anything you’d do differently? Are you just getting started and want to make sure you start off on the right foot? In this episode, we will be talking about the […]

In this episode, Francesco D’Alessio from the Keep Productive Youtube channel returns to the podcast. We talk about Notion, a productivity tool that has been getting a ton of buzz over the past year, as well as how to pick a productivity tool that’s right for you. We also do a lightning round where Francesco […]

Do you get easily bored with your goals after a while? Do you get easily distracted even though you know you should be focusing on your goals? Then this episode is for you. I’ll share 5 tips with you to help you stay focused when you get bored working on your goals. This episode is […]

Today I’m joined by Katherine Fan, a senior writer for The Points Guy, one of the leading websites on travel. She has flown a million miles in her lifetime so she knows a thing or two about traveling productively and efficiently. That’s what we’re diving into today and how she does it while staying productive […]

When people talk about planning, usually they talk about planning your day, planning your week, or even your quarter or year. But what about higher-level strategic planning? In this episode, we’re going to talk about making sure you are doing the right things and making sure that what you are doing is actually taking you […]

Can you believe it’s already the final quarter of the year? Q4 is often a time where one of two things happens: either we feel down because we haven’t accomplished what we thought we would during the year, or we’re motivated to make a final push to finish up the year strong. This episode will […]

Today I’m joined by Stacey Harmon, a certified Evernote consultant who helps people get setup and use Evernote. We dive deep into how she uses Evernote to run her life and business, we share examples of how other people use Evernote and some advanced tips and tricks to get the most out of the tool. […]

A couple of weeks ago, I took a hair test that tested for mineral deficiencies. I learned about this when I met Barton Scott, founder of Upgraded Formulas, that helps people identify mineral deficiencies in their bodies and then makes recommendations for you to optimize your health and which supplements to take. On this episode, […]

Last week we shared with you our favorite productivity tools under a $100. This time we’ll share our 10 favorite tools over $100 that we personally use to help us save time and be more productive. Thanks to Clearbanc for supporting The Productivity Show. If you’re doing over $20,000 per month in revenue, Clearbanc is […]

At Asian Efficiency we have dozens of productivity tools that we use to save time, to be more productive and effective. We put together a list of our 10 favorite tools under $100 dollars that we personally use and can recommend to you. Cheat Sheet: Thanh and Brooks’s top three productivity tools for this week […]

Asian Efficiency has always been a remote team and we have team members all over the world. We all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, and with different ‘quirks’. Despite all these differences, we are able to work well together because we always work as a team. But, it wasn’t always without problems. We have […]

Are you curious about automation, but want some examples of what others like you do, to spark some ideas? In this episode, we continue our mini-series on Automation that we started last week in TPS262, but this time we share more examples of what Asian Efficiency readers have automated to save time. Without spoiling too […]

Have you ever wanted to start with automation, but you weren’t sure where to start? Then this episode is for you. We talk about our 5 biggest personal automation wins, and where we think you should start if you want to get started with automation. We also share an exciting new automation course that we’ve […]

What’s the best way to get started with personal finance? How do you track your money? Which personal finance apps do you recommend? We get these questions a lot from Asian Efficiency readers and podcast listeners. That’s what we’ll cover in this episode. I’m joined this time by Charles Ngo, a successful entrepreneur and one […]

Today I’m joined by Mridu Parikh, productivity coach, speaker, and trainer at Life Is Organized. We talk about the biggest challenges her productivity coaching clients face, how busy professionals can squash overwhelm, and ways to commit to your biggest priorities. Thanks to Gusto for supporting The Productivity Show. Gusto is offering our listeners 3 months […]

How many times have you found yourself with a few minutes in the middle of the day, and you decide to “check social media” or hit up YouTube or watch TV and then next thing you know an hour is gone and you feel like the time has been totally wasted? In this episode, we […]

I’m joined this time by Jamie Masters. She’s been a top Business Coach for over 10 years and has helped hundreds of 6 & 7 figure Entrepreneurs and Business Owners optimize every area of their business. She’s also the host of the online show – Eventual Millionaire, where she’s interviewed over 400 self-made millionaires. Jamie […]

In this episode, Thanh is joined by Alan P. Brown, author of “Zen and the Art of Productivity” and host of CrusherTV.com. Thanh and Alan talk about ADHD, productivity, and tactics and strategies that work. Thanks to Lumen5 for supporting The Productivity Show. Lumen5 is offering our listeners 50% off their first month of Lumen5’s […]

So you’re feeling fairly productive and then wham – a life change happens. It could be any number of things, but in today’s episode we are going to talk about one specific topic: being productive during illness or recovery. I’m joined by Jennifer Lava and James Lott Jr., two professional organizers and productivity consultants who […]

In the past, we’ve talked about making goals and creating rituals. What do you do when you have those goals and rituals that work well for a while but then… don’t. How do you get back up when your productivity or goals have slipped? Sometimes it’s a sudden change, but other times it’s so gradual […]

At the beginning of the year, we set personal goals, family goals and for some even business goals. At the end of the year, we evaluate our achievements and weed out what didn’t work versus what did work. You don’t need to wait 12 months to evaluate your goals. A mid-year check-in is as equally […]

I’m joined this time by Noah Kagan. He runs several companies and we got into how he is able to do that and still live a great life outside of work. We talked about goal setting and his unique systems for achieving goals, what his daily routine looks like and he shares his top-down approach […]

Are you about to go on vacation? Before you do, be sure to listen to today’s episode where we share our top 5 tips for summer travel. You’ll discover the best travel apps, what you need to pack on your trip, and how to best prepare for your upcoming trip for it to be stress-free […]

Remember how happy you were when you were in school and that final bell rang before the summer holidays? Now that we’re out of school and working we know the other side of that equation — the parents that have to figure out how to get work done while the kids are off school. In […]

Summer is coming up and for most people that means vacations, extended time off and more time outside. The summer productivity slump is a real thing. But for some of you, you need to be productive and make the most of your summer. Maybe you’re studying for something, starting a business or you’re behind on […]

In today’s episode, we are finishing up our 3 part series about our favourite things to get things done. We’ve talked about our favorite apps for the computer, our favorite apps for mobile, and now we are going to talk about our favorite physical devices and tools. These are the things we use every day, […]

This is episode 2 of our 3-part series on our top 10 favorite apps and tools. In today’s episode, we are going to do the monumentally difficult task and narrow down our 10 favorite mobile apps for iOS and Android that we use, love, and that makes us more productive. This was hard because there […]

In today’s episode, we are going to get super-tactical. A question we get asked all the time is “what are your favorite apps?”, or “what is the best app for X?” While we believe that the best app is the one that is best for YOU, there are some that prove themselves time and time […]

I’m Thanh Pham, founder of Asian Efficiency, and today I’m with Rick Mathes. He is the owner and clinic director of The Egoscue Clinic in Austin, Texas. Rick and his wife have helped thousands of people get out of pain by helping them understand that if they’re hurt, the problem isn’t the condition of their […]

Books are an amazing source of learning and leverage. For little or no money, you can quickly learn what someone else has spent years figuring out, and you can avoid the mistakes that they made. However, there’s a big difference between READING a book and LEARNING from a book, and more importantly IMPLEMENTING what you’ve […]

I’m with Scott Rose, The Inspirational Nerd, and we’re going to talk about how you can lose weight efficiently without working out much. We’ll be diving deep into the ketogenic diet, a somewhat controversial diet that he and I both follow. We’ll be talking about fasting and how Scott coached me through my first 3-day […]

Today, we’re going to be talking about 5 ways to automate your home. We’ll share the tools and devices we use to save time and make life more convenient. Home automation is a relatively new topic and one we’re excited to explore with you today. If you’ve ever thought of purchasing an Amazon Echo, Google […]

Something we say a lot at AE is that small changes or improvements to the things you do every day can add up to big savings over time. This is really true with technology: we all have these little points of friction that we just accept because we think that’s just the way it is […]

This episode is the first in a 3-part series all about automation. Usually, when we think about automation we think of technology, but there are other types of automation as well and that’s what this episode is about. We discuss 5 ways you can automate your life to save time and make life more convenient. […]

In this episode, we talk about creating a Personal Development Plan. Setting yourself, and your team, up for success doesn’t just happen. You want to figure out where you want to go and what you need to do to get you there, and Marmel and Brooks will take you through 8 questions to help you […]

This is the 3rd episode of our podcast series on energy. In this episode, we asked AE team members and clients what they have done to increase their energy and double their productivity. You’re going to discover a new type of coffee that gave an AE client crazy amounts of energy, how one tweak to […]

This is the 2nd episode of our 3-part series on increasing your energy and doubling your productivity. The lack of energy can be doubly tough: we don’t feel like doing what we want or need to do, but we also don’t feel like we have the energy to truly focus on important things. In this […]

We’re going to kick things off with a 3-part podcast series on how you can get more energy and double your productivity. Most of you listening are probably looking for different ways to increase your productivity. You might have tried a lot of different things and not many have worked. One of the biggest breakthroughs […]

I’m with Betty Jean Bell today and we’re talking about how you can improve your health. You’re going to learn how you can get more energy and lose weight efficiently without spending a lot of time and money throughout the process. We also share how we shop for groceries and prepare our meals for the […]

The more people you have in your family, the more having a reliable and trusted family calendar becomes critical. How do you keep everyone in the loop, and do it in a way that avoids conflict and mismatched expectations? We’ll share the 3 requirements a family calendar needs to have, best practices around sharing a […]

Working with others can provide a lot of challenges, and one challenge in particular is managing your calendar. How do you balance getting your deep work done, while at the same time collaborating with your teammates? And how do you do that in the most efficient, effective, and reliable way? We’ll share our philosophies around […]

Have you ever considered using an analog calendar with a digital calendar? A lot of people like the feeling of writing on their paper or wall calendar but they miss the portability and speed of a digital calendar. If you’ve tried both approaches and you haven’t found a working solution yet, then you’re going to […]

Today I’m speaking to Julie Morgenstern, who is the author of five books including the New York Times bestsellers Organizing from the Inside Out and Time Management from the Inside Out. We’re going to drill down into the topic of parenting, and ways you can organize your life to bring out the best in your […]

Today we have Lauren Goldstein, an entrepreneur and business strategy consultant from Austin, TX. Lauren and Thanh have known each other for a while and we invited her to come on the podcast to share her unique approach to productivity. You’re going to get specific tips on how to use a calendar to run your […]

Welcome to The Productivity Show, a podcast by Asian Efficiency to help you maximize your productivity so you can get everything done without having to sacrifice your health, family, and things that matter to you. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people save time, be happier, and become more productive. You probably have heard of […]

Welcome to The Productivity Show, a podcast by Asian Efficiency, to help you maximize your productivity so you can get everything done without having to sacrifice your health, family and things that matter to you. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people save time, be happier, and become more productive. In today’s episode, we’ll be […]

Welcome to The Productivity Show, a podcast by Asian Efficiency, to help you maximize your productivity so you can get everything done without having to sacrifice your health, family and things that matter to you. We’ve helped tens of thousands of people save time, be happier, and become more productive. Now that it is a […]

In today’s episode, we’ll be covering how you can conduct your own annual review. This has allowed Thanh and others on the team to achieve our goals, be happier and be more fulfilled in our lives. Unfortunately, it’s something that most people are not doing because there isn’t a lot of great information out there […]

In today’s episode, Brooks interviews Erin Chase, one of the most productive people we know and a very successful businessperson who helps busy and overwhelmed home chefs learn to spend less money on groceries and get organized in the kitchen. She’s the founder of 5 Dollar Dinners, the author of the $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook […]

This episode is all about how to maximize the value you get from conferences. We’ll share strategies and tips for how to pick the right conference to go to, how to implement what you’ve learned, how to maximize your time at a conference and make sure it’s worth your time and money – especially if […]

Today’s episode is going to be a little different. Mike Schmitz will be leaving Asian Efficiency and The Productivity Show and he’s going on to do other big and exciting things. We thought it would be great to have Mike share his lessons and experiences he learned over the years that would benefit others like […]

Today’s guest is Garrett Salpeter, the founder of NeuFit. He invented a device that has helped Thanh recover from shoulder surgery in only 2.5 months – something most people would take 6 months to do. We dive deeper on how he’s changing the way world-class professional athletes recover from injuries and surgeries, and how you […]

In today’s episode, Thanh interviews Lynan Saperstein, a very successful businesswoman who travels all over the world and someone who has a very unique approach to productivity. She wasn’t always this productive though. About 5 years ago, when she started her business, she didn’t know anything about productivity and she couldn’t keep up with the […]

We’re back for the conclusion to our series on the TEA Framework, a simple mental model to help you identify and overcome the specific productivity obstacles that may be keeping you from reaching your full potential. Today Brooks and Mike will be diving into the last of the 3 Pillars of Productivity and talking about […]

Today we’re continuing our exploration of the TEA Framework and the 3 pillars of productivity with pillar number 2: Energy. We’ll be sharing our own struggles with energy and how we overcame them to be productive, we explain the 3 key areas to keep an eye on when it comes managing your energy, and we […]

Today Brooks and Mike continue the conversation that Thanh and Mike began last week on the TEA framework, a simple mental model to help you identify which levers to pull to get unstuck and help you reach your full potential. We’ll dive deep on the first pillar of the TEA Framework, explain the 3 parts […]

Today we’re introducing you to our new productivity framework, which we call TEA. This simple framework will help you identify the root causes when your productivity dips and show you which levers you need to pull to get back on track. If you feel like you’re not living up to your full potential but can’t […]

Do you have trouble getting your habits to stick? Or maybe you have trouble breaking bad habits that keep you from realizing your full potential? Either way, you won’t want to miss today’s episode with James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits and creator of the Habits Academy. James’ writing combines ideas from a wide […]

Leo & Harry, creators of the iOS app Sorted, come on the show to talk about their unique approach to task management. We dive deep into the topic of scheduling your tasks, and why they believe it’s so important if you really want to be productive. We discuss how this intentional approach towards organizing your […]

Today’s episode is with Thanh, the CEO of Asian Efficiency, who’s having a conversation with his friend AJ about how to design the life you want. He goes into detail about how you can envision the perfect lifestyle and take actionable steps to build it. They share their personal productivity strategies for doing it – […]

For many of the people we work with here at Asian Efficiency, the thing that is holding them back from reaching their full potential is simply the ability to focus free from distraction on the things that they already know are important. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do about those distractions – you can’t stop […]

Mike is joined today by productivity expert Chris Bailey. Chris is the internationally bestselling author of The Productivity Project, and most recently his second book, Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. Chris writes about productivity at ALifeOfProductivity.com and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more […]

Do you ever find yourself reacting emotionally to things that are beyond your control? Maybe you don’t fly off the handle and say something you’ll regret later, but you still find certain people or things in your work or personal life that make your blood start to boil. This is known as the fight vs. […]

A lot of people dream of working remotely. They picture themselves checking email occasionally from the beach or working a couple hours a day when it’s convenient for them. But anyone who works on a remote team knows there’s much more to it than that. Sure remote work gives you freedom and autonomy, but working […]

Do you have trouble focusing on one thing for any length of time? You’re not alone – in today’s crazy-busy society, we’ve become addicted to distraction. Today we’re going to show you how you can fight the urge to be always-on through establishing a mindfulness meditation habit. We talk about what mindfulness meditation is, how […]

We talk a lot about the concept of deep work here at Asian Efficiency, which is all about maximizing your intensity of focus so that you can produce excellent work and be more productive. But that assumes that you have time to focus on your important projects, which for many people is a luxury they […]

Everyone wants to make more money and work less hours, and in this episode Josh Fonger shows us how it’s possible using simple systems mechanics. Josh is a business performance architect and the co-founder of Work The System. He is an international business consultant, coach, and speaker. He’s had the unique experience of personally helping […]

Do you like the idea of the 12 Week Year, but have trouble achieving your 12 Week Year goals? So did Mike, until he started implementing the concept of a personal retreat (or thinking day) that we’re about to share with you in this episode. Brooks and Mike talk about how to make the most […]

Do you ever get overwhelmed? Ever feel like you’ve lost control of your day and there’s absolutely nothing that you can do about it? Do you get frustrated with having to respond to things other people declare are urgent and find yourself with no time left for the things that are important to you? If […]

It can be difficult balancing close relationships with the important people in your life and your desire to get things done as efficiently as possible. What do you do when you have friends or family members who don’t share the same approach to getting things done? How can you win them over and convince them […]

Do you ever get frustrated because your team or family members “just don’t get it” and insist on doing things in a way that’s completely unproductive? If so, you’re not alone. We all struggle with people who are close to us that haven’t yet seen the light when it comes to the way they choose […]

Ever wonder why so many New Year’s Resolutions don’t stick? It’s because most people rely solely on willpower to achieve their goals. Don’t be like so many who start things but can’t finish them. Tune in to understand why willpower alone isn’t going to allow you to achieve your goals, the 2 different approaches you […]

People seem to self-identify into 2 categories: those that thrive working from home, and those that say they could never do it. But working from home is like any other productivity challenge – if you set yourself up for success, become aware of some best practices, and apply some creativity and flexibility, anyone can do […]

Ever wonder why some people seem to get so much more done than others? We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so what makes some people super-productive while others just can’t seem to get things done? In this episode, we dive into the strategy of timeblocking and how high-achievers use it to […]

You’re listening to the 200th episode of the Productivity Show which is a major milestone for us. Three years and almost 5mm downloads later we’re still going strong and helping people like you achieve your goals in record times with our actionable content. To celebrate this special occasion we will reveal something at Asian Efficiency […]

It’s hard to think of something that has made as big an impact in the way we live and work during the past decade than the smartphone. The iPhone in particular, introduced with its large touchscreen and lack of a physical keyboard, has had a profound impact on our productivity and changed the way we […]

Ever wonder why some people get so much done compared to others? Behind every super-productive person is an intentional approach to how they manage their calendar. In this episode, Brooks and Mike dive deep on how to set your day up for success by managing your calendar well. They talk about why you need a […]

Do you ever feel like things are harder than they should be? Then today’s episode about conative productivity is for you. Mike is joined by David Kolbe, CEO of Kolbe Corp, who has lived and breathed the Kolbe Concept® since its inception. 

Today David joins us to talk about how making small adjustments based on […]

Do you ever find yourself frustrated because the day has just gotten away from you? If so, we’ve got good news for you: there are things you can do to set yourself up for a successful and productive day. Today Mike is joined by writer, author, and podcaster Dave Caolo. Dave was the managing editor […]

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting thinking to yourself, “when is this going to end?” or even “why am I here?” If so, you’re definitely not alone. Meetings can waste a ton of time and are often not helpful in getting your actual work done. So in this episode, we dive into the […]

How do you know which task manager is right for you? Task managers are great because they allow you to filter your available tasks and only display the ones that are appropriate right now, but the problem is there are so many to choose from. And moving everything over from system to system to see […]

Thanh & Ben share their best travel hacking tips to make your next trip stress-free. Ben is a good friend of Thanh’s who runs a very successful Artificial Intelligence company that has Fortune 100 clients and works with big corporations hire him from all over the world. Ben is based in Germany but he’s rarely […]

One of the best ways to improve your productivity is to get around other productive people who can help you see your blind spots and share what really works. And that’s exactly what facilitated last November for some of our best customers when we invited them to come to Austin, TX for the Asian Efficiency […]

Marmel Becerial, Asian Efficiency’s very own scrum master, joins Mike to dive deep on how we use scrum here at Asian Efficiency. This episode explains how we use the scrum framework in order to consistently and systematically create podcast episodes, video courses for the Dojo, and everything else related to Asian Efficiency’s day-to-day operation. We […]

Have you ever considered hiring an assistant to help you? Today we are talking to an expert on finding and hiring assistants, Tim Francis. Tim has hired more than one hundred assistants so he knows a thing or two about the topic. In this episode, you’ll learn how to know when you’re ready for your […]

In this episode, Mike is joined by Lucas Smith, an agile trainer, coach, and scrum master for LitheWorks, LLC who has over 14 years experience in software development, delivery, management, product development, coaching, and training. Lucas is one of only 50 Professional Scrum Trainers in the United States and in addition to being a Professional […]

Rudy Marsh joins us to talk about procrastination, the pomodoro method, and goal achievement. Rudy is the founder of the Esington company and creator of the Esington Glass, a beautiful Pomodoro timer that you can use to help you overcome procrastination and take action on your goals. Rudy grew up in a multi-ethnic family in […]

In this episode, Brooks and Mike revisit our favorite productivity apps for the Mac with our 2018 Mac Productivity Draft. A lot has changed since last year, including many of our favorite apps switching to a subscription model (and a new service that allows you to get a bunch of them at a discount). We […]

In this episode, Mike is joined by Eric Benchimol and Richard Keijzer, two academic physicians who recently published an article titled “Living Like an Academic Athlete: How to Improve Clinical and Academic Productivity as a Gastroenterologist.” The article was published in Gastroenterology, the top-ranked gastroenterology journal, and the world’s #46 ranked scientific journal (according to […]

In this episode, Mike is joined by Dave Caolo, a regular contributor to Unclutterer, a website dedicated to home and office organization. Mike & Dave dive deep into digital clutter: What it is, where to find it, and how to deal with it. We explain the very real cost of clutter and the effect it […]

Do you find yourself being pulled in too many directions? In this episode, Thanh and Mike talk about how your attention determines your future and why a simple mindset shift to regain control of your attention can provide stability and direction for all areas of your life. We talk about how being careless about how […]

Email is a nuisance to your productivity and something that everyone has to deal with on a daily basis. In this episode, Brooks and Mike talk about strategies and tools you can use to process the email in your inbox even faster, and give you 5 strategies you can use to get out of your […]

Have you ever tried handing off a work task but were frustrated because it took too long or wasn’t done correctly? You probably made one of the 5 common delegation mistakes that we cover in this episode. We show you how to avoid these mistakes, overcome 4 common limiting beliefs people have about delegation, share […]

Wondering what task manager you should use? Today we’re joined by Francesco D’Alessio, a writer, blogger, and freelance marketer who Mike discovered because of his awesome YouTube channel, Keep Productive. Francesco does a lot of video reviews for different apps and tools and he recently put together the Task Management video course which was just […]

Productivity can be very personal, but all good systems have a couple of things in common. In this episode, Brooks and Mike talk about 5 things you absolutely MUST have for an effective personal productivity system. They define what a personal productivity system is, talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches, and […]

Efficiency is usually a good thing, but in this episode we talk about some common productivity pitfalls and show you how you can get back on track when you fall victim to the 6 deadly sins of productivity. We share how to avoid the hidden dangers inherent in a wrong (but common) definition of productivity and […]

In this episode, we answer the questions about masterminds that you were too afraid to ask. Mike is joined by Nate Lowrie, a Dojo member and owner of FineLine Automation, who recently attended the Asian Efficiency mastermind that we held in Austin, TX. Nate joins Mike to talk about his experience as well as to […]

In this episode, we dive deep into the topic of analog productivity. Mike is joined by Curtis McHale, a Dojo member and business owner who has been running a successful web software consulting business for 6 years and helping others do the same for the last 2. Curtis is also the creator of the Analog Productivity […]

It’s a new year, which means a bunch of New Year’s resolutions about how this is the year that you’ll finally get in shape, get a promotion, or make that big step towards your ideal future. But oftentimes, these well-intentioned self-promises don’t actually materialize. Sure, we may start off strong, but after only a few […]

Ever find yourself with time to work on your important project but you don’t still don’t get anything done because you just don’t have the energy to work on it? In this episode, Brooks and Mike explain why energy management (and not time management) is the key to taking massive action on your goals. We […]

Simple systems are all around us, and being able to influence these systems is important in order to attain both personal and professional success. There’s a saying that you are where you are today because of the choices that you made yesterday. But if you don’t like the results that you’re getting, we have good news […]

It’s time for another edition of the Asian Efficiency Holiday Gift Guide! If you have no idea what to get for the productivity nerd in your life (or just want a few ideas for yourself), this episode is packed with the top tools and toys that the Asian Efficiency team considers essential productivity gear. If […]

In this episode, Mike talks with Dave Caolo, a writer, author, and podcaster who has a lot of experience working remotely. Dave and Mike dive deep into coffee shop productivity, talking about why it can be beneficial, addressing the specific challenges you’ll have to face, tips for finding the right shop, and what gear you’ll […]

Ever wonder why some people are so successful and others seem to really struggle? More than likely, it has little to do with their talent or ability and more to do with their growth mindset. In this episode, Thanh and Mike talk about the importance of developing a growth mindset and how it can translate […]

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “you are what you eat,” but it applies to more than just your physical body – it applies to your mind as well. In this episode, Brooks and Mike talk about “mind food,” an idea Mike picked up from author Tim Sanders on the importance of curating what information you […]

In this episode, Thanh and Mike talk about an essential concept for productivity enthusiasts, which is “Freedom.” They introduce you to the 3 different types of freedom and talk about which types of freedom typically coincide with different stages of life, as well as how real productivity is not just about doing more but about […]

Traveling can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, Mike is joined by Dojo member Kevin Clack to talk about how to make your next trip a breeze. Kevin’s job requires both domestic and international travel and in this episode he shares several of the things that he’s learned over the […]

Everyone deals with procrastination, but the reasons why may be drastically different for each person. In this episode, Thanh and Mike dive into the 8 different root causes of procrastination and how to overcome them so you can figure out what’s causing you to get tripped up when trying to get your work done. They walk […]

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of email you have to deal with every day? Or do you have hundreds of email messages sitting in your inbox? You’re not alone. In this episode, Brooks and Mike revisit the Asian Efficiency email workflow and share some important updates to make your email processing even more […]

This episode is all about weird things that we do every single day to help us be more productive. Thanh and Mike share several tips that they’ve discovered along the way to solving things that drive them crazy, and the Dojo chimes in as well with several tips that our awesome Dojo members use to […]

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Luckily for you, planning is much easier than you think. It all starts with planning the perfect day and then the perfect week. You’ll learn how to be in control of your schedule and make the planning process easy (and not so intimidating). Whether you have […]

Your ideal future is a lot closer than you might think. In this episode, Mike talks with entrepreneur and author Sean McCabe about how to create the future you’ve always dreamed of bu starting right where you’re at. Sean runs seanwes.com: a learning community for entrepreneurs looking to do fulfilling work. Sean is also […]

Want to know what makes the top CEOs so successful? It’s the time they take to think critically about their business. In this episode we’re going to talk about how you can actually go faster by slowing down and developing a habit of thinking time. We walk you through the critical questions you need to […]

As the amount of information increases exponentially, it’s easy to find yourself being completely overwhelmed or succumbing to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). You need a plan for dealing with it, and in this episode Brooks and Mike talk about the problem of information overload and more importantly what you can actually do about […]

Nabill Idrisi is back on the podcast to discuss the right way to set goals, how to accelerate the results you want, and how coaching and mastermind groups can help you towards your goals. Nabill attended an Asian Efficiency mastermind and in this episode he shares how the clarity he achieved from that even has […]

If you’re like most people, you have more reading that you need to do than you can keep up with. Whether it’s a textbook for class, a newsletter for a trade association, or the personal development book that’s been sitting on your nightstand for far too long, we all could you a little help handling […]

If you find yourself being distracted by the newest app or the latest productivity tool, you’re not alone and it may not even be completely your fault. You might be suffering from Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS). In this episode, Brooks and Mike dive deep into the allure of the new and shiny. We discuss why […]

Ever thought about launching out on your own but been hesitant to make the leap because you didn’t want to give up the security of your day job? In this episode, Mike Schmitz is joined by Patrick McGinnis who explains that you don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other. Patrick is the author […]

Do you find yourself wishing you had more time to devote to the things that are really important to you? Chances are it’s not actually a lack of time that’s the problem, it’s how you approach it. Join us as Brooks and Mike break down how to change your mindset so that you can plan […]

If you feel stressed out or overwhelmed, there’s a good chance it’s because you’ve said “yes” to the wrong things. In this episode, Mike and Brooks cover how to escape this by making better decisions. We show you several strategies you can use today to start making better decisions for your personal and professional life. […]

Journaling is a bit of a buzzword in the productivity space, but with good reason. And in this episode, Mike and Brooks explain why it’s so important. They dive into the many benefits of journaling, and share 5 tips for making journaling actionable and effective. They explain how to implement a journaling habit, recommend some […]

Ever dreamt about working remotely? It’s not all sunshine and rainbows – there’s a lot of things people don’t see that go into making a remote team operate successfully. In this episode, Thanh and Brooks go in-depth on the inner workings of Asian Efficiency’s remote team setup and how you can run an effective remote […]

The average person makes over 35,000 decisions in a single day, but many times we make wrong decisions because of our own cognitive biases which influence how we see our situation. In this episode, Brooks and Mike talk about the different sources of cognitive biases and how they impact our ability to make good, rational decisions. They […]

The average person has somewhere between 300-500 hours worth of tasks they need to complete, but how can you be sure they are the right ones? With so much that needs to get done, you can’t afford to waste your time on the wrong things. Brooks and Mike discuss how to achieve clarity from knowing that […]

Have you ever felt like everything was going wrong you had no idea what to do? On this episode, we celebrate 3 million podcast downloads by opening up about the times when it looked like we weren’t going to make it. We look back on our journey to accomplishing this podcast milestone, and talk about how we overcame 5 […]

Ever tried to implement Getting Things Done (GTD) and find it just won’t stick for you? In this episode, we’ll break down this popular productivity system and show you where the common failure points are so you can avoid making the same mistakes as countless others. Even if you don’t like GTD and use something […]

Have you ever felt stressed from being overcommitted but didn’t know how to fix the situation? You need someone who can show you how to break out of the mundane and make sure you’re moving in the right direction towards creating your ideal future. If so, you’re not alone. Many people feel completely overwhelmed with everything they need […]

The average person makes over 35,000 decisions per day, which can easily leave you too tired to take action on your most important tasks (or MITs). In this episode, Mike and Thanh tackle decision fatigue, and show you how to exercise all the tools at your disposal so that you don’t get burned out or make […]

Do you always have too much to do? You’re not alone. Life in today’s society can be complicated as it’s common for people to have more than just work and home to think about. It can be extremely difficult to maintain balance between your different areas of responsibility. If you find yourself stressed about or feeling like you […]

Being able to focus is a lost art in today’s society, but it’s also extremely important (and valuable). Distractions are everywhere, and we’re constantly being interrupted by our technology and other people. We want to teach you how you can overcome the business and create the future you’ve always dreamed of by focusing on what’s really […]

Does it really take 10,000 hours to master a skill? In this episode, we debunk some common misconceptions and share 4 keys to establishing mastery more quickly using focused deep work. We explain the major benefits that come with doing deep work and give you practical tips for implementing it no matter how busy you are to […]