Focused

246: A Cleansing Palette of Joy

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

245: Fashionable & Functional, with Patrick Rhone

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

244: You're Holding It Wrong

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

243: The Single Source of Truth is On the Fridge, with Thom Gibson

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

242: The Case for Analog

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

241: Less But Better, with Austin L. Church

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

240: Q4 Planning

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

239: How to Focus Like a Roman Emperor, with Donald J. Robertson

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

238: Knitting Our Parachutes

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

237: Everything is Figureoutable, with Max Roberts

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

236: Focus Traps

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

235: Practical Wisdom for Mindful Living, with John Chandler

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

234: Intentional Friction

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

233: I Wanna Be Me When I Grow Up, with Kara Monroe

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

232: Useful Not True, with Derek Sivers

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

231: Overwhelm, AI, and Life's Balancing Acts

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

230: Journaling & Intention, with Joe Moyer

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

229: Workflow Check-In

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

228: Time Surfing, with Paul Loomans

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

227: Quarterly Planning

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

226: The Importance of Review

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

225: Tiny Experiments, with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

224: Chasing Valuable Rabbits, with Chenell Basilio

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

223: Solving the Actual Problem, with Ian Byrd

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

222: The 2025 Productivity Field Guide

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

221: A Focus on Creativity

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

220: 2024 Retrospective

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

219: A Focused Smorgasbord

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

218: Turning Down the Volume, with Stephen Hackett

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

217: The Anxious Generation

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

216: Wholehearted Transformation, with Amy Wicks

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

215: The Sparky Language Model

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

214: Solving Gnarly Problems, with Clarke Ching

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

213: Developing Skills

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

212: Living the Llama Life, with Marie Ng

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

211: The Focus MOB

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

210: Media Strategies for a Focused Life

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

209: A System for Writing, with Bob Doto

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

208: Moving the Needle Revisited

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

207: What Would Sparky Say?

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

206: Rapt

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

205: Tasks & Calendars

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

204: Analog Productivity, with Jeff Sheldon

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

203: The Little Lies You Tell Yourself, with Jason Snell

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

202: Slow Productivity

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

201: What to Do When Things Don't Go Your Way, with Haemin Sunim

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

200: Favorite Productivity Hacks

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

199: Repotting & Retirement, with Jim Eager

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

198: Revisiting Journaling

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

197: Feel Good Productivity

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

196: Focus & The Reading Life, with Maryanne Wolf

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

195: The Productivity Field Guide

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

194: I'd Like to Take a Mulligan

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

193: The Problem with Mise en Place, with Justin Khanna

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

192: Flow State

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

191: Multi-Scale Planning

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

190: Overdosing on Gratitude, with Karl Staib

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

189: Focus & AI

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

188: Q4 Planning & The PKM Stack

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

187: Drop Zones & Launch Pads, with Jesse J. Anderson

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jesse J. Anderson is back to talk about troubleshooting productivity systems and his new book for helping adults with ADHD find focus.

186: The Burden of Opportunity, with Shawn Blanc

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Focus Course creator and small business owner Shawn Blanc is back to talk about margin, sabbaticals, and focusing like a boss.

185: How to Be Miserable

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike discuss the satirical self-help book How to Be Miserable by Randy J. Paterson and share the dysfunctional skills they are particularly go...

184: Solving Problems, with Jay Clouse

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jay Clouse of Creator Science joins us to talk about the sawdust problem, the focus benefits of community, and finding the balance between quality and...

183: Practicing Focus

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike discuss how they inject focus into their workdays & Mike shares about his tiny house retreat experience.

182: Building Focused Flywheels, with Nathan Barry

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ConvertKit CEO Nathan Barry joins us to talk about the power of focus and how it helped save his company.

181: Walking Your Own Path, with Justin Moore

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sponsorship coach Justin Moore joins us to talk about his journey from medical devices to Creator Wizard founder, avoiding the comparison trap, and fi...

180: A Focused Hodgepodge

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David reflects on 18 months of freedom, Mike reports back from Craft + Commerce, and they both share their best advice for teaching kids how to focus.

179: Ideal Weeks

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike discuss the process of planning (and attempting to live out) their ideal weeks.

178: Mike's Big Adventure

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike is finally a Free Agent. In this episode, he & David talk through the process and share some tips for those considering making revolutionary chan...

177: The Care and Feeding of Technology, with Mike Rohde

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Rohde is back to talk about the role of analog and digital tools in maintaining creative focus.

176: Doing Less

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike revisit the importance of saying no and discuss how to prevent taking on too much.

175: The To-Don't List

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike get caught up on listener feedback as they discuss journaling data, power naps, and choosing the things you aren't going to do.

174: Deep Work, with Cal Newport

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Computer scientist & author Cal Newport joins us to talk about the impact of technology and culture on productivity and shares what we can do to prote...

173: Life Has Lifed You, with Mark Metzger

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Business lawyer Mark Metzger joins David to talk about false urgency, the power of having a coach, and getting back on the wagon when life happens.

172: Journaling & Focus

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike dive deep into the topic of journaling and share their workflows for making it stick.

171: Communication & Focus

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike discuss communication, project management, and managing expectations to protect your focus.

170: Holistic Productivity, with Tim Stringer

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Stringer joins us to talk about mortality, reinvention, and the fight to live a focused life.

169: How to Calm Your Mind, with Chris Bailey

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Bailey is back to talk about dopamine, burnout, and finding calm in these anxious times.

168: 2023 Focus Resolutions

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike share their words for the year and discuss their plans to live out the first quarter of 2023 with intentionality and focus.

167: 2022 Year in Review

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike reflect on the last year and share what went well, what could have gone better, and their lessons learned.

166: The Social Dilemma

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike walk through their planning processes and make their best case for leaving social media altogether.

165: On the River, with Chris Upchurch

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Upchurch joins us to talk about his recent career change from metropolitan transportation planner to whitewater rafting guide.

164: Mind Mapping

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike consider the focus benefits of mind mapping and discuss the tools and methods they use to think beyond the outline.

163: The Laws of Creativity, with Joey Cofone

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Baron Fig CEO Joey Cofone joins us to talk about creativity, embracing constraints, and finding your own way.

162: Perfectionism

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike discuss perfectionism, procrastination, and overcoming the urge to get everything just right.

161: Stolen Focus, with Jean MacDonald

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jean MacDonald joins us to talk about social media, the M.E.O.W. system, and reading books.

160: Balancing Calendars and Tasks

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike compare calendars and task lists, the jobs to be done by each, and the resistance that will inevitably appear in your quest to get things...

159: The Art of Note-Taking

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike consider note-taking and its role in the creative process.

158: Humans First, with Rob Krecak

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Krecak joins us to talk about the psychology behind email, the importance of communication norms, and tips from his experiences helping organizati...

157: Non-Traditional Measures of Productivity, with Mike Vardy

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Vardy is back to talk about the rhythm of work and why some people feel "productivity" is becoming a dirty word.

156: The State of GTD

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by a Cal Newport article on Getting Things Done, David & Mike go through an audit of the (in)famous productivity system.

155: 12 Favorite Problems

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike explore the idea of favorite problems and identify a dozen of their own in a quest for self-discovery.

154: Building a Second Brain, with Tiago Forte

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tiago Forte joins us to talk about his new book, building knowledge assets, and flipping the switch from consumer to creator.

153: A Wandering Mind, with Kourosh Dini

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kourosh Dini is back to talk about being with the work and the dark side of flow.

152: Mental Models

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike share some of their favorite mental models and how to use them for better sensemaking.

151: The Bento Method, with Francesco D'Alessio

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Francesco D'Alessio joins us to talk about the state of productivity apps, picking the right tools, and his new app, Bento.

150: Optimize for Intentionality

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike celebrate episode 150 by talking about focus traps and answering a bunch of listener questions.

149: Asking Questions, with Marc Champagne

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marc Champagne (author of Personal Socrates) joins us to talk about mental fitness, journaling, and why simply asking the right questions can change y...

148: Savoring the Moment, with Chris Bailey

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Bailey is back to talk about his dopamine fast, the art of savoring, and avoiding the productivity racket.

147: Task Management & Focus

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David & Mike revisit the topic of task management to talk about Mike's Obsidian task management experiment and their (very different) use of checklist...