Hosted by David Sparks and Mike Schmitz.
David Sparks and Mike Schmitz are not nearly as productive as they’d like to be. Join these fellow travelers (and a bunch of special guests) as they share the best ways to get focused, and talk through their successes and failures along the way.
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Latest Episodes
#258: Personal Defaults
June 16th, 2026 · 58 minutes
David & Mike discuss protecting your capacity, honoring your chronotype, and changing your personal defaults.
#257: I Go By Vibes, with Stephen Robles
June 3rd, 2026 · 75 minutes
Stephen Robles joins us to talk about reading, intentional technology use, directing AI, and the golden era of the generalist.
#256: Calendar Modes & Transitions Rituals
May 19th, 2026 · 60 minutes
David & Mike discuss the difference between task triage and time architecture when designing your week and using rituals to help you transition from one task to the next.
#255: Get Your Machete Out
May 5th, 2026 · 59 minutes
In this feedback episode, David and Mike discuss slowing down, complicated second brains, and the minimum viable productivity system.
#254: Battling Burnout
April 21st, 2026 · 76 minutes
David & Mike discuss the many different flavors of burnout, why productivity nerds are so susceptible, and what you can do to fight back against this insidious foe of focus.
#253: Finding Focus in the Midst of Chaos, with David Roth
April 7th, 2026 · 64 minutes
Corporate lawyer David Roth joins to talk about the challenges of staying focused in a fast-paced profession where small mistakes can cost millions of dollars.
#252: Donkey Work
March 24th, 2026 · 75 minutes
David has a new Field Guide, and both he & Mike discuss the ways they're using AI to have their robot assistants help with the donkey work.
#251: Not Throwing Away My Shot, with Joe Casabona
March 10th, 2026 · 75 minutes
Podcast coach and Streamlined Soloprenuer founder Joe Casabona joins us to talk about building systems, effective delegation, and when to actually automate.
#250: Planning Your Week
February 24th, 2026 · 68 minutes
David & Mike discuss how to plan your week and share their own weekly planning workflows.
#249: What if This Were Easy? with Ernie Svenson
February 10th, 2026 · 59 minutes
David's personal Yoda is back to talk about curiosity, creativity, and the role of AI in focused work.
