Faith-Based Productivity – Page 4 – Live the Life You Were Created For

Focused #103: Systems & Challenges

July 9, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

In this episode of Focused, I finally get to talk to David about my hybrid productivity system. David also shares about his evolving shutdown routine, we check in on his sabbatical prep, and we introduce a couple of new segments to the show: Shiny New Objects and Productivity Challenges.

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Happy 4th Birthday, Bookworm!

July 7, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

4 years ago today, Joe Buhlig and I published the first episode of Bookworm. Fun fact: we hadn’t met each other yet when we started the podcast (we met later that month in person at Macstock). We originally started the podcast because we both wanted to read more and need a little help to do it consistently. The accountability and positive peer pressure of having to show up and talk about a book every two weeks has helped me firmly establish a reading habit, so mission accomplished.

A lot has happened over the last four years. We’ve both been through some rough times, and there where periods where we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to keep it going. Life happens. There have been times when we’ve missed our scheduled publish dates due to job changes, health issues, and the like. I’m grateful to my co-host Joe Buhlig for sticking with it, and for all of the listeners who have shown their support for the show. I’ve grown a ton because of the podcast over the last four years, and believe I am a better person today because of it.

Personally, I get a lot out of making the podcast and would probably do it even if nobody listened. But I’m proud of and inspired by the community that has sprung up around this little side project and extremely thankful that folks continue to show up. And a special thanks to the Premium Club members who are willing to give us a couple bucks a month to help keep the lights on – you all rock!

Sermon Notes from 7/5/20

July 6, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

Last week, I shared a video walking through my thought process from the notes I took during my pastor’s sermon. People seemed to like it, so I decided to do the same thing again this week.

Here’s the image of the sketchnote if you just want to see that with no explanation.

Daily Questions in Roam Research

July 3, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

One of my action items from Bookworm 96 was to implement my own version of the daily questions Marshall Goldsmith uses. He keeps everything in a spreadsheet, but obviously that wasn’t good enough for me. So here’s a quick video on how I did this using Roam Research.

Sermon Notes from 6/28/20

June 29, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

This is an experimental post for me about the thought process that goes into creating the sketchnotes I take of my pastor’s sermons. I never really thought these would be interesting to anyone but me, but slowly I’ve been changing my mind about that based on some feedback lately from people who have asked to see them. Shoutout to Bodie Quirk who convinced me to record this short video about the process.

Bookworm #96: Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

June 26, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

Do you ever find yourself reacting to something, then immediately saying something like, “I can’t believe I just did that?” It may not be your fault – at least, not entirely. Join Joe & I as we take a look at the triggers in our own environments and consider how to overcome them – without doing or saying something that we’ll later regret.

Link to Bookworm

How (and Why) I Take Notes on Books That I Read

June 25, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

I read a lot of books. But more important than adding to my bookshelf or being able to say I read the latest New York Times Bestseller, I want what I read to stick. I approach every book I read with the mindset that I’m going to take away at least one new idea – even the ones I don’t really care for. I want come away from each book I read as a different person than I was when I started it.

How to Start Your Own Mastermind Group

May 25, 2020 By Mike Schmitz

In a recent episode of Focused, my co-host David Spark & I interviewed Laura McClellan (a.k.a. The Productive Woman). It was a fun conversation, and one of the things we hit on was the topic of mastermind groups. I’m a big fan of mastermind groups, and a member of one myself. But for someone new to the idea I can see how the idea would be pretty intimidating, so I wanted to share some thoughts on how you can get your own mastermind group started.

My NeuYear Calendar

October 29, 2019 By Mike Schmitz

In a recent Focused episode, David and I talked about a lot about calendaring and I mentioned I’d share a picture of my current NeuYear calendar. Here it is:

We’ve even got a special Focused branded version of this with shading for those of you who like the 12 Week Year. A perfect complement to the Personal Retreat Handbook if I do say so myself.

The Motivation Cycle

June 11, 2019 By Mike Schmitz

A couple of weeks ago, David & I talked about “moving the needle” in one of my favorite episodes of Focused to date. David shared his system for making sure the things he was getting done were in fact the right things, and it got me thinking about what happens after you identify what moves the needle for you.

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