Focused

By RelayBusiness Careers

Focused episodes

November 04268: Gateway to the Past, with Liz Covart
Award-winning historian and Ben Franklin's World podcast host Liz Covart joins us to discuss reading, research, and AI through the lens of early American history.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Gusto: Payroll, HR, Benefits. Simplified. Get 3 months free.
Base44: Build the real thing with Base44. Describe the software you need in your own words and get a working build. Get 30% off the Builder plan for your first year.
Guest Starring:
Liz Covart
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Youtube version of this episode The 2027 Focused calendar Ben Franklin's World | A Podcast About Early American History Clio Digital Media Where Curious Minds Explore the Past—Together | History Explorers Club | History Explorers Club Hamilton | Disney+ John Adams by David McCullough Obsidian Notion Claude Robot Assistant Field Guide Mac Power Users #865: Harvard Professor Teddy Svoronos on AI in the Classroom British Museum Zotero | Your personal research assistant DEVONthink, professional document and information manager for Mac and iOS Wispr Flow | Voice to Text Dictation & AI Notetaker Scrivener Daily Rituals by Mason Currey reMarkable Paper Pro Move The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus by Matthew Restall Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman The Morality of Happiness by Julia Annas Co-Existence by Ethan Mollick Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick The Engine of Free Expression by Nora Slonimsky Mark Twain by Ron Chernow Dying Every Day by James Romm
1 hr 7 min
October 20267: A Menu of Opportunity
David & Mike discuss their plans for Q4, setting quarterly milestones, and choosing what to leave undone.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Video version of this episode The FOCUSED Calendar | NeuYear.net MacSparky Labs The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington Intentional AI podcast The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks Doing This Every 90 Days Completely Changed My Life | YouTube Personal Retreat Handbook 2.0 3 Questions That Will Change Your Life | Practical PKM Robot Assistant Field Guide | MacSparky VidSummit 2027 The Library Community | Practical PKM I Built the Quick Capture Tool Obsidian Was Missing | YouTube Productivity Field Guide | MacSparky Focused #260: Quarterly Planning and Riding Roller Coasters Grit by Angela Duckworth Situated by Angela Duckworth Grit: The power of passion and perseverance | TED Talk How to Be Good at Life by Ben Meer
1 hr 6 min
October 07266: The Ultimate Shiny New Object
David & Mike discuss AI's tendency toward distraction and how to avoid the most common focus traps, from tool tourism to infinite collaboration.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Gusto: Payroll, HR, Benefits. Simplified. Get 3 months free.
Saily: Affordable eSIM plans for international travel. Use code 'focused' for 15% off.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Video for this episode Personal Retreat Handbook 2.0 Robot Assistant Field Guide How I’m Organizing My Life this Fall | The Deep Life by Cal Newport Why Most of Your Notes Never Make a Sound | Practical PKM I Built the Quick Capture Tool Obsidian Was Missing | YouTube Keychron K2 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard TOYO ST-350MG Steel 2-Tier Tool Box (Military Green) | Amazon.com You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall Dying Every Day by James Romm Prompter XL | Elgato
58 min
September 22265: How to Try Again, with Steve Kamb
Author and nerd Steve Kamb joins us to talk about the benefits of failure, escaping the doom loop, and how to try again.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Keeper: Get 60% off personal and family plans.
Saily: Affordable eSIM plans for international travel. Use code 'focused' for 15% off.
Daylite: The only made-for-mac CRM solution. Start your free trial today.
Guest Starring:
Steve Kamb
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Focused 265: How to Try Again with Steve Kamb | YouTube Nerd Fitness How to Try Again by Steve Kamb Craft + Commerce Museum of Failure Anker soundcore Sleep A30 Smart ANC Sleep Earbuds Toyo toolboxes The Analog System | Ugmonk Focused #204: Analog Productivity, with Jeff Sheldon Squire Classic Pen | Baronfig Uncommon Sense by William Brody Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Scythe by Neal Shusterman Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson The Baroque Cycle | Neal Stephenson
1 hr 14 min
September 08264: The Accountability-Shaped Hole
David & Mike discuss chronotypes, capacity as a metric, tracking inputs, the delegation tax, and more in this feedback episode.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Gusto: Payroll, HR, Benefits. Simplified. Get 3 months free.
Keeper: Get 60% off personal and family plans.
Daylite: The only made-for-mac CRM solution. Start your free trial today.
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Focused 264: The Accountability-Shaped Hole | YouTube This One Idea Changed How I Think About My Entire Life | YouTube MacSparky | YouTube Relay for St. Jude The Goal: 40th Anniversary Edition by Eliyahu Goldratt Plans are worthless, but planning is everything | Practical PKM The Score by C. Thi Nguyen Screen Studio | Professional screen recorder for macOS Focused #263: Removing the Roadblocks, with Cat Mulvihill The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Intentional AI | Relay Onlinejobs.ph Analog Starter Kits | Ugmonk Wispr Flow | Effortless Voice Dictation
1 hr 32 min
August 26263: Removing the Roadblocks, with Cat Mulvihill
Cat Mulvihill joins us to talk about building momentum, the immunity to change framework, and dealing with our dreaded identity so we can finally focus on what's really important.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Keeper: Get 60% off personal and family plans.
Guest Starring:
Cat Mulvihill
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Cat Mulvihill Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber Immunity to Change by Robert Keagan & Lisa Lahey Atomic Habits by James Clear The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin Senja Sunsama Cat's Creator Science episode with Jay Clouse Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Ottocast Mini Cube 3.0 Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto Adapter | Amazon VTech IS8121-2 Super Long Range Cordless Phone | Amazon Anker Nano Charging Station (7-in-1, 100W) The Goal: 40th Anniversary Edition by Eliyahu Goldratt The Score by C. Thi Nguyen The Creative Act by Rick Rubin Cat's Immunity to Change Workshop Instagram | catmulvihill LinkedIn | Cat Mulvihill The Momentum Experiment Podcast The Road to 1 Million | Cat's Notion Tracker
1 hr 7 min
August 11262: The Strategic Deployment of Friction
David & Mike discuss owning your ideas and staying sharp with the values-based application of AI.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Scribe: AI-powered workflow documentation. Get your first month free.
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Is AI Killing Writing? 12 Different Answers | How I Write Podcast Intentional AI | Relay Wispr Flow Productivity Field Guide | MacSparky Wavepal
1 hr 1 min
July 28 261: Metrics of Success
David & Mike discuss Goodhart's Law, why effort matters more than outcomes, and how to maintain a healthy relationship with the numbers you use to keep score.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Video for this episode Mike's Amplify Cohort Focused #260: Quarterly Planning and Riding Roller Coasters Focused #259: Nobody's Perfect, with Kathy Campbell The Score by C. Thi Nguyen Happy Scale Insta360 Luna Ultra Macstock Conference Insta360 Mic Pro Insta360 Mic Air Ugmonk Analog Field Notes Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue Mac Power Users #839: Fifty Years of Apple with David Pogue Women of Walt Disney Imagineering by Ginger Zee Focused #257: I Go By Vibes, with Stephen Robles Read Between The Lynes On B.S. by Harry Frankfurt Don't Call it Art by Austin Kleon
47 min
July 14260: Quarterly Planning and Riding Roller Coasters
David & Mike look back on Q2, share their plans for Q3, and talk about the ups and downs that come with being marginally challenged.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED.
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Video for this episode Productivity Field Guide | MacSparky Robot Assistant Field Guide | MacSparky Apple Productivity Suite Field Guide | MacSparky Circle Intentional AI | Relay The Growth Intensive LifeHQ Craft + Commerce How I Run My Whole Life Out of Obsidian | YouTube CreatorBot | Practical PKM MacSparky's YouTube channel Analog Travel Case (Walnut) | Ugmonk Oura Ring The Morality of Happiness by Julia Annas Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings
1 hr 16 min
June 30259: Nobody's Perfect, with Kathy Campbell
Kathy Campbell joins us to talk about building systems, the art of delegation, and what to do when things don't go your way.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Keeper: Get 60% off personal and family plans.
Incogni: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code FOCUSED with this link and get 60% off an annual plan.
Guest Starring:
Kathy Campbell
Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. Video version of this episode The Unicorn Sidekick Kathy Campbell | Chief Awesome Officer Conduit | Relay Conduit Live Show Roboism | Relay Dragonmount The Wheel of Time | Wikipedia The Envelope System Museum of Failure Endel | Focus, Relax and Sleep Bullet Journal NotebookTherapy | Japanese + Korean Stationery Shipped Free Worldwide Tsuki Lunar Unicorn Limited Edition Bullet Journal | NotebookTherapy The Unicorn Sidekick | YouTube DJI Osmo Pocket 3 STARTRC Gimbal Protective Cover for DJI Osmo Pocket 3 | Amazon Canon SELPHY CP1500 Wireless Compact Photo Printer A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time® by Dire Wolf | Kickstarter The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien How to Try Again by Steve Kamb Nerd Fitness The Morality of Happiness by Julia Annas
1 hr 9 min

About Focused

From the publisher's feed

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…