The Productivity Lab

In this episode, Kyle & Mark look back on all the challenges they completed in the lab and rank their favorites and least favorites. Dive into the discussion to see what their thoughts are.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* NaNoWriMo* Camp NaNoWriMo* ApexThis Podcast* Plan with Me vid by Mark* Standing Desk* Ninja Blender* Focus Me* Freedom* Scrivner* NRP’s Up First* Digital Minimalism Book* Google Fi* Chris Do* Scary Fast

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Ever feel tired and groggy in the morning? Are you looking for ways to improve your focus and creativity? Or do you just want to have a better sense of well being throughout the day? Well do we have a challenge for you!

In this episode of The Productivity Lab Mark and Kyle put the “natural alarm clock” to the test. What is a natural alarm clock you might ask? It’s simple: you don’t set your alarm and instead wake up whenever your body is ready. Join us as we review the method of the natural alarm clock and explore the many benefits of sleep.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* How to be an Antiracist* Why We Sleep* Bird by Bird* Midnight Bus – Quadrant Nine* Sleep Smarter* Matthew Walker (Author of Why We Sleep) on The Joe Rogan Experience* The Importance of Sleep and Understanding Sleep Stages* Physiology, Sleep Stages* How sound-based alarm clocks affect sleep

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

There comes a time when your side-projects and task lists grow and grow until you’re unable to focus on your work. Enter the “working vacation”. Kyle and Mark have been fortunate to use their vacation time to recharge from work and focus on their side projects and health. In this episode find out how Kyle was able to spend his time in taking a working vacation and hear about Mark’s past experience and get some tips for yourself in this episode of The Productivity Lab.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Notion* Trello* How to be an Antiracist* 13th – Netflix* Kindle Oasis* Mark’s Notion Bookshelf* American Promethus* Cortex* Scrivener* NPR’s Up First* Hotel Emma

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

The post iPod world is no stranger to hand crafted playlist to help you focus. Any productivity nerd out there has a go to album, soundtrack or playlist they’ll use to get down to business. From unintrusive ambient music to lo-fi hip-hip beats we all know what will help us focus and get stuff done. But there’s one service out there that claims to have taken that to the next level: Brain.FM.

The people over at Brain.FM claim that their music can help you focus even better than your go to songs, and they got the science to back it up (sorta). In this episode Kyle & Mark try out Brain.FM themselves to see if it’s worth it. Were they more focused? Was the music even good? And is it work the price point? All of this and more in this episode of The Productivity Lab!

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Brain.FM* Scrivener* Notion* Chilled Cow* P-Hacking * Hack Your Way to Scientific Glory – FiveThiryEight model on P-Hacking* Ultimae Records* Carbon Based Lifeforms* Solar Fields* RainyMood.com* Vox Explained – Music* The science behind the ‘beats to study to’ craze – Engadget* Checking In – Celeste OST* Stardew Valley OST* Metroid Prime Trilogy OST* SimCity (2013) OST* Starbound OST

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (

In the time of this global pandemic, many are finding themselves looking to improve existing skills or cultivate new ones. But how do you learn quickly and apply these new skills? Enter Ultralearning by Scott Young where we are promised that we can future-proof our careers by learning. In Ultralearning, Scott lays out the 9 principles and methods that we can use to “learn anything deeply and quickly. Find out what Kyle & Mark thought of this book in this episode of The Productivity Lab.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Ultralearning by Scott Young* CGP Grey Spaceship You (video)* Hyperfocus Review* Digital Minimalism Review* Atomic Habits* Mark’s Austin Podcasters Mind Map* Forest App Review* Should Game Designers Follow Negative Feedback – Game Makers Toolkit (video)* Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman* The Case Against Education – Bryan Caplan* Brain.fm* Spaced Repetition* Wired – Gravity Explained (video)

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting...

What if I told you that just by tweaking your coffee a little bit you could improve your focus, increase your energy levels, get healthier and lose weight? According to the official Bulletproof Coffee, just by adding a little bit of butter and some coconut oil you can gain all these benefits and more!

Are the claims too good to be true? Is Bulletproof Coffee nothing more than tasty snake oil? Join Kyle and Mark in this episode as they put it to the test.

Resources & Fun Stuff

* Automate the Boring Stuff with Python * /r/LearnPython* /r/WritingPrompts* 2020 Yearly Themes – The Productivity Lab* Working From Home – The Productivity Lab* Lock Down Productivity: Spaceship You* Cortex Podcast* Bulletproof Coffee* Brian Ellender and the Triangle of Secrets – Everyday Superhumans* Joe Rogan’s Interview with Dr. Rhonda Patric (Ep 459)* Bulletproof Coffee: Debunking the Hot Buttered Hype – Gizmodo

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

We continue our “Work from Home” series to try out the 20/20/20 rule. With this rule, Kyle and Mark must work for 20 minutes, then take a 20 second break by walking 20 feet away from their workspace. Has Kyle’s experience changed with this rule? Has this made Mark love working from home even more? Find out in this episode of The Productivity Lab.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Mark’s WFH & Productivity Tips* Hyperfocus Book Review* Atomic Habits Book Review* Forest App Review* /r/WritingPrompts* Ron Carlson Writes a Story* Bookshop.org* On Writing* Exist.io* Freedom* Notion* Pomodoro technique* Keep it 100 Girl Podcast* Bullet Proof Coffee

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By

These have been unusual times, it seems that over night we have had to upend our routines habits as a means to help flatten the curve. Many offices have required their employees to work from home including the very offices our hosts Kyle and Mark work at.

In this episode of The Productivity Lab Kyle and Mark share their thoughts on working from home full time. How does it compare to working in the office? What are the unexpected challenges they’ve had to face? And is it as good as they expected it to be? All this and more in this episode of The Productivity Lab!

Resources & Fun Stuff

* Animal Crossing: New Horizons* Stardew Valley* Game Maker’s Toolkit* “Delivering Happiness with Meals on Wheels Central Texas” – Everyday Superhumans* RainyMood.com* Mark’s Study Playlist

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

We’ve read the book on Digital Minimalism, now we put it into practice. While Kyle & Mark don’t go for the full digital detox, we find and identify our existing digital uses and see how we can be intentional with our digital tools.What did Kyle & Mark seek to minimize and how did they fare? Find out in this episode of The Productivity Lab.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport* Austin Service Relief* Generation Serve* Everyday Superhumans* Tweetdeck* Freedom* LeechBlock Chrome Extension* Tasker* Apple Screentime* Android Digital Wellbeing* Stoicism* Animal Crossing New Horizons* Tristian Harris

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Join us in this episode of The Productivity Lab for our review of Cal Newport’s latest book, Digital Minimalism. In the book Newport pitches the idea of digital minimalism, which is the practice of not overbearing yourself with tech and apps, and using the tech in your life wisely.

Kyle and Mark discuss what being a digital minimalist means, methods and practices Newport discusses, and the digital detox.

Resources and Fun Stuff:

* Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport* So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport* Deepwork by Cal Newport* Cal Newport’s Blog* 2020 Yearly Themes* Hyperfocus Book Review* The Light Phone* Atomic Habits Book Review

More from The Productivity Lab

* TheProductivityLab.show* Follow us on Twitter @ProductiveLab* Check us out on Instagram @ProductiveLab

More from Mark & Kyle

* Mark’s personal website: askmark.io* Mark’s Instagram & Twitter* Kyle’s personal website: quadrantnine.net* Kyle’s Instagram & Twitter

Credits

Logo & BrandingDesign for The Productivity Lab is provided by Adam Dodson DesignsMusic“Getting it Done” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0