John Poelstra is obsessed with meetings, and for good reason. Meetings are responsible for billions of dollars in wasted productivity every month. John is on a mission to make meetings more effective, and he joins us on the podcast to talk about how you can make your meetings better.

Cheat Sheet

The real/hidden costs of poorly run meetings

How to use the MAP acronym - Minutes, Agenda, and People - to run more effective meetings

How to write great meeting minutes for meeting attendees

How to answer the age-old question: Do you really need to have a meeting?

Why you should start with an anticipated outcome and the benefit to the meeting

Why you need to be more selective in the people you invite to a meeting

How to keep a meeting from being derailed and becoming a waste of' time

Steps you can use to change your current company culture around meetings

Tips & tricks for conducting productive virtual meetings

Links

JohnPoelstra.com

Red Hat

Productivityist - Mike Vardy

TPS38: I Know Kung Fu w/ Patrick Hart

The Productivityist Podcast 73: Cal Newport

Book, tool, ritual

Book: Deep Work by Cal Newport

Tool: Trello

Ritual: A 30-minute walk first thing in the morning - working on a problem and not listening to a podcast.

Connect with John Poelstra:

@JohnPoelstra

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Mark Sisson is an expert in evolutionary health and author of The Primal Blueprint. In this episode, he discusses how our genes can be influenced by our diet and exercise, how you can put in only a few minutes at the gym and get maximum output, and how to train your body. Listen in for health and exercise tips geared towards productivity geeks like us!

Cheat Sheet

All about the evolutionary health movement

How our genes are evolving every day and what we can do to positively influence them

The major reason why you need to cut out sugar from your diet as much as you can

How you can start moving toward your ideal body composition

How your body is hard-wired to crave sugar, and how you can overcome this

How we can develop the mindfulness that allows us to eat healthy and overcome "hardcore cravings"

The real reasons why cheat days don’t work

How most people train too much for marathons and triathlons and what they should do instead

Links

The Primal Blueprint

The Primal Blueprint (book)

Mark's Daily Apple

Nerdfitness

Book, tool, ritual

Book: The Elements of Style 

Tool: A standing desk

Ritual: Morning ritual includes trying to complete all of the puzzles in the LA Times within 30 minutes

Connect with Mark Sisson

Twitter: @Mark_Sisson

Facebook: Mark's Daily Apple

Instagram: @marksdailyapple

YouTube: Mark's Daily Apple

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Zack chats with speed reading expert Abby Marks Beale, who has been teaching people how to read and comprehend faster for more than 20 years. They discuss key characteristics of speed readers, specific tips that you can use to comprehend and read faster, and the latest speed reading apps.

Cheat Sheet

The true story about how Abby used to hate to read and how she transitioned to a speed reading coach

Why slowing down when you read actually does not help your concentration (even though many people think it does)

How Zack got into speed reading and the process he used to become more proficient

Why anyone can train themselves to read faster and how you can do it without sacrificing comprehension

The key characteristics of efficient readers and how you can develop these skills yourself

How you can use a simple blank white card to increase your reading speed

How Rhythmic Eye Movement helped Zack immensely and how you can apply this yourself

Tips and tricks to increase comprehension when reading

Links

Rev It Up Reading

Get a Free Day of Abby's Online Course

10 Days to Faster Reading

ReadQuick app

Tachistoscope

Spritz

Spreeder

Book, tool, ritual

Book: CrazyBusy

Tool: BeeLine Reader

Ritual: Taking deep breaths. Yoga. Swimming.

Connect with Abby Marks Beale

@speedreadr

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Asian Efficiency team members Zack and Thanh discuss the key differences between habits and rituals. From brushing teeth to working out, you’ll learn how putting systems in place, writing things down, and not relying on willpower can help you create powerful rituals for your life.

Cheat Sheet

Why Thanh’s rituals are non-negotiable, no matter what happens

What sleep debt is and why you should do everything you can to avoid it

The three key reasons rituals are better than habits

How triggers work and how you can leverage them to follow through on your rituals

Why the vague nature of habits makes them harder to stick

How ambiguity is the arch-enemy of action and how you can overcome it

How creating a backup plan can help you make sure you follow-through with your rituals

Why people are so good at lying to themselves and how to combat this

How writing down the steps you need to take will make it more likely that you achieve that action

How the systems framework of rituals makes them more effective than habits

How a step-by-step approach will make it much easier for you to get things done

Why Thanh doesn't rely on willpower (and what he does instead)

Links

Morning Ritual Starter Kit

TPS54: Rituals Over Habits

How to Stick to your Morning Ritual

 3 Ways Rituals are Difference from Habits

Contest Winners

Grand prize: ProteusFactor

Second prize: danielwroberson

Third prize: fitnowork, jcp543, Dsker42, robertjtighe, Thomastsai92

Because we only have your iTunes name, please email us at [email protected] to claim your prize. Note that additional verification may be required.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Zack chats with Kendra Wright about her awesome strategy for planning her week. This strategy will change the way you think about your calendar, helping you to fit in self-care and work and feel fulfilled during your week but not over-worked.

Cheat Sheet

Why Kendra’s way of planning her week is awesome and how you can apply it yourself

One easy method to help you remember more of your life and make the weeks stop flying by

The new priorities in Kendra’s life

How to build a bad-ass life without burning out

Ways you can actually make more money by doing less

How and why you should build self-care into your calendar

The benefits that come from setting a weekly appointment to plan your week with yourself

The 3 key zones of your life that you should assess during your weekly meeting

Step-by-step instructions to help you map out your week

Why the best thing you can do for your business is to take care of yourself first

How to fit fun events into your schedule so you don't miss out the things you really want to do

How to recover when things go wrong in your calendar

Links

HeyKendra.com

TPS69: Journaling w/ Kendra Wright

Kendra's awesome screencast

The Power of Full Engagement

Bonus heykendra.com/168

Included is:

A (5) min video of the Facebook hack

A (25) min video that covers the entire planning process

A cheatsheet/checklist of the process

Contest Winners

Grand prize: ProteusFactor

Second prize: danielwroberson

Third prize: fitnowork, jcp543, Dsker42, robertjtighe, Thomastsai92

Because we only have your iTunes name, please email us at [email protected] to claim your prize. Note that additional verification may be required.

Connect with Kendra Wright

@FreeHighFives

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Today we dive into the science of the brain, how to keep it healthy, and what you can do to make your brain more focused, alert, and productive. Dr. Andrew Hill, PhD is the Lead Neuroscientist at truBrain and founder of Peak Brain, and he discusses how your brain needs to be exercised, what foods and supplements support brain health, and the power of meditation.

Cheat Sheet

All about Dr. Andrew Hill's work at the intersection of mind and brain

What peak performance really means and how to achieve it

Why our ability to enhance plasticity in our brains is much broader than any of us know and how to do it effectively

The personal story of how Dr. Hill got interested in brains and science of the mind

Why our brain needs to be exercised and how to do it

How we can actually optimize our brains to perform better

How you can play to your strengths and change how your brain actually functions

How  to optimize your brain with sleep hacking and mindfulness practices

The many benefits of meditation and how it can improve your memory and other brain functions

Insights into what the research Dr. Hill has been doing on brain waves tells us about the mind

How you can locate someone simply by reading their brain waves

How neuro-feedback works and why the strategy is successful

Why forehead training is the least reliable way to train your brain

Dr. Andrew Hill's take on the “meditation” bands and other brain bands

How diet effects cognition and why low carb is brain-healthy

Why coffee is healthy for your brain

Links

truBrain.com (listen to the episode for the 25% discount code!)

PeakBrainInstitute.com (psst...there's another 25%-off code in the episode for Peak Brain)

TPS51: Executive Thinking w/ Jan Johnston-Tyler

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Dr. Andrew Hill's simple meditation practice

Headspace app

Labdoor - compare the best supplements online

Book, tool, ritual

Book: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey Schwartz MD and Sharon Begley

Tool: Insight Timer - Meditation Timer app

Ritual: Ashtanga yoga practice

Connect with Dr. Andrew Hill

@AndrewHillPhD

@PeakBrainLA

@truBrain

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

The 80/20 rule states that 80% of your output is going to come from only 20% of your input. So how do we make our input work harder for us to get more done in less time? By leveraging other people’s time. Time is our most valuable resource, and in this episode Zack discusses the two documents that can set your business up for success by putting your team in a position to make decisions, create processes, and free up more time for your most important work.

Cheat Sheet

Why time is the great limiting factor we are all bound by and what you can to maximize it

How to leverage other people’s time to make your organization or business more efficient and productive

What two documents are essential for the 80/20 rule to work

How to establish decision-making guidelines so your team can make progress without micromanagement

Why it is important to create documentation for creating documentation (and why we have an SOP on creating SOPs)

What SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are all about and why they are so important

How your values for your organization translate into your decision-making guidelines (and why that's a good thing)

How to implement these two essential documents so that you can start delegating (and your team can start winning)

Links

TPS65: Create Your Manifesto

TPS66: The Asian Efficiency Core Values

TPS28: Working the System w/ Sam Carpenter

Work the System by Sam Carpenter

Confluence

Asian Efficiency's Core Values

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Here at Asian Efficiency, we love rituals. Rituals help integrate productive actions into our lives in a systematized way, so that it becomes as natural as brushing your teeth. Whether you are new to rituals or are a rituals expert, you’ll find these seven unusual rituals to be helpful when crafting your own rituals for your life.

Cheat Sheet

Why we at Asian Efficiency like rituals so much

How one day of personal rest and renewal can be turned into one big ritual

The ritual Bill Gates uses to set the direction and focus of his company

Why you should take a week off every year to do self-development

The exercise rituals that Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin shared

How working on your most important task every single day can lead to major gains

How Seinfeld's “Don’t Break the Chain” method can help you get more done

How a ritual for separating work and personal life can make you more productive

What a side-hustle is and how you can use rituals to pursue it

The powerful ritual of Roald Dahl

Why Benjamin Franklin was the king of rituals and how he used them

Links

The AE Dojo

TPS46: The One Thing w/ Jay Papasan

Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson) by Robert Caro

Learn more about Roald Dahl

Daily Routines blog

TPS54: Rituals over Habits

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Zack chats with Asian Efficiency's resident email expert Mike Schmitz about checking email on your phone. We spend a lot time on our smart phones and far too much time processing email, and this episode will help you deal with it more efficiently. Learn how to boost your productivity with these email dos and don’ts as well as some great apps for processing email on your phone.

Cheat Sheet

The shocking amount of time people actually spend on their email every day

The real impact that checking email first thing in the morning has on your productivity

How the fear of missing out (FOMO) effects your email-checking habits

Why you should fight the tendency to check email all the time

How Mike was able to stop checking his email in the morning and the surprise impact it had

What “just checks” are and how they add up to hours and hours on our phone everyday

How we can unintentionally condition our brains to avoid deep work if we're not careful (and what we can do about it)

Why you should use pull instead of push notifications to do email on your terms

Why email apps on your phone can be effective when used appropriately (and how to do it)

Examples of things you can do when creating automated actions using email clients on iOS

The mobile email apps we use at Asian Efficiency

How to make mobile email processing fit in with your personal productivity system

Links

TPS16: Inbox Zero and Other Email Tactics to Spend Less Time in Your Inbox

TPS76: 8 Best Practices for Email

Productivity Blueprint

Shawn Blanc

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Dispatch

Airmail

Launch Center Pro

Spark Mail

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.

Zack and Thanh sit down to give listeners another “behind the scenes” look at what we are talking and thinking about within the Asian Efficiency team. In this conversation, Thanh discusses his Minimalist Luxury Lifestyle (MLL) idea that he has been developing and living for many years. Listen in to learn how to ditch your stuff and live a more minimalist life!

Cheat Sheet

Why having to leave the country forced Thanh to rethink his lifestyle

The story of how Asian Efficiency started

How and why he made the personal choice to get rid of a lot of clothes in a matter of months and what the surprise benefit was

How you can still have the finer things in life and stay a minimalist

How and why you should consider buying things using the “suitcase policy” criteria

The underlying philosophy behind “MLL” and what makes it worthwhile

The system that Thanh personally uses to avoid impulse buying

How to use the power of Amazon reviews (hint: it's all about knowing where to look)

How to start applying the MLL process in your own life

Why your stuff takes up mental space, and the process for starting to get rid of it

What Thanh learned along the way and why he would have started living a MLL way earlier if he could do it again

Why you might not understand the value of simplicity until you really experience it (and why you should do it anyway)

Links

Thanh's earlier blog post and video about MLL

TPS63: Behind the Scenes

Check out Courtney Carver

Tumi Alpha Knox Backpack

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Sticher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure. You can also leave a review! Here's how.