On this episode of Focused, Mike and I are joined by Cat Mulvihill to look at a frustrating productivity problem: having a good system and still not doing the work. Cat separates the reasons we get stuck into three categories, logical, biological, and psychological,…
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Focused 262: The Strategic Deployment of Friction
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I try to build a personal philosophy for when AI writing help makes you sharper and when it just makes you soft. In Deep Focus, Mike walks through hiring his first full-time virtual assistant. Episode Links How…
Listen & read notes →Focused 261: Metrics of Success
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I take apart our complicated relationship with measurement. We start with Goodhart’s Law, the idea that a number stops measuring the thing you cared about the moment it becomes the target, and follow that through law school…
Listen & read notes →A Productivity Tool Draft for Relay Members
If you’re a Relay Member, I recorded a bonus episode you might enjoy. It’s called “Intentional MPU, with Focus: A Productivity Tool Draft,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The hosts from Mac Power Users, Focused, and Intentional AI got in a room…
Listen & read notes →Focused 258: Defaults
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I dig into defaults, chronotype, and capacity. Three things that quietly shape how you work whether you pay attention to them or not. I talk about my practice of writing down my own belief systems, and what…
Listen & read notes →Focused 257: Stephen Robles
On this episode of Focused, I’m joined by Mike and our guest Stephen Robles, the new co-host of Mac Power Users who went fully independent last October. Stephen makes the case for the generalist, the person who’s good at a lot of things instead…
Listen & read notes →Mike Schmitz’s New Ideal Week Builder
Mike Schmitz shipped a free web tool for designing an ideal week template, and it is pretty clever. The interface is a calendar grid. You drag blocks for your work hours, deep work, family time, exercise, whatever modes matter to you. You color them.…
Listen & read notes →Focused 256: Time Architecture
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I pick up where we left off in episode 250 and dig into the part of weekly planning that breaks for most people. Mike argues you should build your week around modes and roles, not triage tasks…
Listen & read notes →Focused 255: Feedback
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I work through a batch of listener questions on burnout. Can a hobby burn out the same way work can? What do you do with the guilt of slowing down? We also get into Joan Westenberg’s essay…
Listen & read notes →Focused 252: Donkey Work
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I dig into an idea we’re calling “donkey work.” It’s the stuff that has to get done but doesn’t require your best creative thinking. Invoicing, email triage, file management, scheduling. The question is whether AI assistants can…
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