Overcoming Your Own Productivity System - ProductivityCast

017 Overcoming Your Own Productivity System – ProductivityCast

Ray starts out most productivity seminars with a fundamental definition of a productivity system: a dynamic set of skills, strategies and tools, that you adapt as your life circumstances change. And, as you’ll hear from Francis in this episode, you have the system that usually developed organically, not out of planning necessarily. So, in many ways, you need to overcome your own productivity system that developed to a productivity system that you have built to match your needs and wants today.

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In this Cast

Ray Sidney-Smith

Augusto Pinaud

Francis Wade

Show Notes

Resources we mention, including links to them will be provided here. Please listen to the episode for context.

Evernote

OmniFocus 2

3 Superpowers you need to survive improvement fatigue by Francis Wade

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, Revised & Updated Edition by Peter Senge

Raw Text Transcript

Raw, unedited and machine-produced text transcript so there may be substantial errors, but you can search for specific points in the episode to jump to, or to reference back to at a later date and time, by keywords or key phrases. The time coding is h:mm:ss.ms to h:mm:ss.ms (e.g., 0:00:00.000,0:00:04.000 starts at 0.00 seconds and ends at 4 seconds in the cast’s audio).

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are you ready to manage your work and

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personal world better to live a

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fulfilling productive life then you’ve

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come to the right place

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productivity cast the weekly show about

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all things productivity here are your

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hosts Ray Sidney-Smith and Augusto

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Pinaud, Francis Wade and Art Gelwicks welcome

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back to another episode of productivity

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cast the weekly show about all things

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personal productivity I’m Ray Sidney-Smith

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and I am joined here today by

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Augusto Pinaud and Francis Wade how’s it

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going guys great wonderful wonderful

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today we are going to be talking about

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overcoming your own productivity system

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and while that might sound a little

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vague we will explain to you what we are

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talking about very shortly and to do

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that what I’m going to do is I’m gonna

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pass the baton the microphone virtually

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to Francis Francis if you want to

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explain to us a little bit about what it

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means to overcome your own productivity

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system in the context of what you have

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written about in the past which is this

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idea that you have the system you

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deserve could you explain that a little

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bit to folks so that they can understand

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what that really means in terms of

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having the system

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you deserve it sounds terrible there

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might be there’s a responsibility issue

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it’s not blame its responsibility okay

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that’s much better thank you for

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cleaning that up but you know before the

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call Augusto said it well that everyone

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has a system and that system was was it

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didn’t just were born with it obviously

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it’s something that we developed in

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somewhere in our adolescent or teens so

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we we have a way of managing tasks

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managing our time working with our

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calendar if we have one each person has

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their own sort of idiosyncratic home

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brew of techniques and tools and apps

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and devices and and whatnot and it was

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not developed in a vacuum it was

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specifically put together to solve re

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solve a problem that we had at some

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point and what happens over time I think

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is that

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I’ve changes on us and you know we we

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grow up we get married we have kids we

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get a job we got a bigger job we get

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projects we pick up pastimes we get

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involved in our communities we become a

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deacon at church you know all these

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things happen and we’re using the system

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that the same system the same put

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together homebrew of all the things I

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mentioned that we had when we were 18

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and then we have a problem so we we put

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together this nice solution and we

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deserved it and it worked for us and we

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were really happy and then life changed

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and no we’re experiencing all of these

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weird symptoms because there’s no longer

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a fit is that making sense absolutely

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absolutely and and so I wanted to I

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wanted to very just briefly explain to

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listeners how I define a system a

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productivity system specifically and and

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I think it’s important for us all to

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sort of have at least a working

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definition of what system means to one’s

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self and so everyone might find this to

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be a little bit different and that’s

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okay you know I see systems as being the

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skills strategies and tools that you use

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and that change over time to match the

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needs of your of your productive life

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and that is I think that goes to the

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heart of what Francis is talking about

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here when it comes to being overcome by

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your own productivity system because it

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hasn’t been looked at in terms of the

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issues that our faith that you’re facing

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in life today as opposed to the issues

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that you faced as you developed those

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skills you know it’s funny in the in

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business you know I’m as a management

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consultant I typically see people coming

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into the world saying well I want to

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develop our business and you know this

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is the way I want to shape our brand our

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business is brand and frequently you

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know as I deal with primarily small

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business owners you know I have to

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explain to them you know if you have you

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if you’ve come to me and you’ve been

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running the business first for a while

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you already have a brand

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you know the brand has been developed

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for you and now it’s a matter of

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attempting to steer that that ship in a

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new direction but you know as anybody

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knows steering a ship is not a let’s

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turn right let’s turn left it’s an

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incremental approach and so I think

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especially when it will only start

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talking about systems and and changing

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systems know that this is not a change

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overnight kind of thing so so you have

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to really steer that ship in in small

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increments back toward the direction

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that you want it to go in

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augusto I wanted I want to hear a little

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bit of from you about this concept and

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your thoughts in terms of you have the

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system you deserve do you do agree

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disagree I said on the pre-show that I’m

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going to be offended by that comment so

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but in a more serious note you know as

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much as it sounds when when you listen

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it that way it sounds like hey that’s

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kind of rude you know in a way it’s also

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true because there is a couple of things

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that happen you know as Francis

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described you tend to look for a system

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for a specific reason you got a

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promotion you got a job you want to grow

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in your job you’re simply overwhelming

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the current conditions so you find a

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system that start solving then may your

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point or the major pain points until you

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get to a certain flow and when you get

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to that certain flow then unreduced they

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overwhelm and feel like you’re starting

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to move forward and you are efficient

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and your move and do all those things

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start all those good things you start

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happening then the first thing most

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people tend to do is oh oh now I can

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grab more you know like I for years be

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laughing about this and I wish to tell

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you that I don’t do it but I’m the first

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one who do this and I call this the

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invisible problem of productivity the

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invisible problem productivity is right

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now things are not working so you go and

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look for a system you revamped your

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system make it work

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all that overwhelmed overworked star

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disappearing and then the next thing we

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tend to do is poke let’s add more work

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because now I have time well let’s let’s

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get more responsibility so let’s get

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more projects and then you go back to

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overwhelm and and all that and in a way

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that where you start having that system

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to do the serve because a few get rid of

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the overworld village and you start

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being more productive and more effective

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and more efficient understanding that

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the three things are different and you

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start adding new responsibilities and

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new projects and new ideas you don’t

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tend to look at the system and say okay

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fine I’m going to add this project but

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what this project is going to mean to my

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current productivity system you just

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assume and we all assume that you have

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created unambitious on the invincible

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state but will be able to take anything

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that you theorized and what we tend to

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do is increase and in many cases break

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the system go back to where we were was

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just now we have 20 more projects than

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what we had before all this started as a

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cigarettes I can so relate but it’s not

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actually not in the area of productivity

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but in Fitness so you know as you get

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older you well I’ll say for me maybe you

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guys are different but hey I’m no 51 yes

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51 in denial when you said when we as we

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get older the first comment that came to

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my mind watch the truth right so this

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year my my fitness has has dropped I

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compared to what I was in my 40s and my

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thirties I was doing triathlons I didn’t

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have all kinds of stuff and I had a six

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day a week schedule it cut back a little

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bit to five but I said oh that’s because

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of work and then this year I’ve just

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seen myself I go on these group rides

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go rides with you know 20 other guys and

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all of a sudden I’m in the back and I

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don’t know why and I tried I’m trying

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all of my old tricks to get fitter to

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get back to the fitness that I had and

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to not have it hurt as much the next day

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and nothing I’m doing is working I was

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on ride yesterday and I’m in the back

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leg with a guy who’s 20 years older than

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I am and the two of us are in the back

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and he’s faster than I am I’m sucking

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wind right and I have no idea at some

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I’m know at least exiting denial because

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I’ve been in denial for a while no as

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far as I know I haven’t changed but the

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truth of it is if I were to stop denying

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it something has changed and what’s

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changed is that a gun order and

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everything that guy’s told me would

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happen and I used to look at them and

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say you know I’m so sorry for them it’s

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not happening to me in that my recovery

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is taking longer everything hurts twice

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as much I can’t exercise as hard as I

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used to without paying a huge price I’ve

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cut back to four days a week what I used

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to do six so all these things that they

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used to I used to look at them and pity

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them I’m know happening to me and I’m I

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am I’m just like I said I’m just exiting

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denial I think most people just you know

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they start to see some symptoms and then

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it takes something to push them into

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reality from that this is not happening

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I don’t know that’s just it just hit me

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as a perfect analogy that my my health

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my fitness is good undergoing this

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challenge and every know what to do

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about it well the the the interesting

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thing about your analogy is I think that

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it actually works to show how most

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people think about their productivity

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systems which is as this static set of

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tools and this ever available pool of

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resources and just like your age married

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to your health it doesn’t necessarily

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mean that as you age you are going to

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become less active and fit you know

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there are probably many different

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complex competing priorities you know

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there there are you know the comply

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city of priorities that are that are

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competing for your attention health and

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and doing this this type of fitness

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stuff may or may not be related I don’t

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know but what I do know is that for most

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people they associate the symptoms of of

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what’s happening to their productivity

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system that is what’s happening to their

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their productive output as the as sort

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of the first sign that there’s something

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wrong with their productivity system and

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I actually fundamentally disagree with

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using that as the metric for changing

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updating and maintaining your

0:11:40.740,0:11:46.050
productivity system you know I go back

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to this idea that there we have various

0:11:46.050,0:11:52.590
life changes that happen and whenever

0:11:48.900,0:11:54.300
those life changes happen you must you

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you must look at your productivity

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system and so the life changes are you

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know it could be the birth of a child it

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could be death of a family member it

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could be changing a job changing homes

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you know any of those substantial life

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changes and even some non substantial

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life changes right very very small

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things like changing the type of car you

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own right or we’re giving up a car right

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because you’ve moved to an urban

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environment no longer need a vehicle I

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did that many years ago and lives car

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free because I was in an urban

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environment and I had owned a car for

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the better part of a decade and a half

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and I recognized I literally never drive

0:12:32.190,0:12:38.310
my car and so at that time you know I

0:12:35.250,0:12:40.440
chose to give up my car and that really

0:12:38.310,0:12:42.930
affects your productivity system right

0:12:40.440,0:12:46.470
because now going to get groceries means

0:12:42.930,0:12:49.230
that I need to go grab a sub car or you

0:12:46.470,0:12:52.860
know carry groceries many many blocks

0:12:49.230,0:12:55.700
from the grocery store to my my home so

0:12:52.860,0:12:58.560
it ended up creating these downstream

0:12:55.700,0:13:01.260
effects I would not have anticipated had

0:12:58.560,0:13:03.090
I not said okay this seems like a minor

0:13:01.260,0:13:05.160
change but it’s actually it’s actually

0:13:03.090,0:13:08.430
gonna affect me much more than I thought

0:13:05.160,0:13:13.380
every time I move I I stopped taking out

0:13:08.430,0:13:16.080
the garbage you know why you don’t know

0:13:13.380,0:13:21.510
where the what the garbage pickup

0:13:16.080,0:13:25.040
so yeah I wish it were that right giving

0:13:21.510,0:13:27.570
you the benefit of the doubt thank you

0:13:25.040,0:13:28.950
so Mike one of the futures I have

0:13:27.570,0:13:31.170
according to my wife is to take out the

0:13:28.950,0:13:33.779
garbage that whenever we move for about

0:13:31.170,0:13:35.820
six months I can’t take out the garbage

0:13:33.779,0:13:39.209
that all it is is just that the the

0:13:35.820,0:13:41.790
physical environment has changed so the

0:13:39.209,0:13:43.230
the habits that I had that used to

0:13:41.790,0:13:45.390
correspond to the physical environment

0:13:43.230,0:13:48.180
like take out the garbage before you go

0:13:45.390,0:13:50.850
to bed at night when I move something

0:13:48.180,0:13:53.490
changes and it takes me about six months

0:13:50.850,0:13:54.209
to get back into the habit of taking out

0:13:53.490,0:13:57.120
the garbage

0:13:54.209,0:13:58.500
at the appropriate time but that makes

0:13:57.120,0:14:00.149
that say I used to take out the garbage

0:13:58.500,0:14:01.440
where I used to live just before going

0:14:00.149,0:14:03.870
to bed at night and I had to have it

0:14:01.440,0:14:05.730
done and I could never forget but then

0:14:03.870,0:14:07.200
we moved to sort a place where you

0:14:05.730,0:14:09.690
couldn’t take out the garbage at night

0:14:07.200,0:14:12.990
yeah I’d take it out in the morning that

0:14:09.690,0:14:16.230
took six months so just a small change

0:14:12.990,0:14:19.230
in physical environment can cause

0:14:16.230,0:14:22.470
certain productivity habits to disappear

0:14:19.230,0:14:26.670
or go away or all of a sudden render me

0:14:22.470,0:14:28.020
incapable I’ve noticed oh I totally I

0:14:26.670,0:14:31.140
can totally understand that you know

0:14:28.020,0:14:35.010
minor minor life events are also

0:14:31.140,0:14:38.040
inherently stressful and they contribute

0:14:35.010,0:14:40.950
to you know people’s overall health and

0:14:38.040,0:14:45.779
well-being how am i how is my system how

0:14:40.950,0:14:48.600
am I going to respond to the change and

0:14:45.779,0:14:50.820
that could be any number of things and

0:14:48.600,0:14:52.560
they could be positive and negative some

0:14:50.820,0:14:55.380
of the most stressful life events are

0:14:52.560,0:14:58.290
innately positive having children

0:14:55.380,0:15:00.930
getting married buying a new home these

0:14:58.290,0:15:03.180
are not non stressful things right

0:15:00.930,0:15:05.610
they’re very very stressful moving you

0:15:03.180,0:15:07.440
know cross-country for a new job getting

0:15:05.610,0:15:09.420
a new job getting a promotion all of

0:15:07.440,0:15:12.899
these things can be inherently positive

0:15:09.420,0:15:16.380
are inherently positive are inherently

0:15:12.899,0:15:20.550
very stressful and people do them all

0:15:16.380,0:15:22.410
the time and that’s okay and just think

0:15:20.550,0:15:24.270
about the last time you did one of those

0:15:22.410,0:15:26.640
things and house how much stress you

0:15:24.270,0:15:28.829
went through through that think about

0:15:26.640,0:15:29.360
that on the opposite side if you have a

0:15:28.829,0:15:32.360
do

0:15:29.360,0:15:34.309
or if you have some you know someone

0:15:32.360,0:15:37.220
going to jail and your family for some

0:15:34.309,0:15:39.439
reason or a lawsuit is filed against

0:15:37.220,0:15:40.699
someone a family members company or

0:15:39.439,0:15:43.850
something like that you know all of

0:15:40.699,0:15:46.279
those things become a magnitude higher

0:15:43.850,0:15:48.079
of stressful and you know they become so

0:15:46.279,0:15:50.660
distressing that illness can set in and

0:15:48.079,0:15:53.049
all those other things so that’s a I

0:15:50.660,0:15:55.279
think all of those are you know feeling

0:15:53.049,0:15:57.499
you shouldn’t have to worry about those

0:15:55.279,0:16:01.160
things necessarily but you should know

0:15:57.499,0:16:05.139
how your system needs to change to deal

0:16:01.160,0:16:08.839
with changes in your world environment

0:16:05.139,0:16:11.509
but we discussed you know larger change

0:16:08.839,0:16:13.850
those larger change effect no question

0:16:11.509,0:16:17.720
about it and change things but sometimes

0:16:13.850,0:16:19.939
it’s not always so it’s not always the

0:16:17.720,0:16:22.279
big change sometimes as little please

0:16:19.939,0:16:26.389
you know sometimes you think you just

0:16:22.279,0:16:28.910
got a new responsibility at work that it

0:16:26.389,0:16:31.009
seems well now in the biggest scheme of

0:16:28.910,0:16:33.799
things you know it’s not going to affect

0:16:31.009,0:16:37.489
anything but it changed certain things

0:16:33.799,0:16:39.439
from the routine or hey your kid now is

0:16:37.489,0:16:41.149
going to start doing swimming lessons

0:16:39.439,0:16:45.230
well you know it’s an hour a week how

0:16:41.149,0:16:48.589
much that can affect well we tend to on

0:16:45.230,0:16:50.230
big things when we move when we notice

0:16:48.589,0:16:52.610
the big things we are discussing

0:16:50.230,0:16:55.100
sometimes people have an easier time

0:16:52.610,0:16:58.489
understanding oh well I move oh I have a

0:16:55.100,0:17:02.660
big promotion oh well I know bad things

0:16:58.489,0:17:05.959
happened when and then it’s easier to

0:17:02.660,0:17:08.389
identify that I mean a change need to be

0:17:05.959,0:17:12.079
done on their productivity system but I

0:17:08.389,0:17:15.559
think more often than not the problems

0:17:12.079,0:17:18.069
come on the little things because the

0:17:15.559,0:17:20.959
little things can for a really long time

0:17:18.069,0:17:23.539
get into your system and your system may

0:17:20.959,0:17:26.839
be able put into to take it and to make

0:17:23.539,0:17:28.789
to make it work not as well as it was

0:17:26.839,0:17:31.990
working but it will make it work and

0:17:28.789,0:17:34.669
then you get used to the system being

0:17:31.990,0:17:37.299
less effective but it’s still working

0:17:34.669,0:17:40.399
and it’s not until the system is

0:17:37.299,0:17:42.080
completely broke that you notice call

0:17:40.399,0:17:43.310
what happened here I had a fantastic

0:17:42.080,0:17:45.830
system

0:17:43.310,0:17:48.530
and I don’t never know how it got broke

0:17:45.830,0:17:50.420
because what you are going to see when

0:17:48.530,0:17:52.400
you ask the people is well what happened

0:17:50.420,0:17:55.310
well I just add that I now go to the gym

0:17:52.400,0:17:57.890
twice a week just that true that’s the

0:17:55.310,0:18:00.680
last thing we did but you did 9 or 10

0:17:57.890,0:18:03.560
minute changes in the way that you never

0:18:00.680,0:18:05.270
took into consideration how dad was

0:18:03.560,0:18:08.810
going to affect your current

0:18:05.270,0:18:12.290
productivity system yep its death by a

0:18:08.810,0:18:13.910
thousand paper cuts right it’s a it’s

0:18:12.290,0:18:15.320
that first paper cut that doesn’t seem

0:18:13.910,0:18:21.650
to bother you and then all of a sudden

0:18:15.320,0:18:24.650
you’re bleeding out so they said it’s so

0:18:21.650,0:18:26.030
important though it’s it’s that we we

0:18:24.650,0:18:29.510
have this propensity to make ourselves

0:18:26.030,0:18:32.810
wrong which so we don’t we don’t hold

0:18:29.510,0:18:34.910
these the thousand paper cuts in context

0:18:32.810,0:18:38.750
and we don’t see that they’re just a

0:18:34.910,0:18:42.290
part of the cut and thrust of life we we

0:18:38.750,0:18:46.610
turn it into this self blame game

0:18:42.290,0:18:48.380
where we we see that we must be the

0:18:46.610,0:18:50.780
problem and we’re procrastinating and

0:18:48.380,0:18:54.100
we’re not doing the right things and

0:18:50.780,0:18:57.470
somehow it turns into this kind of nasty

0:18:54.100,0:18:59.150
blame self blame game we sometimes

0:18:57.470,0:19:01.640
convince ourselves that it’s because

0:18:59.150,0:19:03.950
we’re we procrastinate too much because

0:19:01.640,0:19:05.540
we’re not diligent we’re lazy or you

0:19:03.950,0:19:08.720
know some old tips from when we were

0:19:05.540,0:19:11.360
kids start to play again like it’s not

0:19:08.720,0:19:15.560
and we don’t hold we don’t hold these

0:19:11.360,0:19:17.330
sort of issues as if they are just the

0:19:15.560,0:19:19.610
good story sort of playing out it’s just

0:19:17.330,0:19:22.010
a part of life you know small things big

0:19:19.610,0:19:24.260
things they all affect our productivity

0:19:22.010,0:19:25.730
systems and they’re to be expected if

0:19:24.260,0:19:28.340
you’re living it means that you’re gonna

0:19:25.730,0:19:30.050
be you’re gonna have these things happen

0:19:28.340,0:19:33.140
in life and they’re gonna affect your

0:19:30.050,0:19:34.900
system and guess what you’re alive and

0:19:33.140,0:19:37.580
this is what it means to be human and

0:19:34.900,0:19:40.190
making yourself wrong is the water so

0:19:37.580,0:19:43.010
you know we we productivity types we we

0:19:40.190,0:19:45.020
guys who put our content you know we’re

0:19:43.010,0:19:48.320
sometimes I’m gonna accuse us or

0:19:45.020,0:19:51.470
sometimes being the worst of the

0:19:48.320,0:19:54.350
instigators because we sometimes softly

0:19:51.470,0:19:56.659
or overtly tell people I’ll use your

0:19:54.350,0:19:59.570
analogy of gusto

0:19:56.659,0:20:02.419
that if your donkey isn’t taking you as

0:19:59.570,0:20:04.519
fast as it used to where you need to go

0:20:02.419,0:20:10.789
then you need to beat that donkey harder

0:20:04.519,0:20:13.389
and sometimes that’s just not true so

0:20:10.789,0:20:18.889
you know I’m visiting some forums

0:20:13.389,0:20:22.190
recently I I mentioned it’s the GTD

0:20:18.889,0:20:24.950
forums and the people come in with

0:20:22.190,0:20:26.239
questions and I’ve been visiting long

0:20:24.950,0:20:31.340
enough that I can kind of predict the

0:20:26.239,0:20:32.899
answer the answer is do more GTD answer

0:20:31.340,0:20:35.720
is oh you’re not applying it correctly

0:20:32.899,0:20:37.159
oh you need to do more of this thing

0:20:35.720,0:20:37.940
that’s in the book oh you don’t

0:20:37.159,0:20:40.220
understand

0:20:37.940,0:20:43.989
you need to do this thing instead and I

0:20:40.220,0:20:47.330
think we all we all do this this kind of

0:20:43.989,0:20:51.289
game as people who share content that if

0:20:47.330,0:20:53.869
it’s not working you need to do you the

0:20:51.289,0:20:57.169
listener or the user or the readers you

0:20:53.869,0:21:00.769
need to do better following so we train

0:20:57.169,0:21:03.379
our followers to follow and we tell them

0:21:00.769,0:21:05.690
to follow harder if it’s not working

0:21:03.379,0:21:08.269
what we should be really doing is

0:21:05.690,0:21:12.379
teaching them to be almost like better

0:21:08.269,0:21:15.349
detectives which is to to notice the

0:21:12.379,0:21:18.739
problem at a deeper level and figure out

0:21:15.349,0:21:20.210
why it’s why it’s why for first tell the

0:21:18.739,0:21:23.539
truth that it is there don’t make

0:21:20.210,0:21:25.460
yourself wrong and then figure out why

0:21:23.539,0:21:27.649
it’s there in the first place I think

0:21:25.460,0:21:30.309
there’s a I think overall the energy is

0:21:27.649,0:21:33.769
shifting away from following any way to

0:21:30.309,0:21:37.009
becoming a better sort of discerner of

0:21:33.769,0:21:40.249
my own problem and how it shows up for

0:21:37.009,0:21:42.229
me in my unique space I think the energy

0:21:40.249,0:21:46.820
is shifting from the one to the other

0:21:42.229,0:21:48.859
with a part of the problem in a way of

0:21:46.820,0:21:52.249
not having people shift as fast as they

0:21:48.859,0:21:54.889
can to becoming better detectives kind

0:21:52.249,0:21:57.710
of like a Sherlock Holmes about yourself

0:21:54.889,0:21:59.450
I know what you guys think I think

0:21:57.710,0:22:01.639
there’s there’s an analogy here that I

0:21:59.450,0:22:04.159
use in my own coaching and training

0:22:01.639,0:22:07.220
which is to tell people that they become

0:22:04.159,0:22:10.279
productivity scientists so I’m gonna I’m

0:22:07.220,0:22:11.040
going to I’m going to object leaden I

0:22:10.279,0:22:12.490
respond

0:22:11.040,0:22:16.070
ability to what you’re talking about

0:22:12.490,0:22:20.400
[Laughter]

0:22:16.070,0:22:23.250
only because I really had a meeting with

0:22:20.400,0:22:25.620
with some higher-ups who who told me

0:22:23.250,0:22:27.900
that I was I was uniquely different than

0:22:25.620,0:22:30.780
everybody else like me in my own world

0:22:27.900,0:22:33.240
and and I appreciated that actually it

0:22:30.780,0:22:35.250
was it was a very nice compliment in the

0:22:33.240,0:22:38.250
sense that I don’t see the world the

0:22:35.250,0:22:40.890
same way so many of my peers do and that

0:22:38.250,0:22:44.910
is one of those ways I I look at people

0:22:40.890,0:22:47.250
as scientists experimenting and I like

0:22:44.910,0:22:50.280
your detective analogy coming from law

0:22:47.250,0:22:52.530
enforcement family and and so you know

0:22:50.280,0:22:55.290
the the reality though is that every

0:22:52.530,0:22:56.910
every person becomes a scientist when

0:22:55.290,0:22:58.890
they look at their productivity system

0:22:56.910,0:23:00.900
you need to understand the elements of

0:22:58.890,0:23:02.940
the system what are the components that

0:23:00.900,0:23:05.130
make up your system those skills that

0:23:02.940,0:23:08.370
you have whether they be hard skills or

0:23:05.130,0:23:10.890
soft skills that the the tools that you

0:23:08.370,0:23:12.810
have summoned you know to your to your

0:23:10.890,0:23:15.750
resources and the strategies that you

0:23:12.810,0:23:18.540
use to to implement both the skills and

0:23:15.750,0:23:19.530
the tools and so as long as you

0:23:18.540,0:23:21.180
understand they’re not static

0:23:19.530,0:23:24.180
these are ever-changing depending upon

0:23:21.180,0:23:26.610
the the nature of your world then then

0:23:24.180,0:23:29.820
you as a scientist can create these

0:23:26.610,0:23:31.740
experiments identify things the

0:23:29.820,0:23:35.570
variables right the skill strategies and

0:23:31.740,0:23:38.070
tools and then go ahead and and test

0:23:35.570,0:23:40.500
against these hypotheses that you might

0:23:38.070,0:23:42.600
develop to say okay I will be more

0:23:40.500,0:23:45.510
productive if I invest in this habit and

0:23:42.600,0:23:47.850
if it doesn’t work out well fine that’s

0:23:45.510,0:23:49.980
now you can be a stoic about it you

0:23:47.850,0:23:54.660
don’t have to emotionally respond as

0:23:49.980,0:23:56.370
hard or as as vehemently to the fact

0:23:54.660,0:23:58.740
that this thing is not working for you

0:23:56.370,0:24:00.930
you can change and I think that the

0:23:58.740,0:24:03.480
ability to move with the cheese sort of

0:24:00.930,0:24:06.960
so to speak dr. Spencer Johnson you can

0:24:03.480,0:24:08.550
then change the experiment and move in a

0:24:06.960,0:24:10.740
different direction and I think that a

0:24:08.550,0:24:13.830
lot of people get so stuck in their ways

0:24:10.740,0:24:15.480
with regard to one specific tool or one

0:24:13.830,0:24:17.580
specific methodology that they’ve been

0:24:15.480,0:24:19.890
using and life circumstances have

0:24:17.580,0:24:22.020
changed and therefore they they get

0:24:19.890,0:24:23.370
stuck in a rut right and we we all know

0:24:22.020,0:24:24.909
what it’s like to be stuck in that rut

0:24:23.370,0:24:28.359
so my thoughts

0:24:24.909,0:24:31.539
here really Center on the idea of being

0:24:28.359,0:24:34.389
nimble and flexible and adaptable to or

0:24:31.539,0:24:36.899
adaptive to the the range of

0:24:34.389,0:24:39.489
possibilities so that you can experiment

0:24:36.899,0:24:42.399
so that you can figure out which one’s

0:24:39.489,0:24:45.279
fit your life at this time at this

0:24:42.399,0:24:47.470
moment in time not not forever because

0:24:45.279,0:24:50.289
you know forever will never come the

0:24:47.470,0:24:51.970
idea is for it needs to work now and and

0:24:50.289,0:24:53.710
that might be semi-permanent right you

0:24:51.970,0:24:55.840
might use it until it stops working for

0:24:53.710,0:24:58.629
you but I would much rather you be

0:24:55.840,0:25:00.399
proactive truly proactive here which is

0:24:58.629,0:25:02.739
to look at life changes as they’re

0:25:00.399,0:25:04.269
happening and then immediately do the

0:25:02.739,0:25:07.479
opéra you know use that as an

0:25:04.269,0:25:09.369
opportunity to assess and whether you’re

0:25:07.479,0:25:13.659
going to then maintain or change the

0:25:09.369,0:25:15.580
system to suit your future needs yes you

0:25:13.659,0:25:19.450
need to the system in order to the

0:25:15.580,0:25:22.509
system to to be effective and this has

0:25:19.450,0:25:24.789
been a hard thing for me to learn I had

0:25:22.509,0:25:27.039
special at the beginning I tend to think

0:25:24.789,0:25:30.970
oh well if I said the system the system

0:25:27.039,0:25:33.399
may survive and my experience has been

0:25:30.970,0:25:36.070
exactly the offices in order for the

0:25:33.399,0:25:39.820
system to survive I need to be

0:25:36.070,0:25:43.179
constantly monitoring his health and his

0:25:39.820,0:25:45.659
effectiveness level in order to to

0:25:43.179,0:25:49.210
really be effective and to really keep

0:25:45.659,0:25:50.859
moving moving at that other than that we

0:25:49.210,0:25:56.200
got into the college we are being

0:25:50.859,0:25:59.830
talking so I want us to switch gears

0:25:56.200,0:26:02.919
into our third segment by talking about

0:25:59.830,0:26:05.619
the idea of of unearthing the cause of

0:26:02.919,0:26:07.690
the system failure if we’re if we’re

0:26:05.619,0:26:11.200
gonna unearth the cause of the system

0:26:07.690,0:26:14.349
failure and apply new methods into our

0:26:11.200,0:26:16.869
worlds how do we do that if we’re if we

0:26:14.349,0:26:18.489
haven’t been operating under my ideal

0:26:16.869,0:26:21.970
practice right which is to say that

0:26:18.489,0:26:24.820
you’re monitoring life changes minor and

0:26:21.970,0:26:27.999
major and maintaining your system by

0:26:24.820,0:26:29.710
modifying it adapting as necessary let’s

0:26:27.999,0:26:33.999
presume that that’s not happening and

0:26:29.710,0:26:36.190
you do become overwhelmed or overcome by

0:26:33.999,0:26:37.779
your own creativity system how do you

0:26:36.190,0:26:38.320
how do you identify the cause of the

0:26:37.779,0:26:42.280
system

0:26:38.320,0:26:46.210
and how do you go ahead and identify and

0:26:42.280,0:26:47.890
apply new methods you said you said it

0:26:46.210,0:26:49.300
you said I wrote down what you said I

0:26:47.890,0:26:51.730
typed it didn’t even I was like what

0:26:49.300,0:26:54.160
what race brilliance productivity

0:26:51.730,0:26:56.920
scientists doing experiments and

0:26:54.160,0:27:01.360
hypothesis testing that’s really the

0:26:56.920,0:27:05.140
only the only way to get at the cause

0:27:01.360,0:27:07.750
because even if even if you take someone

0:27:05.140,0:27:10.240
else’s reasoning and they tell you oh

0:27:07.750,0:27:11.740
this is the cause you still have to do

0:27:10.240,0:27:13.750
the testing for yourself because we’re

0:27:11.740,0:27:16.420
not all the same we’re we’re we’re all

0:27:13.750,0:27:17.890
different you need to you need to have

0:27:16.420,0:27:21.550
to find out what the cause is for you

0:27:17.890,0:27:23.440
the the problem though if if we have

0:27:21.550,0:27:28.540
that approach in hand as you suggested

0:27:23.440,0:27:31.570
is where do you practically start in the

0:27:28.540,0:27:34.150
real world do you check do you read 50

0:27:31.570,0:27:36.010
blog posts or do you read one of these

0:27:34.150,0:27:37.420
blog posts that says here are the 100

0:27:36.010,0:27:39.880
tips that would make you effective and

0:27:37.420,0:27:45.640
you find the one tip do you read ten

0:27:39.880,0:27:48.670
books do you read 500 tweets the right

0:27:45.640,0:27:51.730
now where we’re dealing with let’s call

0:27:48.670,0:27:54.220
it infamy improvement overload that we

0:27:51.730,0:27:57.820
are as a sort of an internet driven

0:27:54.220,0:27:59.710
world or set of professionals overloaded

0:27:57.820,0:28:02.980
by the number of possible improvements

0:27:59.710,0:28:05.230
we can make and the number of people

0:28:02.980,0:28:08.340
like us who are suggesting that you make

0:28:05.230,0:28:10.300
improvements and it’s a tsunami of

0:28:08.340,0:28:13.870
suggestions coming from all directions

0:28:10.300,0:28:16.990
and what the individual needs to do in

0:28:13.870,0:28:20.110
order to get to do the right testing is

0:28:16.990,0:28:22.360
do some have some kind of working

0:28:20.110,0:28:24.880
knowledge of their system so that you

0:28:22.360,0:28:26.560
narrow down the choices so if for

0:28:24.880,0:28:29.230
example if you’re running find yourself

0:28:26.560,0:28:32.230
all of a sudden you’re running late now

0:28:29.230,0:28:35.410
we could have 10 podcasts on all of the

0:28:32.230,0:28:37.510
possible causes for why someone would

0:28:35.410,0:28:40.930
start running late whereas before they

0:28:37.510,0:28:43.900
never used them but they need however is

0:28:40.930,0:28:45.790
not to listen to all 10 podcasts they

0:28:43.900,0:28:48.220
need a sort of working working

0:28:45.790,0:28:51.250
understanding of how their own system

0:28:48.220,0:28:52.080
works so that they can diagnose it and

0:28:51.250,0:28:54.360
know

0:28:52.080,0:28:58.140
to the root cause in a half an OLE as

0:28:54.360,0:29:00.899
opposed to ten podcasts what I just

0:28:58.140,0:29:05.159
described as far as I know doesn’t

0:29:00.899,0:29:09.779
really exist we don’t have a great

0:29:05.159,0:29:12.929
system for collating content and for

0:29:09.779,0:29:15.260
analyzing our own system if people did

0:29:12.929,0:29:17.789
it would be as easy as going into the

0:29:15.260,0:29:19.590
mechanic and you know having him listen

0:29:17.789,0:29:21.840
to your car and figure out what the

0:29:19.590,0:29:23.279
problem is in five minutes we don’t have

0:29:21.840,0:29:26.130
the equivalent of that level of

0:29:23.279,0:29:28.350
knowledge so people end up wasting and

0:29:26.130,0:29:30.659
spending a lot of time trying to go

0:29:28.350,0:29:33.330
through a lot of sources to find the

0:29:30.659,0:29:34.919
lives of 5% that would would make the

0:29:33.330,0:29:38.340
biggest difference I think this is a

0:29:34.919,0:29:40.980
problem that is is is it’s big and it’s

0:29:38.340,0:29:43.049
growing and there’s not a lot of people

0:29:40.980,0:29:46.799
talking about what we’re talking about

0:29:43.049,0:29:48.480
which is finding a solution you know

0:29:46.799,0:29:51.149
what one of the things that comes to

0:29:48.480,0:29:54.659
mind is I like to do a systems

0:29:51.149,0:29:57.389
assessment with clients and what that

0:29:54.659,0:29:59.880
means is I actually go through the

0:29:57.389,0:30:02.639
variety of systems they have in place

0:29:59.880,0:30:04.169
and this helps us understand the systems

0:30:02.639,0:30:05.370
that are working and the systems that

0:30:04.169,0:30:07.260
are not because if you really think

0:30:05.370,0:30:09.240
about if you want to call it a

0:30:07.260,0:30:12.299
productivity system really what that

0:30:09.240,0:30:15.389
means is a system of systems because our

0:30:12.299,0:30:19.620
output is is dependent upon a lot of

0:30:15.389,0:30:22.490
self you know propagating systems and

0:30:19.620,0:30:25.559
then some independent systems those are

0:30:22.490,0:30:28.919
systems that are running outside of you

0:30:25.559,0:30:30.600
external so for for one you know an

0:30:28.919,0:30:32.850
example of an internal productivity

0:30:30.600,0:30:35.190
system is my task management right I

0:30:32.850,0:30:37.620
manage my tasks I keep them on a list

0:30:35.190,0:30:40.409
and I manage those in a very specific

0:30:37.620,0:30:42.990
way and there are things though that I

0:30:40.409,0:30:45.330
have automated you know so laundry

0:30:42.990,0:30:47.149
services or dry-cleaning and so and so

0:30:45.330,0:30:49.740
forth to a great extent those are

0:30:47.149,0:30:53.639
automated or delegated systems that

0:30:49.740,0:30:54.750
happen outside of my you know not

0:30:53.639,0:30:56.370
necessarily control because they’re

0:30:54.750,0:30:59.549
within my control but I’m not managing

0:30:56.370,0:31:01.740
the details of those things so between

0:30:59.549,0:31:04.590
between those internal and external

0:31:01.740,0:31:05.470
systems they come together to be my

0:31:04.590,0:31:09.159
service

0:31:05.470,0:31:11.620
big productivity system so I try to

0:31:09.159,0:31:14.559
think about all of the various systems I

0:31:11.620,0:31:16.480
have in place or that is I try to work

0:31:14.559,0:31:18.340
with my clients to understand all of the

0:31:16.480,0:31:20.409
systems they have in place so that they

0:31:18.340,0:31:22.059
can start to assess system by system

0:31:20.409,0:31:24.820
what’s working and what’s not so for

0:31:22.059,0:31:26.020
example if using your example Francis

0:31:24.820,0:31:28.059
that you know you find that you’re

0:31:26.020,0:31:29.500
consistently being late to meetings well

0:31:28.059,0:31:30.760
there are two components to that right

0:31:29.500,0:31:33.190
there’s an internal component which is

0:31:30.760,0:31:35.770
do you value other people and do you

0:31:33.190,0:31:37.870
value other people’s time do you value

0:31:35.770,0:31:41.080
your own time you know and figuring out

0:31:37.870,0:31:43.809
that sort of internal logical emotional

0:31:41.080,0:31:46.870
component and it could also be tools

0:31:43.809,0:31:48.220
based right your calendar itself for

0:31:46.870,0:31:49.960
some reason is not synchronizing with

0:31:48.220,0:31:51.580
your phone or mobile device that you

0:31:49.960,0:31:53.169
carry around with you and is therefore

0:31:51.580,0:31:56.260
it’s not alerting you as to when you

0:31:53.169,0:31:57.520
should you know be at a particular place

0:31:56.260,0:31:58.809
or maybe you’re not getting the

0:31:57.520,0:32:01.690
notifications as to when you’re supposed

0:31:58.809,0:32:03.340
to leave to get to a place or you’re not

0:32:01.690,0:32:04.450
getting a notification to wind up the

0:32:03.340,0:32:05.770
work that you’re supposed to that you

0:32:04.450,0:32:09.220
are currently doing so that you can

0:32:05.770,0:32:11.140
comfortably leave it and then transition

0:32:09.220,0:32:13.210
to the next thing that you have to do in

0:32:11.140,0:32:15.340
the day right there are those items so

0:32:13.210,0:32:17.799
you know you’re managing your groceries

0:32:15.340,0:32:19.659
or you’re not so do you have a grocery

0:32:17.799,0:32:22.210
shopping or grocery shopping list

0:32:19.659,0:32:24.070
management system and identifying those

0:32:22.210,0:32:25.480
system by systems once you list all

0:32:24.070,0:32:27.309
those systems out you probably have 30

0:32:25.480,0:32:30.070
or 40 of them in your life that you are

0:32:27.309,0:32:32.860
actively maintaining and I think at that

0:32:30.070,0:32:35.380
point you’re capable of assessing where

0:32:32.860,0:32:37.210
the weaker links are right so like how

0:32:35.380,0:32:38.830
do you how do you maintain your car

0:32:37.210,0:32:40.809
right do you have a system for

0:32:38.830,0:32:42.760
maintaining your car and that might all

0:32:40.809,0:32:45.039
be tied up in your project or task

0:32:42.760,0:32:47.320
management system but it’s a subsystem

0:32:45.039,0:32:49.750
of a kind because you have to maintain

0:32:47.320,0:32:51.669
all of those linked parts right if

0:32:49.750,0:32:54.850
you’re not maintaining the transmission

0:32:51.669,0:32:56.559
fluid in your car then most likely down

0:32:54.850,0:32:59.080
the road you’re going to have engine

0:32:56.559,0:33:01.510
problems and you know and and then the

0:32:59.080,0:33:03.730
car is not going to work this altogether

0:33:01.510,0:33:06.190
so you really have to think about the

0:33:03.730,0:33:08.200
the way in which these pieces really tie

0:33:06.190,0:33:10.020
into one another and see whether or not

0:33:08.200,0:33:12.669
you can start to see ties between the

0:33:10.020,0:33:14.289
between the many different systems but

0:33:12.669,0:33:17.110
usually what I find is that one

0:33:14.289,0:33:18.530
particular system is the one that causes

0:33:17.110,0:33:21.980
the problem one of those

0:33:18.530,0:33:23.600
sub-systems you know in computers we

0:33:21.980,0:33:24.290
call them subroutines one of the

0:33:23.600,0:33:26.420
subroutines

0:33:24.290,0:33:28.310
is is what’s causing the problem for the

0:33:26.420,0:33:32.860
overall application or the overall

0:33:28.310,0:33:32.860
system to not be working properly

0:33:33.790,0:33:41.300
how about you gusto and I think that

0:33:37.180,0:33:44.180
that were you know when you get to these

0:33:41.300,0:33:47.030
points you know it is important to stop

0:33:44.180,0:33:48.920
and that need to be you know kind of the

0:33:47.030,0:33:51.230
first step the first step is not okay

0:33:48.920,0:33:52.850
let me find a solution and as we you

0:33:51.230,0:33:56.270
know Francis was saying let’s go for the

0:33:52.850,0:33:59.680
100 post or 100 tweet so what ugly this

0:33:56.270,0:34:03.920
if you get there and you were unable to

0:33:59.680,0:34:07.040
identify the early signs or you decide

0:34:03.920,0:34:09.470
to ignore them or button the time but

0:34:07.040,0:34:11.690
then now before you go crazy now okay

0:34:09.470,0:34:14.179
let me go about 3000 books to new

0:34:11.690,0:34:17.900
computers and new things on the

0:34:14.179,0:34:23.090
unexplained $300 and software this step

0:34:17.900,0:34:26.360
and try to analyze and splitting as many

0:34:23.090,0:34:28.940
components as possible that you can see

0:34:26.360,0:34:31.580
problems and try to see what are the

0:34:28.940,0:34:34.850
reasons and what is what is ailing so

0:34:31.580,0:34:37.580
instead of trying to fix the whole

0:34:34.850,0:34:39.710
system and your whole system and

0:34:37.580,0:34:43.070
productivity see if there is things that

0:34:39.710,0:34:46.100
you can tweak on the sub components of

0:34:43.070,0:34:48.380
this on the small issues where you are

0:34:46.100,0:34:49.850
having or the small things but you can

0:34:48.380,0:34:52.640
identify that you are having problems

0:34:49.850,0:34:55.340
and try to fix those instead of saying

0:34:52.640,0:34:57.560
okay now I’m going to prevent the whole

0:34:55.340,0:34:59.990
thing but is what I see most people do

0:34:57.560,0:35:02.000
most people say okay fine I was using

0:34:59.990,0:35:04.400
Evernote and it’s failed I’m overwhelmed

0:35:02.000,0:35:07.160
so now I’m going to get a new piece of

0:35:04.400,0:35:09.770
software download calmly focus and I’m

0:35:07.160,0:35:11.120
going to move out of here and I’m going

0:35:09.770,0:35:14.750
to do it from scratch

0:35:11.120,0:35:18.080
that’s not solving the problem because

0:35:14.750,0:35:21.320
what budget at that point is going to

0:35:18.080,0:35:24.290
still be present until you slow down and

0:35:21.320,0:35:27.530
identify and just there are moments that

0:35:24.290,0:35:28.160
change software and tools is the correct

0:35:27.530,0:35:32.270
call

0:35:28.160,0:35:36.020
but in order to do that make sure

0:35:32.270,0:35:38.420
that you have identified what is what

0:35:36.020,0:35:41.270
brought you to the point that things are

0:35:38.420,0:35:46.190
not working anymore so you are aware of

0:35:41.270,0:35:48.680
what is happening yeah I think that’s I

0:35:46.190,0:35:51.650
think that’s important to take take note

0:35:48.680,0:35:54.230
of is you know how all those pieces are

0:35:51.650,0:35:56.780
really working or not working together

0:35:54.230,0:35:59.390
as we close up I want to just hear final

0:35:56.780,0:36:01.460
thoughts from you both Francis if you

0:35:59.390,0:36:03.020
want to get started and and if any final

0:36:01.460,0:36:06.200
thoughts have you any final thoughts for

0:36:03.020,0:36:08.150
us yeah yeah your phrase resonates the

0:36:06.200,0:36:11.630
have people become productivity

0:36:08.150,0:36:14.780
scientists and I think that what a goose

0:36:11.630,0:36:18.950
toe said become scientists about their

0:36:14.780,0:36:21.140
assist their productivity systems so if

0:36:18.950,0:36:24.110
if we could get people to move in that

0:36:21.140,0:36:25.550
direction it would address all of the

0:36:24.110,0:36:28.460
issues I think we’ve talked about in

0:36:25.550,0:36:30.410
this podcast so I think that’s the move

0:36:28.460,0:36:32.800
that we’re encouraging become a

0:36:30.410,0:36:36.530
scientist about your productivity system

0:36:32.800,0:36:40.600
remember before just before taking the

0:36:36.530,0:36:43.580
plane down and on assembly the plane

0:36:40.600,0:36:47.090
check if the light bulb that is giving

0:36:43.580,0:36:49.310
you trouble he’s working we tend to take

0:36:47.090,0:36:51.350
the plane down on assembly the plane to

0:36:49.310,0:36:53.990
discover Oh the rule will have changed

0:36:51.350,0:36:55.630
just this little light bulb we will have

0:36:53.990,0:36:59.570
solved the problem

0:36:55.630,0:37:02.540
we tend to overcomplicate the solution

0:36:59.570,0:37:05.210
instead of trying to look where is the

0:37:02.540,0:37:08.210
small element that is breaking the chain

0:37:05.210,0:37:10.550
yeah it’s it it remains in the book I

0:37:08.210,0:37:12.800
read the book the fifth discipline which

0:37:10.550,0:37:14.890
was it’s very old now Peter Senge his

0:37:12.800,0:37:17.770
book he talked about notions of thinking

0:37:14.890,0:37:19.790
and we’re really talking about

0:37:17.770,0:37:23.090
encouraging and developing people’s

0:37:19.790,0:37:26.330
ability to to do systems thinking and

0:37:23.090,0:37:28.430
without it you end up changing the end

0:37:26.330,0:37:30.110
up bringing down the plane delaying my

0:37:28.430,0:37:32.570
flight thank you very much for five

0:37:30.110,0:37:35.390
hours because you think the engine is

0:37:32.570,0:37:37.310
busted and it’s just the light wise

0:37:35.390,0:37:39.020
words to close out this episode of

0:37:37.310,0:37:41.300
productivity casts the weekly show about

0:37:39.020,0:37:42.860
all things personal productivity

0:37:41.300,0:37:44.690
I want to thank Augusto Pinaud and

0:37:42.860,0:37:47.180
Francis Wade for joining me here on

0:37:44.690,0:37:50.150
this episode if you have any questions

0:37:47.180,0:37:52.220
that arise from this episode please feel

0:37:50.150,0:37:54.740
free to head over to productivity cast

0:37:52.220,0:37:55.970
net forward slash contact and go ahead

0:37:54.740,0:37:58.190
and leave us a question you can also

0:37:55.970,0:38:00.470
audio record a question and we’ll be

0:37:58.190,0:38:02.750
happy to answer those on an episode

0:38:00.470,0:38:04.940
upcoming please feel free to rate us on

0:38:02.750,0:38:06.680
iTunes or stitcher or whatever podcast

0:38:04.940,0:38:08.599
directory so thank you so much and

0:38:06.680,0:38:10.700
here’s to your productive life that’s it

0:38:08.599,0:38:12.890
for this productivity cast the weekly

0:38:10.700,0:38:15.349
show about all things productivity with

0:38:12.890,0:38:19.839
your hosts ray Sydney Smith and Augusto

0:38:15.349,0:38:19.839
pan out with Francis Wade and art Galax

 

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