Reading Time: 7 minutes This is the second blog post in a series about my experiences working through the Productivity Field Guide by David Sparks, available in the Plus and the Standard editions. I intend to write 10-12 posts covering each of the major topics in the Field Guide. In this post, I want to help you identify your …
Reading Time: 6 minutes This is the first blog post in a series about my experiences working through the Productivity Field Guide by David Sparks, available in the Plus and the Standard editions. I intend to write 10-12 posts covering each of the major topics in the Field Guide. The Productivity Field Guide comprises a 100+ page PDF or …
Reading Time: 4 minutes When David Sparks (aka MacSparky) started writing about Apple tech, he was a full-time litigation lawyer. He did his “MacSparky” work of writing books, podcasting, and blogging in his spare time. As MacSparky grew, he left his law firm and started his own practice. He did so with the intention of spending about half his …
Reading Time: 3 minutes We live in a culture of outrage. The news media and social media intentionally feed this culture. It’s an enemy of intentional living because it’s pure manipulation. It’s the opposite of thoughtful and deliberate reasoning and thinking. It’s the direct result of news media and social media using “click-bait” to grab your attention and manipulate …
Reading Time: 4 minutes Recently, I watched a video recording of a Q3 Planning with Sparky (MacSparky Labs) session. It was a time for MacSparky Labs members to assess their progress on their quarterly plans halfway through the quarter. Many participants felt they had gone off track during the first few weeks and needed to find a way to …
Reading Time: 5 minutes For the past two years, I’ve been using a life intentionality system based on my life roles. It defines what’s important to me, and helps me evaluate how I’m doing each week and make needed adjustments. David Sparks describes the system in his Personal Retreat Video and Planning Pdf. He suggests that to set up …
Reading Time: 5 minutes The word “retreat” is not a positive word for everyone. I can evoke memories of religious retreats they were required to attend, some kind of hippy-dippy, new-age spiritual experience, or boring corporate retreats where you were forced to do a lot of group exercises but nothing changed as a result. But there’s also a more …
Reading Time: 5 minutes A task manager is designed to help you get all the things you need to do out of your head and into a system you can trust. David Allen, the writer of the seminal productivity book, Getting Things Done, wrote “Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” We’re not good at remembering …
Reading Time: 6 minutes During the first week in December, my wife and I when to Disneyland to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary (we’re not really that old — we married when we were 5 😉). The event and discussions with friends about it have prompted some thoughts I’d like to share. Don’t panic, it’s not all mushy stuff. …
Reading Time: 6 minutes A couple of years ago I was at a point in my retirement where the “permanent fun vacation” (finally freed from work!) period was over, and I was feeling bored, unproductive, and unfulfilled. I fortunately encountered material written by David Sparks (aka MacSparky) on how to do a life roles inventory and evaluation. I took …