Episodes

This week I was excited to welcome Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz to the show to discuss their new book, Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise. This book instantly rocketed up my list of the best productivity books of the year! Golden reveals how to go beyond the ordinary rules and tools of mindfulness. It’s a field guide for navigating the noise of the modern world—not just the noise in our ears but also on our screens and in our heads. Drawing on lessons from neuroscience, business, spi...

This week I was excited to welcome Laura Vanderkam back to the show for her sixth appearance! Laura has been coming on Beyond The To Do List for the past ten years and this time she is here to talk about her newest book: Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. In this conversation we address the nine “rules” for making more time in your hectic schedule while diving deep into three of the rules I could most intriguing. This is a really insightful and prac...

This week I was excited to welcome Tara McMullen to the show to hear her insights, research, and reflections on her new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal Setting. Tara is a writer, podcaster, and producer who for over 13 years has studied small business owners - how they live, how they work, what influences them, and what they hope for the future. In this conversation Tara shares with us how to transform the way you set and achieve your goals to creat...

This week I was excited to welcome Dr. Nicole Byers to the show to discuss the correlation between neuroscience and specifically neuropsychology with productivity and efficiency. Nicole brings a wealth of knowledge and research gained during her Ph.D. studies in clinical psychology to the world working by explaining some of the strange ways our brain copes with stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, and mood. In this episode Nicole unpacks the four signs of procrastination while offering tips and tric...

This week I was thrilled to welcome back to the show Joey Cofone of Baron Fig. You can find the previous episode here. Joey Cofone is the Co-Founder at Baron Fig. Baron Fig is a New York design startup that is rooted in its mission to champion thinkers around the world through inspiration, imagination and productivity. Joey’s new book is ‘The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius’. The book is a revealing and practical exploration of creativity: what it is,...

This week I was excited to speak with Melissa Urban about her new book, The Book of Boundaries: Set the Limits That Will Set You Free. Melissa and I had an extremely insightful conversation about how setting healthy boundaries with family members, co-workers, friends and even yourself can transform your relationships, eliminate stress and improve your daily outlook. In this chat, Melissa breaks down the vital steps towards identifying if a boundary needs to be set and the three unique levels of...

This week I am rereleasing an episode with Joey Cofone of Baron Fig in advance of his upcoming new episode where we talk about his new book: The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius. Joey Cofone is the Co-Founder at Baron Fig. Baron Fig is a New York design startup that is rooted in it’s mission to champion thinkers around the world through inspiration, imagination and productivity. In this conversation Joey and Erik talk about how Baron Fig was founded, ...

This week it was my privilege to speak with Alan Stein Jr. Allan is former professional performance coach and now serves as a public speaker and author. In this conversation we unpack a wide variety of lessons he has learned throughout his career including tips on how to avoid burnout and how to sustain a level of high performance by embracing the most fulfilling aspects of your work while not allowing that work to invade upon your personal and family time. Alan and I discuss a wide variety of t...

This week I was privileged to be joined by Anita Stubenrauch. Anita is a former Apple Computers Executive and graduate of The Art Institute of Chicago. As a creative sojourner Anita is paving her own path towards both creative and professional success by thinking outside the bounds of typical corporate boxes. In this conversation Anita and I discuss the challenges that face creatives in today's workforce and how remote work is presenting both limitations and opportunities for creatively minded i...

This week I was excited to welcome Dr. Jennifer Heisz to the show to discuss her new book, Move the Body, Heal the Mind: Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia and Improve Focus, Creativity, and Sleep. This was a really motivating conversation about the incredible benefits of exercise and movement on not only our body's fitness but our brain’s functions. Dr. Heisz unpacks a host of benefits that exercise has on cognitive functions, memory, creativity, and of course productivity. In addition...

Ryan McRae has had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder all of his life, but he wasn’t going to let ADHD run him down. He has worked to figure out how to take all the benefits and cancel out all the drawbacks. In this episode, Ryan and Erik discuss overcoming the productivity challenges of College and University Students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#...

This week I was excited to welcome Todd Henry back to the show for the sixth time to discuss his latest book, Daily Creative: A Practical Guide for Staying - Prolific, Brilliant, and Healthy. Todd is a prolific author and speaker who focuses on the creatives and dispelling myths about who is and who is not “creative” within corporate or professional workforces. For over a decade Todd has helped readers unlock their creative potential and find new ways to apply their talents. In this new book To...

This week I was so happy to welcome Jon Acuff back to the show to discuss his newest book, Your New Playlist: The Student Guide to Tapping into the Superpower of Mindset. This powerful new book which Jon co-authored with his two teenage daughters is a must read for parents, educators, and mentors seeking to empower young people with the mindset and tools that allow them to not only reshape their thoughts, but change the trajectory of negative voices that often plague young people’s everyday life...

This week I had a great conversation with Kim Rittberg about her new project the ‘Mom’s Exit Interview Podcast'. Kim and I discuss her checkered career and some of the reasons she chose to leave the corporate world and strike out on her own, producing and consulting on a range of content and media projects. Kim has a wealth of insights and tips for not just Moms, but anyone considering transitioning into a new career or entrepreneurial endeavor. We discuss the importance of establishing your pr...

This week I was thrilled to speak with Tiago Forte about his groundbreaking new book, Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential. In this conversation, I discovered just what a second brain is and how productivity-minded people like me, (and likely you) can benefit from the methodologies laid out in this book to more powerfully, creatively, and effectively capture life experiences, journal entries, and and musings in order to free ou...

This week I was excited to welcome Kate Tellers to the show to help us understand the power, purpose, and practicality of effective storytelling. Kate is the Director of Mothworks at the Moth, a live storytelling podcast that features everyday people sharing powerful, humorous, and insightful stories about their lives and experiences. In this conversation Kate shares her experiences with both helping to craft stories and why effective and well conceived storytelling is so important in both our ...

This week I was excited to welcome Omar Zenhom to the show. Omar is the host of the award-winning podcast The $100 MBA Show and the creator of the popular software tool Webinar Ninja. In this conversation, we cover a range of business and entrepreneurial topics including preparing to make the leap from a nine to five job to an entrepreneurial lifestyle and the challenges involved in that process. We also discuss Omar’s personal journey toward becoming a successful podcast host and content creat...

Phil Simon is a frequent keynote speaker, recognized collaboration and technology authority, and college professor for hire. He is the award-winning author of a dozen books, most recently Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace. He helps organizations communicate, collaborate, and use technology better. In this conversation Phil talks with Erik about the problem of getting things done in the new world of work. When it comes to project management, the issues breaks down into: Communication, C...

This week I had a wonderful conversation with Jason Harris about his new book The Soulful Art of Persuasion: The 11 Habits That Will Make Anyone a Master Influencer. In this chat, Jason dispels some of the toxic chatter about influencers in the internet age and reminds listeners that the art of influence and persuasion is more about compassion, empathy, and finding common ground than Instagram fame or soulless clickbait. We cover his four principles of persuasion: original, generous, soulful, an...

This week I had a great conversation with John Brandon focused on his new book, The 7-Minute Productivity Solution: How to Manage Your Schedule, Overcome Distractions, and Achieve the Results You Want. This was an excellent discussion on the power of taking just seven minutes out of key moments of your day in order to more effectively plan for your day, achieve moments of self-reflection, and remove oneself from digital distractions and ubiquitous media and technology that is robbing us of achie...

This week a had a wonderful discussion with Kendra Adachi both about her new book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen as well as her podcast The Lazy Genius, and her previous book The Lazy Genius Way. In this conversation, we discuss how vital it is to give yourself permission to be lazy about things that are not priorities while learning to manage and prioritize the things that matter most. This is truly a productivity lover's dream discussion that offers so many practical principles that can be applied t...

This week it was truly my privilege to speak with Dr. Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley about their new book, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust. Ken Blanchard needs no introduction to many listeners as he has been a leading voice in business and leadership for decades. In this conversation, Ken and Randy share an abundance of wisdom regarding leadership principles of service, trust, and truth. Dr. Ken Blanchard is the cofounder and Chief Spiritual Officer ...

This week I had an inspirational conversation with Julie Solomon about her new book, Get What You Want: How to Go From Unseen to Unstopable. Julie was refreshingly candid about her "origin story" and her struggles to break through into a lifestyle of more healthy habits and proper boundaries. This conversation covers a lot of ground as we unpack some of the myths regarding influence and the incredible benefits that can come from hitting rock bottom only to build yourself up stronger. For more t...

This week I had a delightful conversation with Ashish Goel centered on his new book, Drawing on Courage: Risks Worth Taking and Stands Worth Making. Ashish and I explore ways in which we can summon our inner courage both in times of crisis and in our everyday work lives. Ashish also breaks down some of the ways that fear can deceive and even paralyze us and how we can learn to both cope with fear and deploy courage to overcome it. Ashish Goel is an entrepreneur, designer, former teaching fellow...