The Podcast

I'm a great fan of GTD - Getting Things Done methodology by David Allen and as the founder of Nozbe, I love my simple structure of projects, tasks and comments. However, there are tasks that don't even go there, because if getting them done takes me less than 2 minutes, I just do them without even adding them to my system. Recently, I've been taking the 2-minute rule to a whole new level and you can read all about it in my essay at michael.team/2min or you can just listen to the AI co-hosts discussing all the examples where I've successfully applied this rule to improve my productivity. Enjoy!🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

Can AI - Artificial Intelligence - become a productivity booster? Oh yes. From an AI skeptic, I've been slowly embracing it and incorporating it into my daily work. I've shared my experiences in an essay at michael.team/ai and today I've asked the AI co-hosts to talk about them for you. I hope that inspired by this conversation you'll also start embracing AI to boost your own productivity! Enjoy.🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

If you're a busy entrepreneur, manager or team leader, I'm sure your workweek is totally slammed. Between managing, delegating and leading, you also need time for focused work. There’s simply no time to sit down and work on this brilliant new idea that's been bugging you. I’ve been struggling with a similar problem as the CEO of Nozbe.However, as a productivity nut I’ve been digging through many time management books and systems in an effort to find a solution for this… and I think I’ve got it. I call it CORE HOURS listen to the AI co-hosts explaining this idea to you in a short podcast, enjoy!🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

Time for a challenge! Should you choose to accept it, you have a shot at receiving these 5 benefits:improve your productivityregain clarityboost your self-esteemreduce anxietyimprove your ability to focus!What's the cost? Just remove social media apps from your smart phone! I know it sounds drastic, but hear me out - I've written an essay about it at michael.team/social - or just listen to the AI co-hosts diving deeper into the subject and proving that this can be done!🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

In a world that rewards busyness over progress, these 10 books taught me how to go fast while slowing down and create more with less. A few months back I shared my 10 favorite business books of all time which you can find at michael.team/10books - and now listen to the Google's Notebook LM co-hosts discussing these books in more detail, enjoy!🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

Let’s talk about benefits of Journaling and my free Journal 4 shortcut that will help you start journaling in no time.For background, here’s my entire journaling journey.🎁 And for listeners, there’s a bonus from Nozbe ($30!)

Discussion about my perfect Home Office setup:Home Office 2025Perfect Recording Studio🎁 Get $30 of credits for Nozbe (up to 3 months free!)

Discussion about Michael’s essay:How my immature decisions led me to celebrating 18 years of my productivity business?Also check out Michael’s own discussion in the podcast:NoOffice Podcast 58 - Immature Business Decisions

AI co-hosts discuss Michael’s latest detailed contents of his BackpackRead it at: michael.team/backpackAlso don’t forget to check out Michael’s posts about #NoOffice and #iPadOnly🎁 Get $30 from Nozbe at: nozbe.com/podcast

AI co-hosts discuss Michael’s latest essay: Time is MoneyRead it at: michael.team/moneyAdditional discussion by Michael himself is at NoOffice FM #52Find it at: nooffice.fm/52🎁 Get $30 from Nozbe at: nozbe.com/podcast

Today's episode is a deep dive discussion between AI co-hosts about my #iPadOnly essays:How can I be so productive on the iPad?And:Why I must work on the iPad - the most versatile computer ever - M1 iPad Pro 13” review after 2 yearsIf you liked this episode, please rate it on Podcasts and send it to anyone of your friends or colleagues, thank you!Bonus: get $30 of credits for Nozbe Premium if you sign up at nozbe.com/podcast

Hello The Podcast listeners, as you know Radek and I are no longer recording this podcast, but I am still podcasting atNoOffice.fm - which I'm recording every two weeks with my Nozbe teamAndTeam Productivity ShowFeel free to subscribe to one or both of these podcasts using the links in the show notes to this episode.To make up for our silence today as a bonus I'm giving you a short podcast episode about a topic much related to what me and Radek have discussed earlier on this show.Today's episode is a deep dive discussion between NotebookLM co-hosts about my essay calledWeekly Templatewhich you can read at:Michael.team/weekIf you liked this episode, please rate it on Podcasts and send it to anyone of your friends or colleagues who would benefit from a more structured week.Bonus: get $30 of credits for Nozbe Premium if you sign up at nozbe.com/podcast

Podcast sponsor:✅ Nozbe - Work from home with your teamKey things you will learn from this episode:How to organize an online team retreatWhat special gifts and activities we had during Nozbe ReunionWhat we've learned from our latest Virtual ReunionWhy #iPadOnly guys like Michael and Rafal are not so excited with the new iPad ProSubscribe to our show and learn more about running a remote software company:🟣 Apple Podcasts🔵 Google Podcasts🟢 Spotify🟡 RSS🟠 Overcast🔴 Pocket CastMeet the HostsRafał Sobolewski (@sobolowy)Michael Sliwiński (@msliwinski)Show notesNo Office podcastNo Office book - chapter 26 - Reunite the teamHow we do meetings - No Office ep. 17How Radek manufactured 65k of face shields - The Podcast ep. 206Blogpost: How to Plan an Online, COVID-Safe Company Retreat

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Add to Overcast, Get RSSThe Podcast is a semi-regular chat between Radek and yours truly (we both work at Nozbe) about productivity, business, books, and whatever else comes to mind… - if you liked this episode, make sure to check out past episodes.Show notes for this episode:The Podcast 91: Best cityThe Podcast 196: Hands Are DirtyThe Podcast 206: Radek’s Face Shield FactoryWarsaw HackerspaceCopy & share: ThePodcast.fm/211Share on Twitter

Discussing Netflix CEO’s thoughts on leadership: - building a high talent density workplace - leading by context - removing unnecessary policies (vacation, spending, travel)

Applying Lean methodology from Japanese factories (specifically, the kanban pull system) to managing groceries and other house supplies. Never will you ever run out of toilet paper again!

Should we focus Nozbe marketing on Work From Home? Michael has a frank discussion with Radek about this. Maybe it’s a great idea! Or maybe, it’s too niche and will ruin our marketing.

Let’s gossip about what our competitors are doing… Basecamp 4, HEY? What are they all about? Are they a threat?

Radek has started a job in manufacturing… pro bono manufacturing of face shields for hospitals in Poland. No, really. Over the last few weeks, Radek has been applying what he’d learned about CAD, laser cutting, and lean manufacturing at the Warsaw Hackerspace to set up a face shield production line. In three weeks, they produced over 30 000 face shields.

This episode is a new, experimental format. It’s just Radek calling Michael to chat about work. Like they normally would. Except that it happens to be recorded and published, so you can get a glimpse into how we do it. In this chat, we’re trying to figure out how to institute cultural change at the company, and make Kaizen part of our everyday work and thinking. Also, Radek’s frustrations with UI work, and change of direction for 2020.

Make a huge impact with just 2 hours per day. Discussing Michael’s latest productivity hack and how this simple change allowed him to be way more productive this year.

How we apply Lean philosophy to the Nozbe Teams development process: - Weekly release train - Phased releases - One-day pull requests - CI/CD - Asynchronous testing - Feature flags - Bug fixing Mondays - Dev responsibilities - Roadmap Rangers - Time scoping - Kaizen in customer support - Text daily standups - Kaizen math Feel free to follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/msliwinski and https://twitter.com/radexp

We dive deep into Lean Manufacturing - how Ford’s mass manufacturing changed the world, how Toyota dramatically improved on the process - and why it matters even if you’re not in manufacturing.

In life, there’s a limited number of f’s you can give — very few in fact. And yet we give them out left and right, robbing us of simple tranquility in life. We discuss the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k — a modern, approachable guide to stoicism.

Celebrating nearly 5 years and 199 episodes of The Podcast, and giving our recommendations for the best stories and recommendations we’ve recorded so far.

When we receive feedback, or an idea, a suggestion, we tend to become defensive. We’re sure they’re wrong and we’re right, and we stop listening. And thus we miss out on good insights. Or do we? Perhaps the real problem is the culture, people being too delicate, and so we are forced into unnecessary niceties instead of giving and receiving feedback straight?

Like every year, we’re taking this moment to reflect on 2019, review our successes and failures, set some goals (not resolutions!) for 2020, and put in motion a process to ensure it’s going to be a great year.

Exploring the idea of abolishing (or enhancing) the hierarchical structure of companies in favor of dispersing responsibilities broadly into a mesh — not based on rank, but particular skill, specialization, experience.

Getting your hands dirty to create physical objects, tinker, work with plastic, metal, and wood is fun! A more soothing hobby than doing stuff at the computer, and a better way to spend an evening than Netflix. We discuss home renovations, CNC milling, concrete casting, and industrial robots.

We got, no, we _made_ some cool new gadgets for the Fall 2019 Nozbe Reunion: Laser-cut phone stands, zero waste produce bags and hemp dish cleaner, and smog sensors.

To create Nozbe Teams, we had to grow from being a product company to being a technology company. In this episode, we’re telling the story of what technological infrastructure we’ve chosen and created for this project (and why).

In 2016, we decided to make "Nozbe for Teams". Then, we changed its name to just Nozbe 4. Ultimately, we've decided to call the new product Nozbe Teams and become, at least for a while, a two-product company. In this episode, we're winding the history back to the beginnings of this project and re-telling the story of why and how this came to be.

This wasn't supposed to be this week's show. We meant to talk about Nozbe Teams… but instead, we go on a 40 minute long crusade against… jeans and MacBooks.

Catching up after a 3-month summer break from The Podcast. Vacations, conferences, open source, webmastering, Nozbe Teams, Portland, and driving licenses.

The Podcast is on a summer break. Meanwhile, Michael started playing with code again and have just launched three new website projects. And we briefly discuss and update on Digital Minimalism and Michael's break from social media.

Live from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, we discuss our fresh reactions from Apple's conference. New iPadOS, the cheese grater, Shortcuts and automation, Catalyst, and SwiftUI.

Having reached his 40th birthday (and we, The Podcast, our fourth), Michael shares his best bits of wisdom: Finding what you're good at, striving for longevity, knowing when to reinvent yourself, having fun, and nurturing friendships.

Michael talks about what it's like to walk a 260km pilgrimage over a week and a half, why he and his wife did it, how it can be a great experience even for non-religious people, how to pack for it, and why northern Spain is kinda nice.

Discussing The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. Giving autonomy to live their own lives, neither prasing nor rebuking, and finding happiness in being beneficial to people around us.

The world is bad, but better. The vast majority of westerners believe the world is poorer, more violent, deadly, primitive, and awful than it actually is. This book beautifully illustrates our ignorance, updates your knowledge, and gives you tools for a fact-based worldview.

Digital Minimalism - A philosophy where you focus your technology use on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that support your values, and happily miss out on everything else. We discuss Cal Newport's new book on this very topic. Why clutter is costly, optimization is imporatant, and intentionality is satisfying. We explore reclaiming our leisure time. BREAKING NEWS: Michael pledges to go on a 30 day digital declutter from Twitter and Instagram!

Nozbe 4, our brand new app has a brand new icon (and logo). This week, we talk about what's wrong with ticks and circles, what makes a good logo, why we decided to go for it, and how it almost didn't happen.

What we've learned about productivity and collaboration over the years. How technology improvement allows us to get to the next level. And why starting from scratch is scary, but sometimes necessary.

Pulling back the curtain on the development process of Nozbe 4. When we started, how we progressed over time, and why we had to impose on ourselves the deadline of April 4.

Stories about competition, punishment, and rewards in the classroom and our childhoods. We continue discussing what we've learned from Punished by Rewards.

When we reward someone (an employee, a student, a child) for doing what we want them to do, we think we're doing the right thing, motivating them to keep doing it. In reality, incentives only have a shallow, immediate effect — and in the long term, we're killing the other person's intrinsic motivation, and making them resent us for being controlling.

The good, the bad, and the necessary of complaining and complainers. To keep improving, and to communicate efficiently in an organization (and to be grown up) is to understand that complaints are not usually toxic, negative, or a personal attack against you — but are simply feedback. To say to someone not to bring you problems, but only solutions is to guarantee you'll be oblivious to everything that's broken in a company. (But yes, some complaints are nothing more than unhelpful snark — learn to distinguish between the two)

How to review and plan a year together. Because Annual Review is not just for you, and for your work, but for your family and relationships too.

We started paying our employees salaries based on a formula that applies to everyone, not based on individual negotiations. Here’s why, and how.

Follow-up on our journey towards a (slightly) calmer life — with fewer distractions, push notifications, and social media. Pushing forward to find the right balance between utility and mindfulness. How to hide (but not delete) distracting apps on iOS and Android, time and open limits on Facebook and other apps, blocking websites, old school newsletters, and more.