Announcing the 2025 Productivity Field Guide

The real solution to productivity isn’t about doing more–it’s about doing less while focusing on what truly matters.

I’m excited to announce the ​2025 Edition of the Productivity Field Guide​. The term “productivity” has become synonymous with quick fixes and hacks, I have a different approach. This guide helps you build a sustainable system that aligns with your deepest values and most meaningful roles.

The journey to identify what truly matters is personal and complex. While you must ultimately chart your own course, you’re not alone. Drawing from both ancient wisdom and modern research, the Productivity Field Guide helps you create a system that works for you.

What’s Included:

The 2025 Edition brings together philosophical principles and practical strategies in our most comprehensive package yet:

  • A 140-page e-book (in PDF and ePub) presenting a unique productivity framework that synthesizes timeless wisdom with contemporary best practices
  • 70+ video tutorials, including 21 new additions, totaling 7 hours of focused instruction
  • Access to an exclusive twelve-part webinar series featuring in-depth explanations, guest experts, and interactive group sessions (all sessions are recorded for your convenience) [Plus Version Only]
  • Complete archive of the 2024 webinar series (12 additional hours of content) [Plus Version Only]

This edition has evolved through even more research and your questions, challenges, and experiences. With this new version, I aim to make this roles-based system even more accessible to everyone.

The Productivity Field Guide empowers you to build more than just another task management system–it helps you create a personalized approach that honors your unique goals while drawing from millennia of wisdom and proven modern practices.

There are two versions of the Productivity Field Guide:

​​Productivity Field Guide Plus Edition $199​​

​​Productivity Field Guide Standard Edition $99​​

10% Launch Discount

I wanted to give early customers an extra discount. You can get the Field Guide today with a 10% discount. Just use the time-limited code: “PFG10”

Why the Productivity Field Guide Is Special to Me

The response to this course has been unlike anything I’ve experienced before. I’ve heard from so many people telling me how the Productivity Field Guide fundamentally changed their lives. That’s both humbling and deeply moving.

This isn’t just another productivity course for me – it’s become something far more meaningful. The fact that you’ve chosen to come along on this journey, to trust this system with your time and energy, means the world to me. I love creating this material, I love sharing these ideas, and most of all, I love seeing how they help people transform their lives for the better.

Back with CARROT Weather

The wind has been on everyone’s mind in Southern California for the last few weeks. In addition to the tragic fires up in Los Angeles, down here in Orange County, everything is equally dry, and the wind is blowing equally fast. Last week, one night, we clocked it at 79 miles an hour in my backyard.

Somewhere along the way, I let my CARROT Weather subscription lapse. The Apple weather app has come a long way, and it’s just fine for general information like the temperature and forecast. But getting predictable wind information out of it is a pain in the neck. So much so that I re-upped with CARROT weather and, within seconds, had precisely the data I was looking for. While the Weather app is good enough for many people, CARROT Weather remains the king.

The Initial Response to the iPhone

The iPhone is now 18 years old, and it’s easy to forget life before it. I used mobile phones before iPhone, and the difference was night and day.

The original iPhone was announced at Macworld in January 2007 .

Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about how competitors put their heads in the sand when the iPhone was first announced. My favorite is the story about Blackberry not believing it was true, that Jobs had somehow faked everybody out with non-existent technology.

However, in a recent data release by Nokia, it’s clear that they took it seriously. Nokia immediately started shifting direction with its products in development, recognizing the value of the multi-touch user interface. People now say that the iPhone innovation was inevitable and that if Apple hadn’t done it, somebody else would have devised a smart phone with a flat slate of glass. But looking at contemporaneous documents, it sure doesn’t seem like it. (via John Gruber’s Daring Fireball.)

What If All Cars Were Trackable?

One police department in Colorado is now sending out a free AirTag with your automobile registration. The kicker is it has a sticker that you can put in your window explaining that police can track the vehicle.

I’m curious as to whether or not this will result in a decrease in stolen cars. I used an AirTag on my bicycle but had never thought about leaving one in the car. Obviously, people are doing this. There’s even an active market on Amazon for warning stickers.

Apple Mail Update Coming to the Mac and iPad

The current rumor via Mark Gurman is that Apple Mail will get the expected redesign and update with macOS 15.4 beta and the upcoming iPad 18.4 beta. I sure hope so.

While I’ve found the rudimentary email filtering they added on the iPhone useful for mail triage, I don’t think it can be judged until it’s on the Mac, at least for me. Apple Mail has long been overdue for an update and it’s nice to see some progress made.

While you’re at it, Apple, two requests:

  • A Print-to-PDF workflow on mobile devices that doesn’t feel like we’re performing a magic trick.
  • A simple way to extract a link to an email message on mobile devices.

That is all. For now.

Mac Power Users 780: Our Home Screens & Focus Modes

Our iPhones are always with us, making the Home screen very valuable real estate in our lives. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I share our Home screens and Focus modes and how our devices help keep us on track.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Never forget a password again.
  • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU.
  • NetSuite: The leading integrated cloud business software suite.
  • 1Blocker: The Fastest & Most Powerful Blocker for Safari. Get 1 month premium free.

A Gentle Approach to Block Scheduling

In a few weeks, I’ll release the new 2025 edition of the Productivity Field Guide, where I blend ancient wisdom for life’s big questions with modern techniques for tactical execution. One key topic we explore is block scheduling, and something important I’ve learned from my students is that traditional block scheduling isn’t for everyone.

That’s perfectly fine. What I’ve discovered is that there’s a gentler approach that can work for almost anyone. Instead of overhauling your entire calendar, start with just one nagging task. You know, the substantial one that keeps slipping off your to-do list.

The approach is simple: Open your calendar app of choice and find a significant block of free time, perhaps next Tuesday afternoon. Make an appointment with yourself – not a quick 30-minute slot, but a substantial three or four hours where you can dive deep and make real progress. Label it clearly, and if you share calendars, mark yourself as unavailable. This time is sacred.

This simple practice works magic in two ways. First, you’ve transformed that vague, anxiety-inducing task into a concrete commitment with a specific time and date. You can release it from your mental burden until then. Second, you’ve carved out and protected that time; it’s now as important as any client meeting or medical appointment.

The key is showing up for yourself. When that scheduled time arrives, honor it as you would any other commitment. If something truly urgent arises, don’t just let the appointment vanish, reschedule it. The work either gets done in its allocated time or finds a new home on your calendar, but it never simply disappears.

I’ve shared this gentle approach with many people who were initially resistant to full-on block scheduling, and they’ve found it remarkably helpful. It works especially well for those daunting tasks that feel overwhelming. Something about placing them on the calendar diminishes their power. You’re no longer avoiding them; you’ve created a concrete plan to tackle them.

Remember, this isn’t about becoming a productivity machine. It’s about creating space for what truly matters. Sometimes, this minimal approach to scheduling is all you need to move forward.

As for the upcoming Productivity Field Guide, I’m excited to offer two versions: one including the videos, book, and course materials, and another that adds a 12-week webinar series. I’ll have a lot more news on this soon. I can’t wait to share these resources with you and hear your thoughts.