Mikes on Mics

“The Mikes” are joined by Stephen Hackett of the 512 Pixels blog as well as the 512 Pixels and Ungeniused Podcasts on the 70Decibels network. We break open his applications folder and share just how packed his Mac is. Join Vardy and Schechter as they examine some of Stephen’s shame (he has a lot of it) by examining some of the 70 applications on his Mac. We also turn “Ben Brooks” into a verb, which is inherently awesome. What Mikes (and Stephen) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Chocolate Cherry Porter - The Tin Whistle Brewing Company Michael Schechter - Piper Down Scottish Ale (Bourbon Barrel Aged) - Ballast Point Brewing Company Stephen Hackett - Water (feel free to judge him) Links Bartending: Memoirs of an Apple Genius | An E-book by Stephen Hackett Enough - Ep 38 - Enough for Stephen Configure - Apple Store (U.S.) Why is iCloud Free? — 512 Pixels Introducing Dropzone 2 Penmachine - Derek K. Miller The 1Password Emergency Kit Alfred App Cinch - Window Management at its Simplest Byword • A Simple Text Editor for Mac and iOS Marked - smart tools for smart writers Literature and Latte - Scrivener The Omni Group Enough - Ep 126 - You’ve Got (Too Much) Mail Follow Stephen, Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the secret behind exceptional websites. Go to squarespace.com/70decibels to start your free trial and use the offer code ‘70decibels5’ at checkout to get 10% off your first order. This episode is also brought to you by Pear Note for Mac and iPad. The app that allows you to integrate text notes with audio, video and slides to ensure you never miss a thing. Find out more at Usefulfruit.com. Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” fly solo this week and talk about intention. Clearing space for yourself is essential, both mentally and literally. Vardy describes how he get through the minutia to get his three big rocks done every day and Schechter shares the one thing you often have to eliminate in order to accomplish what you really hope to achieve. Join two guys who tend to take on more than they can manage for a conversation on how to finish the things that matter most. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Forty Creek Whisky - Home Michael Schechter - The Glenrothes Whisky - Select Reserve Links Episode 11: An Unfocused Look at Focus Dyscultured Podcast DYSconnecting: The End of an Era John Cleese - “A Lecture on Creativity” RISK™: The Official Game for iPad Home Work - 003 - Assembling A Team Michael Schechter’s Writer Workflow « Macdrifter Inspiration Didn’t Strike This Week Multi-Penmanship 70Decibels - Donate 70Decibels - Sponsor Follow Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the secret behind exceptional websites. Go to squarespace.com/70decibels to start your free trial and use the offer code ‘70decibels5’ at checkout to get 10% off your first order. This episode is also brought to you by Pear Note for Mac and iPad. The app that allows you to integrate text notes with audio, video and slides to ensure you never miss a thing. Find out more at Usefulfruit.com. Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” welcome back C.J. Chilvers of A Lesser Photographer for a casual chat. And by casual chat, we mean back-and-forth rants with Schechter about the challenges that occur when a creative mind meets an organizational systems like GTD. Join Vardy as he tries to keep C.J and Schechter in line as they examine the differences between analytical and creative minds. What Mikes (and C.J.) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Total Eclipse of the Hop - Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company Michael Schechter - Year Round Beer - Allagash White Ale C.J. Chilvers - Ommegang (Abbey Ale) - Brewery Ommegang Bonus - The kick-ass Beer Venn Diagram Links C.J. Post - Rethinking Productivity for Creatives Schechter’s Post - Do GTD and Creativity Clash? Stephen Wolfram Blog : The Personal Analytics of My Life David Allen, Getting Things Done® and GTD® For All Of Us Fiddlers A Lesser Photographer - A Manifesto Close to Metal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Rose Is White — A film by Pat Dryburgh & Edward Platero Merlin Mann Quote MacSparky - OmniFocus Screencasts The Van Halen Encyclopedia Post It. Do It. Trash It. Desk Envy - Yuvi Zalkow Toss Productivity Out :zenhabits Follow C.J. Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the secret behind exceptional websites. Go to squarespace.com/70decibels to start your free trial and use the offer code ‘70decibels5’ at checkout to get 10% off your first order. This episode was also brought to you by Pear Note for Mac and iPad. The app that allows you to integrate text notes with audio, video and slides to ensure you never miss a thing. Find out more at Usefulfruit.com. Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” are joined by self-proclaimed “novelist, failed writer and schmo” as well the creator of several of Schechter’s favorite videos, Yuvi Zalkow to break open his applications folder and share just how packed is his Mac. Join Vardy and Schechter as they examine some of Yuvi’s shame (he has a lot of it) by examining some of the 87 applications on his Mac. What Mikes (And Yuvi) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Hoyne Brewing Co. | Craft Beer in Victoria Michael Schechter - SOS - Abita Beer (nope, still not Steam Whistle) Yuvi Zalkow - Bluecoat American Dry Gin Links A BRILLIANT NOVEL IN THE WORKS by Yuvi Zalkow Scrivener Marrying nvALT and Byword I’m A Failed Writer #10: Big Projects, Small Lists - yuvi zalkow Writing a Novel When Busy - yuvi zalkow Marked - smart tools for smart writers OmniFocus for Mac TaskPaper — Simple to-do list software for Mac & iPhone ScreenFlow SketchBook Pro Toon Boom Animation Studio Neat — FRAMEOGRAPHER WireTap Studio BetterTouchTool Daring Fireball: Going Flash-Free on Mac OS X, and How to Cheat When You Need It Follow Yuvi, Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. Download Subscribe in iTunes

Patrick Rhone joins “The Mikes” to discuss the benefits of experimenting with everything from workflows to world views. Patrick is a fellow 70Decibels host, the man behind Minimal Mac and is the author of enough, an amazing new book of essays on finding our balance in a constantly changing world (do yourself a favor and go buy it right now). Compare Vardy’s and Patrick’s fluid and fearless approach to changing things up in order to improve with Schechter’s reluctance to changing things that work. What Mikes (And Patrick) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Forty Creek Whisky Michael Schechter - Oskar Blues - Mama’s Little Yella Pils (Alas, it’s still no Steamwhistle) Patrick Rhone - 2010 Campo Viejo Tempranillo Links Pop for iOS from Minimal Tools Maguffin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 70Decibels - The Pen Addict - Episode 6 - Multi-Pen, Multi-Tasking Isaac’s paintings - Heroes Wiki Merlin Mann on Minimalism vs. Appropriatism Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn Vardy on Tweaking vs. Fiddling Brett Terpstra’s iTextEditors Comparison Merlin Mann’s‘(10 2)*5’ Procrastination Hack Patrick Rhone Follow Patrick, Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” discuss the things that pull at their attention and how they balance them with their intentions. Despite the rather apparent fact that neither Mike is a doctor, they attempt to examine Schechter’s diagnosed ADHD and contrast it with Vardy’s tendency towards overstimulation. Join Vardy and Schechter as they hone in on the elusive subject of focus. Note: Schechter here, if you’re looking for an in depth examination of coping with with ADD or ADHD, I’ve always been partial to Edward Hallowell’s Driven To Distraction. Also, a few of you may have incurred some duplicate episodes when we made the switch over to 70Decibels. To remove these, just delete and resubscribe to the podcast in Instacast. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Steam Whistle Brewing - Canada’s Premium Pilsner (Damn you Vardy! - MS) Michael Schechter - The Glenrothes Whisky — Select Reserve Links 70Decibels - Home Work TotallyADD.com: A complete guide to ADD, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in adulthood and the documentary ADD & Loving It?! Attention Economy | James Shelley 70Decibels - Mikes On Mics - Episode 8: A Parent Productivity 70Decibels - Mikes On Mics - Episode 9: Something On The Side with Myke Hurley The Truth About Productivity Systems Enough – The Book 70Decibels - Sponsor 70Decibels - Donate Follow Schechter and Vardy on Twitter. Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” are joined by C.J. Chilvers of The Van Halen Encyclopedia, A Lesser Photographer and This Life of Leisure fame to break open his applications folder and share just how packed is his Mac. Join Vardy and Schechter as they walk through some of the highlights of C.J.’s aging Mac and discuss his growing love for iOS. What Mikes (And C.J.) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Moscato | Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Mike Schechter - The Glenrothes Whisky — Select Reserve C.J. Chilvers - Ommegang Abbey Ale C.J. Chilvers’ Mac MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) - Technical Specifications What’s In C.J. Chilvers’ Mac? Apple - Aperture - Pro performance with iPhoto simplicity. Dolly Drive - OnLine Backup for Apple Time Machine Sparrow — Get mail done Bare Bones Software | Yojimbo Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Mike Schechter’s Links A Better Mess iCloud: It Just Doesn’t Work Connect with Mike Schechter on Twitter The Work of Others 70Decibels - Enough - Ep 86 – Enough for CJ MacStories - Comparing My Favorite iOS Text Editors App Store - Capture — The Quick Video Camera A Lesser Photographer - A Manifesto | A Lesser Photographer WallStreetJackass: 2011 East Coast earthquake Download Subscribe in iTunes

Myke Hurley returns to join “The Mikes” for a conversation on the importance and challenges of having side projects. We discuss the Hurley’s attempts to balance his day job, his relationships and the desire to grow the 70Decibels podcasting network. “The Mikes” also share a very special announcement.Note: This was recorded on a day where Schechter’s kids were home. They “join” us periodically, but the episode is still very post-worthy, especially when Hurley’s talking.  Myke Hurley’s Links Myke Hurley on Twitter 70Decibels Podcast Network Cooking With Brett Kelly Enough - The Minimal Mac Podcast The Bro Show Episode 6: How Packed is Myke Hurley’s Mac? Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Stepcase Lifehack Cult of Mac Do What You Love…for Those You Love Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess Connect with Mike Schechter on Twitter The Work Of Others Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid in talks to join Dan Schechter’s adaptation of The Switch - Movie News | JoBlo.com Download Subscribe in iTunes

"The Mikes" examine how our tools and tactics help us be better fathers and family members even though they don't necessarily schedule thinks like playing with their kids. They discuss the challenges Vardy faces while working from home and also examine Schechter's likely technology addiction and how that may be affecting his effectiveness as a parent.Clarification: Schechter here. When I discuss "structuring playtime with your kid" I wasn't quite as clear as I would have liked, I wrote a post clarifying my point here.  What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Dads Old Fashioned Root Beer Michael Schechter - River Horse Brewing - Tripel Horse Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess A Better Approach To Meeting Notes Connect with Mike Schechter on Twitter The Work Of Others Numberlys The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Little Girl iPad/Magazine Confusion - YouTube The Checklist Manifesto « Atul Gawande Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” discuss finding a balance between the time we all take planning and doing our work. It’s easy to get lost in the planning, it’s even easier to get lost without it (at least it is for us). Join Mike Vardy and Michael Schechter as they talk about how you can prepare and accomplish some of your best work while avoiding falling prey to productivity porn. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Bulleit Bourbon Michael Schechter - River Horse Brewing - Tripel Horse Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me The Unwritten Weekend A Leap Year of Faith: The Mike Vardy Secret Book Project Revealed Getting Things Done with Asana A Very Tough DYSision Knowing When to Quit Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess The Importance Of How And Why Foundation First The Truth About Productivity Systems Five Ideas I’ll Probably Never Do… Smarter Than I Am… Connect with Michael Schechter on Twitter The Work Of Others Study Hacks » Blog Archive » Welcome to the Post-Productivity World An interview with Jack Cheng 70Decibels - Write for Your Life - S02E03 - It’s No Sacrifice, Just A Simple Word This Life of Leisure, Rethinking Productivity for Creatives Download Subscribe in iTunes

“The Mikes” are joined by their first guest ever, Myke Hurley of the 70 Decibels podcasting network. Myke took time out of his hectic podcasting schedule to open up his application folder and share just how packed is his Mac. Those familiar with Myke’s Enough Podcast with Patrick Rhone will know that our “How Packed Is Your Mac?” episodes are an homage to their “How Bare Is Your Air?” series. With this in mind, it only seemed fitting that our first guest be one of the originators of our inspiration for the series.Join Vardy, Schechter and Hurley as they walk through some of the highlights of Hurley’s 66 applications (a new low!) and discuss how you can create an entire podcasting network from the comfort of an 11” MacBook Air. What Mikes (And Myke) Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Ethical Coffee (Freshly Aeropressed, of course!) Michael Schechter - Sixpoint - Righteous Rye Myke Hurley - Dr. Pepper Zero Myke Hurley’s Mac 11” MacBook Air with a 128GB HD What’s In Myke Hurley’s Mac? Alfred App Audio Hijack Pro Apple - GarageBand The Levelator® nvALT 2.1 - Notational Velocity Fork Reeder Sparrow — Get mail done TweetDeck by Twitter Wunderkit Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Journey To… Series How Bare Is Mike Vardy’s Air? How Packed Is Mike Vardy’s Mac? Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess How Packed Is Michael Schechter’s Mac? Connect with Mike Schechter on Twitter Download Subscribe in iTunes

The journey to “Getting Things Done” often begins with finding a place to store all of the things you want and need to do. This week “The Mikes” talk about task managers and how you might go about choosing yours. They make progress, but they also do a fair amount of bickering about Vardy’s love for Asana and Schechter’s affection for OmniFocus. Join “The Mikes” as two techies fight the battle for task management supremacy. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Old South (Yep, that’s OJ. Feel free to judge him.) Michael Schechter - Stoudts Pilsner Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Getting Things Done with Asana The Adaptability of Asana vs. OmniFocus Enough - AsanaVaGun 30 Days With…Asana Getting Things Done with Clear Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess Coming Into Omnifocus Four Tools For Four Types Of To-dos How to get all of your crap into OmniFocus Turn Everything Into Something With OmniFocus Are Power Apps Like Omnifocus and Scrivener Are For You? Connect with Michael Schechter on Twitter The Work Of Others Asana - Task Management for Teams OmniFocus for Mac - Products - The Omni Group TaskPaper — Simple to-do list software for Mac & iPhone Totally TaskPaper - Brett Terpstra Todo Task Manager Cultured Code David Allen, Getting Things Done® and GTD® MacSparky - OmniFocus Screencasts Rob Cottingham Cartoons Download Subscribe in iTunes

In homage to Patrick Rhone and Myke Hurley of the Enough podcast “The Mikes” have created a new series to complement Enough’s “How Bare Is Your Air” episodes. While “How Bare Is Your Air” challenges Mac geeks to pare down their digital life to fit in the confines of a 64GB, 11” MacBook Air, “How Packed Is Your Mac” forces participants to share a secret shame. It asks them to tell the truth and own up to all of apps that live on their computers. For the second episode of “How Packed Is Your Mac?”, Michael Schechter opens up his applications folder and attempts to crap-rationalize many of the the over 80 applications currently living within. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Bulleit Bourbon Michael Schechter - Sixpoint Resin Find “The Mikes” Vardy.me Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter A Better Mess Connect with Michael Schechter on Twitter What’s In Michael Schechter’s Mac? LaunchBar TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Fantastical Keyboard Maestro: Work Faster with Macros nvALT 2.1 - Notational Velocity Fork Evernote OmniFocus for Mac Byword • A Simple Text Editor for Mac Screencasting Software - ScreenFlow Scrivener MindNode Acorn, a great Mac image editor. SuperDuper! Mailplane - Gmail on the Mac HootSuite Michael’s Links Download Dropbox Now, Thank Me Later… | BetterMess.com How to get all of your crap into OmniFocus How A Lazy Person Writes In Markdown Overcoming Your Mess Of A Desktop Mind Maps and Scrivener: It’s Easier Than It Looks The Work Of Others 70Decibels - Enough Podcast Patrick Rhone on Twitter Myke Hurley on Twitter LaunchBar Blackbelt « Mac Power Users Download Subscribe in iTunes

In homage to Patrick Rhone and Myke Hurley of the Enough podcast, “The Mikes” have created a new series to complement Enough’s “How Bare Is Your Air?” episodes. While “How Bare Is Your Air?” challenges Mac geeks to pare down their digital life to fit in the confines of a 64GB, 11” MacBook Air, “How Packed Is Your Mac” forces participants to share a secret shame. It asks them to tell the truth and own up to all of apps that live on their computers. First up, weighing in at over 100 items in his application folder is Mike Vardy. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Bulleit Bourbon Michael Schechter - Auchentoshan - Three Wood Find “The Mikes” Vardy.me Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter A Better Mess Connect with Michael Schechter on Twitter Sponsor MOREDAYS - Plan your life with fun and style! Mike Vardy’s Mac 11” MacBook Air with a 128GB HD What’s In Mike Vardy’s Mac Acorn, a great Mac image editor, built for humans. Byword • A Simple Text Editor for Mac Sparrow — Get mail done Fluid - Turn Your Favorite Web Apps into Real Mac Apps. Asana - Task Management for Teams Viewfinder: Flickr search tool LaunchBar 5 Marked: MultiMarkdown preview, everywhere The Levelator® from The Conversations Network Flexibits | Fantastical | Meet your Mac’s new calendar. QuickCal 3 TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time! Keyboard Maestro 5.0.3: Work Faster with Macros nvALT 2.1 - Notational Velocity Fork Paperless | Mariner Software OmniFocus for Mac - Products - The Omni Group The Work Of Others 70Decibels - Enough - The Minimal Mac Podcast Patrick Rhone on Twitter Myke Hurley on Twitter Download Subscribe in iTunes

Every attempt to get your act together begins somewhere different, but often ends up or is influenced by the same thing; David Allen’s Getting Things Done (or GTD as the cool nerds call it). “The Mikes” share their early, uncomfortable days of getting organized. You’ll learn about Schechter’s shiny, and official ADHD membership card as well as how GTD helped Vardy grow beyond his role as a Costco manager to the many creative pursuits he juggles today.Join “The Mikes” as they uncover the fact that there is no “right way” to go from mess to mastery and hopefully help you get a little further along in your own journey to GTD. What Mikes Are Drinking Mike Vardy - Makers Mark Michael Schechter - Green Flash Brewery - Imperial IPA Sponsor MOREDAYS - Plan your life with fun and style! Mike Vardy’s Links Vardy.me Goodbye, Google: Why I’m Untethering from All Things Google The Neat Company Is Putting Paperless in the Cloud [Macworld / iWorld 2012] | Cult of Mac Connect with Mike Vardy on Twitter Michael Schechter’s Links A Better Mess Post It. Do It. Trash It. A Better Approach To Meeting Notes When to Evernote and When to Ever-Not | BetterMess.com Overcoming Email Aggravation With Inbox Zero, Gmail and Mailplane Connect with Mike Schechter on Twitter The Work Of Others Wet Frog Studios Inbox Zero - YouTube Episode Zero: Dear God, Not Another Productivity Podcast | Mikes on Mics MacSparky - OmniFocus Screencasts Using OmniFocus Download Subscribe in iTunes