Reading Time: 6 minutesThis 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: 5 minutesFor 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: 6 minutesRecently, I completed my Quarterly Review and Planning Session for the 2nd quarter of 2023. I typically go to an off-site location and spend a night, so I can focus. As a part of this process, I review how I did the past quarter. I ask myself, What are my wins? This gives me a …
Reading Time: 7 minutesLast week, I performed my regular quarterly review and reflection retreat. However, I used an entirely unique method than what I’ve used in the past. I used dictation to answer the questions on my Quarterly Review Template. Normally, I write out my answers on a copy of the Template. The day before I began my …
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe 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: 6 minutesA 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 …
Reading Time: 6 minutesAll of us acknowledge that we want to live lives that are in balance. We understand that focusing on one or two areas of our lives and excluding others will lead to problems, and isn’t healthy. I hope you don’t expect that I’m going to give you “three easy steps” to bring balance to your …
Reading Time: 5 minutesA new friend recently read some of my prior blog posts about using a roles-based productivity system and wrote, “I like the idea of looking at each life role separately. I’m someone who has measured myself mostly by my career/projects alone for a lot of my life but I’m giving more space and attention to …
Reading Time: 3 minutesLife Roles: A Tool For Helping Me to Live an Intentional Life For the past year and a half, I have been taking life roles inventory and planning retreats every six months. These retreats were based on the system outlined in David Spark’s Personal Retreat Video And Planning Pdf. I’ve written about my experiences here …