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The Skyward Spiral, the upward trajectory that changes the way we engage with work, creativity, and self-mastery. Join fantasy author David Whitechapel, and productivity coach Brent Huras as they search for the best ways to pursue personal growth and get the important stuff done. Conversations explore the latest and deepest insights on productivity, fulfillment, and spiritual realisation.
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Brent presents the idea of "your highest aspiration", the reason you're here, and the reason you do what you do. This is the root of your motivation, your belief in your own daily practice. David speculates on the artist's drive to create art, and anyone's reason to produce and create in general. They both agree that the best work comes from pursui…
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David and Brent are back with the first episode of the second season of the podcast. David and Brent discuss "focus", what it is and how to attain it. David talks about his recent diagnosis of ADD, and how this changed affected his productivity. He brings up the idea of "Deep Work" as presented in the book by Cal Newport, but also mentions the surp…
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Today's guest is Polina Bee the founder of Monthly Method - a SCRUM-based framework for personal productivity. David and Polina talk about SCRUM, Agile, sprints, and the monthly method. How can you apply Scrum methodology to your life? How can it help your professional and personal goals? Polina's top tips: Set goals in these different areas of you…
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David and Brent look back on the year, and the first season of the podcast. David and Brent discuss the unusual year that was 2020 and their own experiences during it. David looks back at the podcast so far and the various principles and strategies presented. Brent introduces his new framework for work and rest which he calls the 'negative space' o…
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David and Brent talk real productivity: what it means, and how to access it. David talks about riding the wave of getting things done, and learning to be a better 'surfer'. Brent asks us to better define what we mean about productivity in the first place. They debate the finer details of what entails a productive day/week/month/year, and how best t…
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David and Brent talk about impostor syndrome and their own struggles with it. David defines impostor syndrome and explains some of his own experience of feeling like an 'impostor'. Brent details his own experience as he became a productivity coach. David presents the idea that "you're only ever you", and what it implies. They discuss how impostor s…
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David and Brent talk about burnout and how to avoid it. Brent talks about recent struggles with burnout. David relates his own experiences in his creative projects. Brent describes the "mastermind paradox" and definitions of burnout, as well as his approaches to solving it. Today's 3 Takeaways Make sure to make regular time for self-renewal. When y…
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David and Brent talk about iteration and iterative loops, and how to apply them to your work and life. David shares his theory of iteration or "controlled improvement" with Brent. They discuss the finer points of the iterative loop including how to make the best possible omelette. David's formulation of the iterative loop consists of four steps: BL…
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Brent talks about his recent spiritual homecoming, drawing inspiration from one of his favourite books, The Power of Now. What are the negotiations between our past and future selves, and how do we navigate them? Where is the balance between happiness and creative fulfilment? Today's 3 Takeaways Discern between yourself and your 'story'. Figure out…
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David and Brent talk about starting new projects, including how they started this podcast. David talks about his strategy of dealing with idea overflow and how to be deliberate with choosing what projects to work on and how to allocate time and energy to them. Brent discusses how important your mindset is when going into new projects, including bei…
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David and Brent discuss "flow" and how to maximise it in your own life. Brent introduces the concept of flow, as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and explains its crucial importance in the world of productivity. David talks about occasions when he's experienced flow, in writing, editing, and learning how to play the piano. Today's 3 Takeaways Ca…
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David and Brent discuss low morale and ways to recover. David shares his recent low morale and productivity struggles and his desire for a more consistent workflow. Brent offers some advice and a larger framework within which to think about morale and how to manage it. Today's 3 Takeaways Morale is important - it could be the invisible reason for y…
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David and Brent introduce themselves and discuss the premise of the podcast. The Skyward Spiral is all about building a healthy and consistently productive lifestyle - the focus is on long-term sustainable growth rather than short-term overdrive and burnout. https://twitter.com/skyward_spiral http://davidwhitechapel.com/ https://brenthuras.com/ Fin…
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