UPDATED OCTOBER 10, 2026
I created this page to help me allocate the right amount of time and energy to what I need and want to do. Taking on too much puts my focus at risk, so this is where I keep myself honest about what’s getting my attention right now. I update it somewhere midway between each month. (More on why below.)
Much of this page centers on Time Theming, one of the elements of TimeCrafting. Time Theming gives a period of time an overarching focus and sharpens attention inside it. Below you’ll find my Daily Themes, my Monthly Theme, and my Annual Axiom for the year.
MY DAILY THEMES
As of now, every day has a theme. It names the state the day inhabits, not the tasks I perform. My week starts on Sunday, and the date I adopted each theme is in parentheses.
| Day | Theme (Date Adopted) | Overarching Focus |
| Sunday | Setting (August 2026) | Setting the compass before the week begins. Surveying, planning, getting bearings. The state of preparation before motion starts. |
| Monday | Making (August 2026) | Making things: infrastructure, backend work, course development, anything that involves construction. Protected: no interviews, no coaching calls. |
| Tuesday | Tending (May 2026) | Community, connection, marketing, outreach, coaching, podcast interviews. Anything that involves tending to people. Extends into personal tending when professional work ends. |
| Wednesday | Filming (September 2026) | The day the cameras get the room. Six of my themes alliterate and this one doesn’t, on purpose. The odd name marks the odd day. |
| Thursday | Transmission (August 2026) | The outward-facing state. The signal moves from me to my audience: writing, email, podcast promotion, social. |
| Friday | Fix-It (May 2026) | Refining and revamping. Not finishing, fixing. The honest word for what actually happens. |
| Saturday | Stewardship (January 2025) | Everything that isn’t work: family, friends, the house, the garden. Growth without urgency. Not the brand. The life. |
Sunday and Saturday swap depending on family commitments and weather. A theme without a boundary isn’t really a theme. Knowing what doesn’t belong matters as much as knowing what does.
MY MONTHLY THEME
My Monthly Themes work the same way my Daily Themes do. Some months get a “hybrid” theme, which means it applies to both my personal and professional life.
I update this section mid-month on purpose. The first of the month is where the plan lives. The fifteenth is where the process shows up. By then I can tell you whether the theme is holding, or admit that it isn’t.
This month’s theme is Activation. It’s the second movement of DELIVER, the name I’ve given this fall, September through December: don’t just ship, deliver. September belonged to getting Productiveness into the world. October is about turning on what’s already built instead of building more.
Halfway through, it’s mostly holding.
The honest part: building kept trying to sneak back in. A rebuilt coaching page and a few side explorations took hours that Activation meant to keep for switching things on. None of it was wrong. But a theme that says “turn on, don’t build” is most easily broken by good ideas. So the back half of the month is about finishing what’s already in motion and leaving the new things where they belong: later.
MY ANNUAL AXIOM
After using Chris Brogan’s “3 Words” approach to the new year for the past several years, I’m shifting to something I’ve developed for TimeCrafting: The Annual Axiom.
Essentially, it’s a phrase or mantra that represents my aim in all facets of my life for the next twelve months. I liken it to what sports teams use in their locker rooms every season to help them strive to be the best they can be, game in and game out.
I began 2026 with re: purpose — a reminder that forward motion doesn’t always require something new. Midway through the year, that axiom did exactly what a good axiom should: it evolved. My axiom is now Honour the Hexagon.
The hexagon holds six Rs — the filter on what earns my time. Reverence crowns it. Reason grounds it. Relationships, Resonance, Recognition, and Revenue fill out the figure, with two positions that never move: Recognition is always third, and Revenue is always last — a result, never a driver. Purpose sits at the center, where every line crosses, holding all six in common.
When something new asks for my time, I open with Resonance. When I’m tending something that already exists, I open with Relationships. Either way, I walk the hexagon before I say yes. Theming decides when and where my attention goes; the axiom decides whether it should go at all. One sets the shape of the year. The other guards the door.
PODCAST INTERVIEWS
Every episode of A Productive Conversation for 2026 is already recorded. Next year there will be fewer interviews, chosen more carefully.
Guest submissions reopen November 1 through my contact form (choose “Podcast Guest Submission”). Please tell me which of the nine principles of productiveness your guest speaks to, because that’s how I’m choosing. I’m especially keen on Grace, Prudence, and Tolerance, but every principle is welcome.
OTHER POINTS OF NOTE
I am not currently reviewing any products (apps, books, etc.) other than those I’ve already committed to reviewing.
SPEAKING
I am always willing to look at in-person and virtual speaking engagements – both keynote talks and workshops. Check out my speaking page to learn more or contact me to inquire about booking me.
This page was inspired by Derek Sivers.