“There are few uses for a smart phone that are more productive than listening to a good podcast.” *
-Abraham Lincoln
If you’re into podcasts, you know there are thousands to choose from.
It can be overwhelming to find the best ones. And how do know which podcasts are the best? Reviews? Ratings? Recommendations?
I’ve been listening to podcasts for years and I’ve listened to the good and the bad.
I could put together a list of the top 100, but I’ll save your time. Why subscribe to hundreds of podcasts when there are plenty of old episodes to go through?
Even if you just listen to few, you’ll be busy browsing the archives for months if not years. So here are the top 10 best podcasts on productivity for 2015…
1. The 5 AM Miracle
New show released: Weekly
The 5 AM Miracle is hosted by Jeff Sanders. I’ve been listening to his podcast for a few years now and I look forward to it every week. This show dedicates to “dominating your day before breakfast”. Jeff gives all kinds of advice on productivity, increasing energy levels, waking up early and getting things done. He also talks about plant-based nutrition for increasing your energy levels and he eats a lot of bananas.
2. Achieve Your Goals
New show released: Weekly
Achieve Your Goals is Hal Elrod’s podcast, usually hosted by Nick Palkowski. Hal Elord is the author of The Miracle Morning, which I highly recommend. Hal talks about different strategies and ideas for achieving your goals and he has some highly-accomplished guests on weekly to teach you how they achieve their goals. I listen to every new episode when it releases and I have gone through the archives to hear all the old ones.
3. This is Your Life
New show released: Weekly
This Your Life is Michael Hyatt’s podcast, hosted by Michele Cushatt. Michael Hyatt, former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, shares everything he has learned as a CEO to help you with your productivity. The show is geared towards bloggers and writers, but everyone can benefit from the information he shares. He often gives tips and ideas that I haven’t heard elsewhere. It’s not the basic advice that you can hear on any other podcast.
4. The Action Catalyst (Formerly Daily Discipline)
New show released: Weekly
Daily Discipline is hosted by Rory Vaden. Rory goes into detail about how to create more discipline in your life. He interviews an expert guest each week. Rory is also the best-selling author of Take the Stairs and Procrastinate on Purpose. He usually speaks for the first part of the episode and then interviews a guest in the second part. He gives some seriously practical and applicable advice on productivity through discipline and habits.
5. Entrepreneur on Fire
New show released: Daily
Entrepreneur on Fire is hosted by John Lee Dumas. John gives you actual advice that you can use. It’s all actionable tips and ideas. He releases a new episode every single day, as he chats with experts including Tim Ferriss and Seth Godin. If you’re ever not sure what to do, just scroll through his archives for hundreds of episodes on everything you could imagine. He’s actually not too far from having a thousand episodes in his archives (just under 900 right now).
6. The Art of Charm
New show released: 3x/week
The Art of Charm is hosted by AJ and Jordan Harbinger. These are two regular guys who are interviewing experts from all over, asking the questions that you want to ask. The show is funny, fun to listen to and informative. They also talk about relationships and self-confidence. If you’re looking for a productivity podcast, you’ll learn a lot from this one.
7. Beyond the To-Do List
New show released: Usually weekly
Beyond the To-Do List is hosted by Erik Fisher. This is one of the most popular productivity podcasts and for good reason. Erik has talked to just about every productivity expert out there. This show is all about achieving goals and becoming more productive with all kinds of practical tips. He also talks about priorities and how to know which work to get done.
8. A Productive Conversation (Formerly The Productivityist)
New show released: Weekly
The Productivityist is hosted by Mike Vardy. This show is hit or miss, but the good episodes are really good. The first episode I ever listened to seemed boring and I almost turned it off, but he said something that caught my attention, so I decided to listen to another episode and I loved it. So, be sure to try out a few different episodes before making your decision with this one. Also, the beginning of the episodes can be a little slow, so stay tuned through the first part.
9. The Tim Ferriss Show
New show released: Weekly
You guessed it, Tim Ferriss is the host ofThe Tim Ferriss Show. They categorize this show under investing, since that’s the main focus. However, I think it makes sense to put it on this list. First, this is a finance and productivity blog, so a podcast with both of those things needs to be on here. Second, this show is full of advice from all kinds of experts (including Tony Robbins and Ramit Sethi) on everything you could imagine. It will give your productivity and your finances a boost for sure.
10. The Productivity Show
New show released: At least weekly
Asian Efficiency hosts The Productivity Show. This is my most recent find. It’s also one of the newest podcasts on this list. I’ve read the Asian Efficiency blog before, but I really enjoy the podcast. The show is based heavily on David Allen’s GTD philosophy, though they also talk about other effective productivity hacks and time management techniques. So far, from my recent listening, I think I’m going to love this podcast. They also talk about habits and rituals a lot, which I love.
Honorable Mention
I have another recent find. First Things, hosted by Brandon Vaughn, Ph.D., seems to be a great show, but I’ve only listened to a few episodes. They recently interviewed Carol Dweck, who wrote the amazing book Mindset, that is on my top 75 productivity book list. That show was awesome, but I’ve only listened to a few episodes, so I didn’t want to include it just yet.
*Note: Abraham Lincoln did not actually say the beginning quote. At least, not as far as I know.