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On the reg

Latest episodes

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Mar 25, 2022 • 1h 44min

So good they can't ignore you... or can they?

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Warning - there's a lot of swearing in this one, so maybe shield from sensitive little ears...Jason is between jobs, which means he's nearly killing his family on a hike and getting suits delivered. Oh - and reading Cal Newport's book 'So good they can't ignore you'. Meanwhile Inger is surprised she hasn't caught Covid at any of the 50 year old birthday parties. Oh, and Mr Thesiswhisperer laughed at her for shopping in the 'Influencer' section of JB Hi Fi. Shainul, friend of the pod and co-tinny owner calls in and asks a rather tricky question.For most of this episode we  discuss Cal Newport's book 'So Good They can't ignore you'. It turns out we had a LOT to say about this book's central theory about job markets and so called 'career capital'. Jason really brought his nerd to the table and convinced Inger that maybe it wasn't as good a book as she thought...If you want to leave us a message, got to Speakpipe.com/thesiswhispererThings we mentioned:So good they can't ignore you by Cal NewportResearchfish accused of ‘intimidating’ academics SherpaBuy our TextExpander Book from the Thesis WhispererGot thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Mar 6, 2022 • 1h 35min

Is this book bullshit? The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!This episode of On the Reg is slightly delayed because of children being stranded in Western Port Bay, internet upload speeds and an ill-advised attempt to record in the evening after work. In other words, it took time to get our shit together (and not just because we are both now over 50 and the government is starting to show an interest in the contents of our poo (long story).This is the first of our special episode series called 'Is This Book Bullshit?' where we examine the giants of the productivity literature to see if what they say about being productive really stacks up. We start with Inger reading 'The Four Hour Work Week' by Tim Ferris in less than four hours and subjecting it to a rigorous feminist critique. Jason comes along for the ride, providing very necessary context and commentary along the way. Inger eventually  rates this book as a 'Type 5' on the Brisol Stool Chart (soft blobs with clear cut edges - passed easily).The team go on to take about the Victoria special forces ('The Soggies'), why your brain does a 15 second refresh, why driving a Tesla is like riding a nervous stallion, hyper grooming, the Doom Scrolling Reminder Bot and many other side topics. In other words, it's a pretty standard episode of On The Reg, just a little late!PS: there's a bit of the odd crackle and background noise in this one - we were both recording under different circumstances than usual, apologies!Things we mentioned: Sons of God by Heath O’loaughlin : Amazon LinkFour Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss : Amazon LinkEverything we see is a mash-up of the brain’s last 15 seconds of visual information : The ConversationFuture Fit by Andrea Clarke : Amazon LinkDoomscrolling Reminder Bot : Profile on TwitterEndless Scream Bot : Profile on TwitterClean Text: removes all the shitty bits from PDFs etc when you cut and paste:  Got thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Feb 5, 2022 • 1h 27min

Obsessive passion and the Omicron variations

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Content warning! In this episode we talk briefly about anxiety and addiction. If either of those two topics are not your thing today, click away friend!Jason and Inger are back from holidays - if you can call it that. December and January were marred by the Omicron Surge which, like all bad sci-fi novels, has produced a lot of boredom. Inger made progress on her book and the rest of her 'holiday to do list' while Jason actually got to doing some actual recreating.Speaking of leisure, Inger delves into the literature on obsessive hobbies, which has some useful insights for academics who do writing on the holidays. Jason meanwhile enrolled in a master class in Texas BBQ. Can you tell which one ended up more relaxed?!There's a lot of other stuff in here, including sexist robotics, how to write 10,000 words a day and the reason why Inger bought a whole lot of fidget toys. We finish off with a couple of handy apps. Hope you enjoy!Stuff we mentioned in this episodeTiming App LinkEpisode with Jonathan O'Donnell about Good Waste LinkEpisode with Ben Kraal about articulation work LinkOliver Burkeman 4000 weeks book LinkKanban boards LinkObsessive passion paper LinkNavy SEALS book on nutrition  LinkRacheal Aaron 2000 - 10000 words a day book LinkEzra Klein interview with Annie Murphy Paul on the Extended Mind LinkAndy Clark and Brian Chalmers  extended mind essay that Inger read for her thesis LinkKaiko Fidget toys LinkYolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy The Smart Wife book LinkWaiting List app LinkTL;DR Papers Link Got thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Jan 14, 2022 • 1h 20min

Tips for the lockdown you have when you're not really having a lockdown.

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Jason and Inger are on summer holidays! This episode is one Inger recorded last year with Mark Carrigan and Tyler shores. There's lot of nerdy stuff about productivity in here, including name checking a whole lot of note taking apps. We kept this one in the can for the summer break and it has fresh resonance now that Australia seems to be in the 'trickledown responsibility' part of the pandemic where we aren't having a lockdown, but seem to be spending an awful lot of time inside, trying to avoid getting Covid.You can find Mark Carrigan on his website and check out his latest book The Public and their Platforms.You can find Tyler Shores via his Website and also the ThinkLab at Cambridge University.Links to stuff we talked about:Bear note taking appRoam note taking toolDevonthinkThe Zimbabwe Bush Pump: mechanics of a fluid technologyThe new future of work report MicrosoftNew pandemics, old politicsThe Over story (novel)Inger did make that podcast about Academics talk about The Chair (link to first episode - stream has now been repurposed to Your Brain on Writing)Got thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Dec 21, 2021 • 1h 50min

The one about Overwhelm

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!It's been a busy couple of weeks leading up to the end of the year for both Inger and Jason. There's a lot of cars on their respective work highways. While Inger was 'snappish', Jason suddenly found himself Overwhelmed by everything. Jason describes his  terrible, no good Tuesday and tells Inger how he ate hot chips, went to afternoon Brazillian JuJitsu and bullet journaled his way out of it.  Inger knows the ways of Burnout after she got carried out of a lecture theatre to hospital in 2018, after a terrible no good 2017. Inger explains to Jason  why his strategies worked according to Science, using the wonderful feminist self help book 'Burnout' by the Nagoski sisters. Apparently it's all about running away from the lion, which is why Jason deciding to have his face mashed into the mat by a BJJ sparring partner was exactly The Right Thing To Do.In other news, Jason has been trying to read 'Risk: a user's guide', but is annoyed about the writing style. Inger had the opposite reaction to 'The Game' by Sean Kelly (she even sent him an admiring note about his use of Gerunds. In the 2 minute tips section Jason shares a new #bujo innovation and Inger shares the 'one decision that saves 100 decisions' about peer reviewing. Links:Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycleRisk: a user's guideThe Game: a portrait of Scott Morrison The Year America's Hair Fell OutAnd in case you were wondering, of course Inger bought the new Version Two Bullet Journal A billion-dollar donation: estimating the cost of researchers’ time spent on peer reviewMy personal reviewing policy: No more billion-dollar donationsGot thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Dec 5, 2021 • 1h 40min

Should I open this email and other stories, including one about the tinny

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Inger had a unexpected visit to the hospital and Jason had trouble getting the tinny out to sea and back again, so it was quite a week for the On The Reg Team. Full of the dramas.Inger digs out a paper her 'interesting shit' folder on Zotero, which is basically stuff she found while Jason was on #epictrip and saved for later. The findings of the paper send the pair into a deep nerd spiral on all things email but you know, in a fun way.Inger muses on the 1970s books on lectures she stole from the compactus in building 10T1, while Jason tells Inger about the one thing he found worth watching on Disney+We finish with some 2 minute tips which deal with anxiety and procrastination, in other words - the good stuff. Inger didn't edit much of this one out, so dial up a long walk or some gardening and let us give you some good nerd company!LinksLinks to stuff we mentioned in the Pod:Research Article: Should I open this email? Links to previous On The Reg eps we mentioned in this episode:That other episode where we talked about emailProcrastination (Part 1) [episode 20]Procrastination (Part 2) [episode 21]Procrastination (Part 3)[episode 22]Got thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Nov 13, 2021 • 1h 54min

Long service leave: artefact of colonisation or just bloody awesome?

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Jason and Inger finally have time to really catch up properly... with a well over 2 hour conversation... Inger edited it down to 1 hour 53, so hey - listen in segments? Crank it up for a long session of housework or gardening? Go for a really long run? We believe in you!It's long because frankly, there was a lot of backed up conversation to be had after Jason had 14 weeks off. We discuss the origins and future of the idea of long service leave and the value of taking a break from work to reflect on the meaning of life and renegotiate your relationships, personal and professional. This is followed by a long discussion of Simon Sinek's 'The Infinite Game', which it turns out Inger has been playing with the Thesis Whisperer for over a decade now. This is followed by a philosophical digression into the idea of a hyper object and whether academia is (maybe) a form of techno-bureaucratic climate change?In two minute tips, Jason brings us up to date with the cool new iPhone features for limiting your access to work after hours (and people's access to you after hours). Look - it's long, but we enjoyed it. Hope you do too!LinksWhisper collective portalWhisper collective launchSimon Sinek The Infinite GameTimothy Morton: Introducing the idea of hyperobjectsOur book!: The text expander guide for academicsGot thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Oct 17, 2021 • 1h 5min

Jason is back in The Matrix

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Jason just got back from 14 weeks driving around Australia on #epictrip2021! So it seemed like a good idea to throw him right into podcasting via a live key note for Australian Educational Podcast Conference 2021. The event was called "Planning for podcasting: dissecting the process", so we did a normal On The Reg... but with a time limit, in front of a live audience, while people watched the show notes scroll by... This wasn't at ALL anxiety provoking.We talk about the problem of Context collapse, why young people think about computers like they are laundry baskets and the benefits of meditation (yes, really) for the first 42 minutes. Then Narelle Lemon from Swinburne university interviewed us about the process of putting together an episode. We left this bit in! If you're interested in podcasting, we have a lot of tips and tricks for getting a show together, on the reg as they say!Links mentioned in the episode:File not FoundHyperfocusDescript editing softwareThe TextExpander guide for academicsBuzzcast podcastGot thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Oct 2, 2021 • 1h 12min

Bottoming our way through pandemic lockdowns (with lavender mist and pills)

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!Inger recorded this guestapooloza version of On The Reg just before Canberra was locked down... as she says in the pod "things might change before you hear this".Luckily her guest was Narelle Lemon from the Wellbeing Whisperer, who was able to impact many relaxation tips. Inger is crap at relaxing, so Narelle's suggestions were extremely helpful. The pair have a surprisingly intense conversation about sleep: how to fall asleep, stay asleep and annoy your partner with the pillow that must go between your knees when you have 'academic back'.Amongst other topics discussed are 'data knitting', the importance of the inner rebel, how to take a compliment, acupuncture and the online attention economy. In other words, this was a pretty typical episode of On The Reg, sans JD - but he does call from On The Road in Covid Free WA!LinksWhy you can’t escape the attention economy:All about sleep stages You may have heard that adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night. But, the quality of sleep you get also matters.Why it breaks your brain to take a complimentTeaching matters podcastBrene Brown Unlocking us Beating the Odds: A practical guide to navigating sexism in Australian universitiesGot thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site
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Sep 18, 2021 • 1h 24min

Articulation work isn't just a cool research paper from 1992 (even though it kind of is)

Can't be bothered with email or speak pipe? Text us!After hearing briefly from Jason, who seems to be making progress on his digital detox, Inger is joined by Dr Ben Kraal. Ben used to be an academic, but escaped into the wilds of UX consulting where he makes a very nice living - but still runs an excellent academic-ish newsletter on the side which is called '1992'.Ben tells Inger about the inspiration for 1992, particularly the concept of Articulation work. This is a concept which comes from an early book on the Social organisation of Medical work by Straus, Fagerhaugh, Suczek and Weiner. Articulation work is a fancy way of talking about:Putting tasks in an order (to complete some arc or work)Doing tasks sequentially or simultaneously (to complete some arc of work)Assigning people to do tasks (to complete some arc of work)Basically all the stuff Inger and Jason do in their #Bujos or Omni or whatever else. Ben explains to Inger that Kjeld Schmidt and Liam Bannon applied the ideas from articulation work to computers and invented Google Docs and Zoom in 1992 - or rather, imagined them in a paper called 'Taking CSCW seriously: Supporting Articulation Work'.  This paper is pretty amazing when you consider at the time you had to use a physical phone hand set to access the internet through a phone line. This short history lesson on human computer interaction (naturally?) leads into a discussion of what meetings are really FOR and how Cal Newport has discovered the principles of Agile Project Management, not a whole new way to email. The nerd is very strong in this discussion, but Inger came away from it very enlightened and now understands why all those books that promise to solve your project management problems, never will (and why everyone hates Jira).In our reading section, Ben recommends a book on forest management (that is very relevant for understanding public health in pandemics - just trust us) and Inger shares an article on the importance of 'cooling off' before saying 'yes' to a new idea. In the 2 minute tips section, Inger shares some writing planning secrets and Ben changes your life with the Highlighted App.LinksSocial organisation of Medical work by Straus, Fagerhaugh, Suczek and Weiner.Taking CSCW seriously: Supporting Articulation Work' Schmidt and BannonThe Got thoughts and feel pinions? Want to ask a question? You can email us on <pod@ontheregteam.com> - Leave us a message on www.speakpipe.com/thesiswhisperer. - See our workshop catalogue on www.ontheregteam.com. You can book us via emailing Jason at enquiries@ontheregteam.com- Subscribe to the free, monthly Two Minute Tips newsletter here (scroll down to enter your email address) - We're on BlueSky as @drjd and @thesiswhisperer (but don't expect to hear back from Jason, he's still mostly on a Socials break).- Read Inger's stuff on www.thesiswhisperer.com. - If you want to support our work, you can sign up to be a 'Riding the Bus' member for just $2 a month, via our On The Reg Ko-Fi site

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