How I Work

David had it pretty good. He was working in a great university. His students loved him. His peers loved him. He had plenty of friends who loved him. And then he became a successful playwright. Life couldn’t get any better!Except reaching the dizzying heights David reached in the theatre world didn’t come cheap. For most of his life, he was like anyone else. You might have the occasional tiff with a co-worker or acquaintance, but generally, you’re well-liked by the people you care about. And all of a sudden, hordes of strangers started to hate David Williamson. Already a self-conscious man, the idea of people making a living by tearing apart his every thought was almost debilitating for David. He shares how he learned to train his focus onto the audience, rather than the critics, and reflects on the help he received from his wife, who would conduct audience surveys in the women’s bathrooms after his shows. Pick up a copy of David’s book, Home TruthsOr connect with him at his websiteYou can find the full interview here: Playwright David Williamson on negativity, perfectionism and the myth of writer’s block***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auCREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com**For productivity geeks like us, the professional writer can become a bit of a mystic figure. When we fantasise about finally perfecting our morning routines, finally clearing out enough time for a fruitful Deep Work session, setting up the ideal workstation - we’re often thinking about a writer. There’s something idyllic about the idea of being a writer: it’s just you, your thoughts, and the blank page. It’s the platonic ideal of knowledge work! But… it’s not that simple. Take Brian Koppelman, for example. Inarguably one of the most prolific and successful screenwriters working today, you’d think Brian spends most of his life holed up in a cabin in the woods, clacking away on a typewriter, free from any and all distractions. But Brian lives in New York City, the busiest, most distracting place on the planet. Oh, and he’s not just a screenwriter. He’s also a director, producer, and showrunner. Brian’s “average” day looks a lot less like that of a reclusive artist, and much more like that of a busy CEO. So, how does he still manage to produce so much incredible work? Brian shares how meditation, morning pages and music help him focus, and recalls the most powerful lessons he learned on the set of his very first film. Connect with Brian on Twitter***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auCREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosEpisode Producer: Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Siegel’s in his third CEO role, and if all his years of experience as a leader have taught him anything, it’s that most people take too long to make a decision. The clearest example: company strategy. When David joined Meetup, he drafted the new company strategy as quickly as possible. At first, that sounds like a pretty irresponsible treatment of such a huge part of the business… but David’s underlying reasoning reveals why we should all speed up a little bit!David teaches you to make better, faster decisions, and to uncover the blind spots in your own decision-making process.Connect with David on Twitter or LinkedIn, and grab a copy of Decide & Conquer***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auCREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosEpisode Producer: Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A productivity tip that’s hard to swallow for people who like productivity tips: nothing except doing the work will get the work done. You can have the cleanest calendar, the emptiest inbox and the tightest morning routine, but if you’re not sitting down and putting in the work, your “hacks” serve as little more than decoration. Unless those tips and tricks steer you towards the right kind of deep work? Liane Moriarty, the incredibly prolific author of Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and Apples Never Fall, uses a website blocker, puts her phone outside her office, and even uses a little egg timer for “Pomodoro” sessions. But all of these techniques serve a much greater function - the rituals program her to do the actual writing!Connect with Liane on her website, and pick up a copy of Nine Perfect StrangersYou can find the full interview here: Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty on writing, self-talk, and what she’s learned from Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**BEST OF**It’s 9:30, and you’ve got just under an hour before your next Zoom meeting. There’s already just a bit too much caffeine buzzing around your brain, and your eyes are half-crossed from the last video call. So how do you recharge and show up refreshed for that next one? If you’re Evernote and mmhmm co-founder Phil Libin, you swim laps. Thanks to the “distributed” nature of mmhmm’s workforce, he can punctuate his work days with distinctly not-work activities. Some days, it’s laps between meetings, other days it’s a stroll around one of his favourite museums while he ponders new ideas.Whatever he chooses on any given day, it’s only possible because of one of the many superpowers of the internet. Phil is happy to solve a few problems with our new way of working, if it means he gets to keep the many, many benefits of working asynchronously and away from a traditional office in the big city. Phil shares his favourite tips on making the most of remote work (including why he doesn’t like the term “remote”) and some of the biggest lessons he learned as the CEO of Evernote.  Connect with Phil on Twitter or Linkedin Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co   CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction support from Deadset StudiosEpisode producer: Jenna KodaSound engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**BEST OF**You need to be in the office at nine, and if you want to be performing at your best, you’ll need to get in a quick workout and a nutritious breakfast. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for trying to pull an outfit together, so you’ll also need to sort that out the night before. Oh, and you need to make sure your kids have eaten a healthy breakfast, put their school uniforms on, brushed their teeth, packed their bags, and not started an all-out war with one another before getting in the car for drop-off. Thankfully, parenting expert and bestselling author Justin Coulson has a formula to help you do all of that, while also teaching your kids life skills and taking some of the workload off your own shoulders. Sounds too good to be true? Well, the system is called Make Mornings Magic. Justin lays out his four rules for keeping the morning chaos at bay, and how his routine has improved his relationship with his own kids. Connect with Justin on his websiteCheck out the Happy Families podcast Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosEpisode producers: Jenna Koda and Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**BEST OF**It wouldn’t work to try to tell the Michael Bungay Stanier story - if anyone’s a collection of stories, it’s MBS. He finished law school being sued for defamation by his professor, he was a Rhodes Scholar in his early 20s, and he’s coached Brene Brown on her own podcast. A life and career with so many twists, turns and new directions brings with it an equally eclectic and overflowing bag of tips, tricks and mindset shifts, and Michael shares them generously. Michael covers everything from how to tackle multi-month projects, journaling techniques, honing your personal brand, and knowing when to say “no”. Connect with Michael at his website and pre-order How To Begin.Neil Pasricha - ‘Two Minute Morning’ https://www.neil.blog/ Julia Funt - ‘A minute to think’ https://www.julietfunt.com/book/ Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co  CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosEpisode Producers: Jenna Koda and Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**BEST OF**I was a competitive kid, and some classroom rivalries pushed me to better grades than I might have achieved otherwise. However, I was also a perfectionist, and any “A”s that came without a “+” beside them started to feel less like an almost-perfect achievement and more like a glaring signal that I’d missed the mark. I hated failing, and when you combine that with believing anything less than the top spot is a loss, you have a recipe for disaster. I hid my failures, refusing to talk about them, terrified that if people knew I wasn’t perfect, they wouldn’t like me anymore. Not only is this a good way to spend a lot of time being angry with yourself, but it turns out it makes the feeling of failing even worse. On the other hand, being open and honest about your failures actually makes us more resilient and improves self-belief. So in 2020, I wrote my first Failure Resume as an experiment. And now, I’m revisiting it and sharing it with you. Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody hears from Janice Lintz just once. Whether she’s chasing down information on her phone bill or chasing down the Queen of England, Janice doesn’t stop until she gets what she needs, and she believes others can benefit from that kind of tenacity. It’s reflected in a lesson Janice learned from the great civil rights activist, Vernon Jordan - don’t answer the phone until someone calls you the fourth time. If it’s not worth their time, it’s certainly not worth yours. So Janice calls again. And again, and again. As a hearing access consultant and consumer advocate, Janice’s requests aren’t merely boxes that need ticking; they’re often the only way people who are hard of hearing are able to experience what everyone else takes for granted. That’s why productivity and efficiency are so important to Janice. She simply doesn’t have time to waste. Connect with Janice on Twitter or LinkedIn***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au CREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberProduction Support from Deadset StudiosEpisode Producer: Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re trying to talk to Josh Piterman after a show… good luck. The second he’s said his farewells to his fellow castmates and crew members, he won’t utter a word until he returns to the theatre the following day. Josh knows there’s no short-cutting recovery, and like everything else, his approach to rest is both holistic and spiritual. A healthy voice is part of a healthy body, and a healthy body needs a healthy mind and a healthy soul. When it comes to recovery, the trick is actually what not to do. Josh goes over his list of Don’ts after a show, ranging from what he doesn’t eat, to what he avoids doing right before bed. Connect with Josh on Twitter and InstagramYou can find the full interview here: Shape your own identity with Phantom of the Opera’s Josh Piterman***Connect with me on the socials:LinkedinTwitterInstagram  If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.coVisit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auCREDITSProduced by InventiumHost: Amantha ImberSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.