

How I Work
Amantha Imber
You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets - the daily strategies behind their success through to life hacks and productivity hacks they’d rather keep to themselves. We’re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that’ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who’ve cracked the code.
Episodes
Mentioned books

6 snips
Mar 23, 2022 • 38min
Persuasion, not manipulation: Zoe Chance on how to influence for good
In this engaging discussion, Zoe Chance, a Yale School of Management professor and the author of "Influence is Your Superpower," shares insights on using persuasion ethically. She emphasizes the impact of speaking up early in meetings to ensure your voice is heard. Zoe also unpacks charisma and its qualities while sharing her journey from overcoming self-doubt. Additionally, she highlights the ethics of marketing to children and offers practical tips for effective communication and productivity, blending enjoyment with actionable strategies.

Mar 21, 2022 • 7min
My Favourite Tip: Ronni Kahn - Save your leftovers to save the planet
Ronni Kahn does not like to hear about people throwing away their lettuce. If you compost lettuce, it takes about two weeks to decompose. If you throw it in the book, you can bump that number up to twenty-five. Sorry, twenty-five years, that is. As the founder of food rescue charity OzHarvest, Ronni’s an expert on preventing food waste on a massive scale. But what about on the small scale? Yep, she can help with that too. Ronni teaches you how to salvage soggy lettuce with a hearty soup, cooking techniques to recover that wrinkly tomato, and reminds you that your kitchen has a pause button, in the form of your freezer.Connect with Ronni on Twitter or LinkedinYou can find the full episode here: Manifesting purpose and profit with OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn 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 StudiosSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 snips
Mar 16, 2022 • 37min
Ruth Gotian on studying the habits and mindsets of the world’s most successful people
Join Ruth Gotian, Chief Learning Officer at Weill Cornell Medicine and author of The Success Factor, as she delves into the habits of the world’s top achievers. Ruth reveals four key traits shared by high performers, drawing insights from Olympic athletes and NASA astronauts. She discusses transformative mentorship and effective goal-setting techniques, emphasizing the importance of structured routines and milestone marking. Plus, learn how to overcome procrastination with strategic organizational methods and the power of a growth mindset.

Mar 14, 2022 • 7min
My Favourite Tip - Dom Price: Why Atlassian killed meetings and how they built their own tools as replacements
2022 is well underway and… yeah. We’re still doing a lot of virtual meetings. While there’s great optimism in the air around the new level of flexibility most companies are offering their workers now, virtual meetings are still pretty… average. But let’s not blame Zoom straight away: meetings as a work practice have gone unexamined for far longer than they’ve been online. Atlassian’s Dom Price saw this, and sought a better way. He and his team did a deep dive into what a meeting is for, and what’s holding it back. Maybe not surprisingly, they found that almost nothing about the meeting as we know it was worth keeping. So - they didn’t keep it! Dom explains why Atlassian decided to almost completely kill the meeting, and how they replaced it with their own purpose-built tool for asynchronous communication. Connect with Dom on Twitter or LinkedinYou can find the full interview here: Atlassian’s Dom Price on dramatically improving virtual meetingsCheck out Atlassian’s Team CentralIf you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly 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.amanthaimber.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.

Mar 9, 2022 • 32min
Focus! Why Taylor Jacobson founded Focusmate to force himself to concentrate
Have you worked with someone whose abilities were so awe-inspiring that they started to rub off on you? We’ve all had bosses, co-workers, friends or study mates whose discipline we’ve tried to tap into before. And Taylor Jacobson founded Focusmate so he could do that forever! After excelling in college because of his carefully selected study mates, Taylor realised his tactics could be used by anyone, and for any kind of work. He details how and why a Focusmate session works, how he uses them himself, and how he balances all that work with restful, restorative time off. He also shares how a new community has changed his life and the way he thinks about and tackles goals. Connect with Taylor on Twitter or LinkedinVisit 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.

Mar 7, 2022 • 9min
My Favourite Tip: Nicky Sparshott - Colour me productive! Why you should be colour-coding your calendar
It’s 3pm and Nicky Sparshott is ducking out of the office to go watch her kids perform at their school’s exhibition. Sweet, right? But shouldn’t it be impossible? Nicky’s the CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand, and at the time of recording, was also the global CEO of T2 - how can she possibly have time in the middle of the work day for a school show? Well, it’s the positive side she’s discovered in having an absolutely hectic work schedule. As a global CEO, she’s sometimes on virtual meetings in the middle of the night to talk to teams on the other side of the world. But, if she’s going to be working from seven to eleven at night, then she can definitely carve out some time in the arvo for her family. So, how does she keep it all from toppling over? How does she keep her schedule in order when she sometimes needs to work while everyone else is asleep? Colours. Yep. Nicky colour-codes her calendar so that she can see at a glance exactly what kind of work she’ll be doing for the next few days. Not only does it keep her organised, but it gives her a clear picture of how much deep versus shallow work she’s getting in. Nicky also teaches you why “deep work” doesn’t always have to be done alone. Connect with Nicky on LinkedinYou can find the full interview here: Analogue productivity in a digital age with Unilever CEO Nicky Sparshott If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly 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.amanthaimber.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.

Mar 2, 2022 • 41min
Fresh starts, commitment devices and collaboration - changing for the better with Katy Milkman
You know what it’s like when you move house - you’re tripping over boxes for weeks, eating takeout on the floor while you wait for that new dining table to arrive, and lamenting that the rest of the world - including work - doesn’t take a pause while you get your life in order. We’ve all been there, but have you ever used that moment of chaos as the trigger to start writing a book? It sounds insane - and as someone who’s been working on a new book for some time now, I feel certified to call it that - but for economist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman, it made perfect sense. Katy’s learned to take advantage of “fresh starts,” which can be anything from New Year’s Day to a relocation - or even just any old Monday. She breaks down the most effective ways to change your behaviour for the better, whether that’s to break bad habits or form new ones. And it’s all backed by science. Connect with Katy on Twitter or Linkedin and get a copy of How to Change.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 StudiosSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 28, 2022 • 7min
My Favourite Tip: Maggie Beer - The art of the perfect roast chook
You wouldn’t think of roasting a chicken as a poignant metaphor for life, but when Maggie Beer talks cooking, you get words to live by. Starting with sourcing the perfect chicken, Maggie teaches you why it’s so important to do a little research before you buy anything, and from there, gives you a step-by-step walkthrough on the whole process. Yep, you’re getting a free masterclass from the master herself. And a damn good dinner, too. Connect with Maggie on Twitter or InstagramYou can find the full interview here: Maggie Beer on why mastering the basics is the best way to up your gameSubscribe to my new podcast How To Date in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly 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.amanthaimber.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.

Feb 23, 2022 • 45min
Weaponising accountability with Lifehacker editor-in-chief Jordan Calhoun
If anything immediately strikes me as a pretty bad idea, it’s an adult learning to ride a skateboard. Without the years of experience built up over a childhood spent cruising on the asphalt, stepping on a skateboard almost promises to put you on your butt. And as an adult, a skateboarding injury could have a pretty disastrous effect on your daily life. Kids bounce back pretty easily, but I know if I had to miss six weeks of workouts or couldn’t write or type for a few months, I’d be in strife. So why is Jordan Calhoun, editor-in-chief of Lifehacker, trying to pick up the skill now? Jordan might not be looking to get massive air with Tony Hawk, but he is looking for that childhood experience of newness. Not being able to do something, starting from zero, is a pretty rare situation for adults, and Jordan thinks that’s a shame. So he’s learning to shred. Jordan shares a wealth of other insights on learning, such as why he prioritises stories over stats and facts, and how the Goodreads website helps him read more books. He also, naturally, shares a treasure trove of life hacks, like his decision-making matrix and tools for building accountability into his most ambitious goals. Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, at Lifehacker or on his website.***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 ImberEpisode Producers: Jenna Koda and Liam RiordanSound Engineer: Martin ImberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 21, 2022 • 5min
My Favourite Tip: Meshel Laurie - Let others go first
Running late is… stressful. You worry that you’re going to get in trouble, let someone down or miss something important. Your heart rate rises, adrenaline courses through your body - and then someone wants to get in front of you on the road. Oh. My. God. But what if it wasn’t stressful? Sounds too good to be true, right? What if it’s all in your head? Meshel Laurie, a podcaster and author, believes it is all in your head, and that - actually - that’s a good thing. Because if it’s in your head, it’s in your control. Since becoming a Buddhist, Meshel has begun practising simple little mental reframes like this one every day, and she’s much happier, kinder and calmer for it. She teaches you how letting others go first, whenever you can, trains your mind to relax and set the right intention for your day, every day. Connect with Meshel on Instagram and LinkedInYou can find the full interview here: Win friends and stop trying to be an influencer with Meshel Laurie***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.


