How I Work

My guest today is Laura Vanderkam. Laura is a global expert on time management, and helps people spend more time on what matters, and less on what doesn’t. She is the author of a bunch of bestselling books, ranging from Off the Clock, 168 Hours, What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast, and her latest book, Juliet’s School of Possibilities.Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, and Fast Company. And her TED talk, “How to gain control of your free time,” has been viewed more than 5 million times.I’ve followed Laura’s work for several years and I’ve always felt that she takes a really novel view of the whole time management concept. I think you’ll find this a really practical interview as Laura goes through a bunch of different strategies that she uses to make the most of not only her work time, but also her leisure time.We cover: Why Laura has tracked her time in 30 minute increments for four years Why many people overestimate how many hours they work per week Why Laura runs every day How Laura creates new habits that stick Where Laura’s ideas come from Laura’s Friday afternoon planning ritual Laura’s tricks to creating a great weekend The importance of scheduling “anchor” events Why planning things in advance increases happiness How Laura managed to read over 100 books in 2017 And a whole lot more. Find out more about Laura on her website, and listen to her podcasts Best of Both Worlds and Before Breakfast.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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode looks at three very simple words that psychologists have found create huge 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Pippa Hallas. Pippa was just 33 when she became the CEO of Ella Bache. Ella Bache is one of the leading skincare brands in Australia, has over 150 salons. When Pippa is not busy being CEO, she is the mum of two young boys aged 3 and 6 and has also just released her first book called "Bold Moves: How to stand up, step out and make your next bold move".I first met Pippa maybe 7 or 8 years ago when my company Inventium worked with Ella Bache on an innovation project. We talk about a bunch of things in this chat ranging from: Pippa’s annual reflection ritual What Maker versus Manager time looks like in Pippa’s world How Pippa organises her diary How Pippa is trying to get better at saying ’no’ and her strategy for saying no politely How Pippa uses her time while driving Pippa’s framework for making sure meetings are always productive How Pippa balances being a CEO with being a mum of two little people Why Pippa doesn’t believe in work-life balance, and instead sees being a CEO as a lifestyle choice Why Pippa ends her workday at 4pm How she manages her nerves How she found mentors for her role as CEO And more!You can read Pippa’s new book Bold Moves here and find out more about Ella Bache here.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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Netflix’s ex Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord was her advice about how to be radically honest at work and why this is so critical.You can find the full interview here.If 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.coVisit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Julian Morrow. Julian is co-founder of The Chaser and Giant Dwarf. He has been the executive producer, writer and performer on various shows including The Chaser's War on Everything, Hamster Wheel, and the The Checkout.I was keen to have Jules on the podcast to unpack his approach to writing comedy. Jules is a master of this and we talk about a number of different topics in this episode. We spend the first little bit talking about what The Chaser are probably most well known for, which was how they snuck into APEC with Chas dressed as Osama Bin Laden over a decade ago and we talk about what was involved in creating that stunt. We then move on to talking about: How to write a joke Julian’s favourite definition of comedy How to know whether something is funny How Julian overcomes writer’s block How Julian records and files his ideas What procrastination looks like for Julian And a whole lot more You can find out more about Julian and his adventures at Giantdwarf.com.auGet in touch with me 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with innovation guru Scott D Anthony was his advice around finding and killing zombies at work.You can find the full interview here.If 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.coVisit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Naomi Simson. Naomi is one of Australia’s most well known entrepreneurs. She is the founder of RedBalloon and co-founder of the Big Red Group, which turns over more than $100m. Naomi is also the shark that wears red on Shark Tank, and happens to be the most followed Australian on LinkedIn, with over 2.7 million followers.I caught up with Naomi at her office in Sydney to chat about her approach to work, which she clearly has thought a lot about. One of the things that I loved about her philosophy is that structure and rhythm will set you free. We talk about the different structures she has built into her working week and a bunch of other really practical stuff.Topics we cover include: Naomi’s morning routine Why Naomi doesn’t have meetings on Fridays How Naomi finds time to write Why Naomi sees everywhere as an office How Naomi decides what to say no to How Naomi wrote a book in 14 days Naomi’s approach to social media When Naomi’s best ideas come to her The role Naomi’s blog plays in her life Why Naomi unpublished 500 blog posts over the summer You can find out more about Naomi at Naomisimson.com and sign up to Naomi’s Monday espresso for weekly inspiration. You can also follow Naomi on LinkedIn.Get in touch with me 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Adam Grant came about when I asked him what was his favourite research study into productivity. Turns out it’s one to do with meetings, and how to improve them.You can find the full interview here.If 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.coVisit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Matt Mullenweg where he talks about some really practical strategies for tuning out digital distractions and creating healthy tech habits.You can find the full interview here.If 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.coVisit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is journalist Nellie Bowles. Nellie covers tech and internet culture for The New York Times. Before joining The Times, she was a correspondent for “VICE News Tonight.” She has written for Recode, The Guardian, and started her writing career at the San Francisco Chronicle.I met Nellie because she interviewed me for a story a couple of months ago and I thought it would be fascinating to hear about how a NYT journalist actually spends their days. We cover lots of topics in this interview, including: How Nellie scored herself a job at the NYT Nellie’s quirky strategies for becoming a better writer Where Nellie finds ideas for stories How Nellie prepares for an interview Nellie’s go-to interview questions Why Nellie doesn’t like reading about people before she interviews them Nellie's approach for tuning out digital distractions Nellie’s Digital Shabbat Nellie’s go-to websites for staying up-to-date with tech news Why Nellie doesn’t listen to podcasts And much more.Find Nellie on Twitter at @NellieBowles https://twitter.com/nelliebowlesVisit 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.