Do you find yourself set up for a productive day, only to be derailed by your emails?

Checking and replying to emails can eat up so much time - and what’s worse is that the false sense of productivity checking email provides can be very addictive.

The problem of spending way too much time in my inbox has been bugging me for some time, so I was very excited to find out that Michael Bungay Stanier has had similar problems and has been working on solutions.

Michael is a renowned speaker, teacher and author whose books have sold over 1.5 million copies. In fact, his best known book, The Coaching Habit, topped the Wall Street Journal bestseller list with Brenè Brown calling it “a classic”. He was named #1 Thought Leader in Coaching by Thinkers50, and has been featured in top publications like Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Fast Company.

Michael is clearly very busy and can’t afford to waste time on emails, yet he still finds himself procrastinating with them.

But he has a lot of strategies and tricks that we might be able to use.

Michael shares:

• Why we get stuck in the cycle of emails even when we know we shouldn’t
• The techniques and programs we can use to reduce email use
• Why you might need to use incentives and consequences to enforce your email reduction strategies.

Listen to the full interview here.

Connect with Michael via his website, Instagram, LinkedIn, or buy the Do Something That Matters Journal.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your phone isn't just a device – it's a Swiss Army knife of untapped potential sitting in your pocket. In this episode, we dive deep into the secret capabilities your smartphone has been hiding from you, transforming how you'll use technology forever.

From instantly identifying any plant on your daily walk to scheduling texts that make you look professionally put-together (even when you're not), these features aren't just clever tricks – they're life-changing hacks the tech companies never bothered to tell you about.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How to create custom keyboard shortcuts that will save you hours of typing each month
• The hidden camera feature that can identify any plant, animal or object with a single tap
• Why your expensive white noise machine is now redundant – and how to access soothing sounds for free
• The game-changing way to schedule texts to send at appropriate times (perfect for midnight inspiration)
• How greyscale mode can dramatically reduce your screen addiction without willpower
• The built-in optical character recognition that instantly digitises any text you point your camera at
• A native call recording solution that doesn't require dodgy third-party apps
• The automatic transcription tool that converts voice to text with surprising accuracy

Whether you're a productivity obsessive or just want to squeeze more value from your expensive device, these tips will revolutionise your relationship with the technology you use every day.

***

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) 

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) 

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at [email protected] 

Credits: 

Host: Amantha Imber 

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you find yourself setting the same goals year after year, only to leave them unaccomplished?
If so, it might be time to try a new strategy for planning your goals.

In this quick win I’m joined by ABC broadcaster and Host of ‘This Working Life’, Lisa Leong to talk about why a pre mortem could be the strategy you need to set achievable goals for the year.

Lisa shares:

• What a ‘pre-mortem’ is and how it can help you set achievable goals for the next year
• How to make sure a ‘pre-mortem’ works if you are doing it for a team
• Why a ‘pre-victorum’ is essential to do as well if you are setting personal goals

Listen to the full interview with Lisa here.

Connect with Lisa via Instagram, or check out ‘This Working Life.”

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes and answering your questions about how I structure my day, manage distractions, and design habits that truly stick. 

From my early-morning writing sessions to the psychological hacks I use to stay focused (especially on “off” days), I’m sharing what’s genuinely worked for me - and what hasn’t. 

In this episode, I share: 

• The exact planning process I use every week and month 

• Why I don’t believe in only checking email twice a day 

• How I structure my day around my chronotype 

• The strategy I use when I’m feeling totally unfocused 

• How I’ve hacked my environment for better behaviour change 

• My go-to productivity tools and latest tech obsessions 

Whether you’re deep in the productivity rabbit hole or just want to improve your focus and energy, there’s something here for you. 

Amantha recommends: 

• Snipd: A genius podcast player for saving and sharing your favourite podcast moments. Grab a free month of Premium here 

• Whisper Flow: The effortless voice dictation tool that’s changed how I get my thoughts on the screen. Download it here 

Have a question you want me to answer in the next AMA episode? Reach out via email ([email protected]) or socials – I’d love to hear from you! 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) 

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) 

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at [email protected] 

Credits:  

Host: Amantha Imber  

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m taking a different approach to writing my next book and I want you to join me.

My free eight-week experiment starts Monday, 12 May.

Receive 3-5 evidence-based energy-boosting strategies each Monday.

Complete the application form using the link below (takes less than 1 minute): 

https://inventium.typeform.com/to/ZZ56wn6u 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) 

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) 

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at [email protected] 

Credits: 

Host: Amantha Imber 

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’re not lazy. You’re just out of capacity — and no amount of to-do lists can fix that. 

So what do you do when your brain is fried, your calendar is full, and you're still trying to show up for the people (and priorities) that matter most? 

Neuroscientist Ariel Garten has been there. As the co-founder of Muse, the brain-sensing headband used by over 500,000 people and backed by 200+ clinical studies, she’s learned how to work with her brain, not against it — using real-time feedback, five-minute resets, and a deeply human understanding of what it means to do less, better. 

In this episode, Ariel and I talk about: 

• How she uses Muse to train her brain across focus, emotion regulation, and sleep 

• The five-minute session she does daily to “work out” her prefrontal cortex 

• What happens after meditation that makes the biggest difference 

• Her go-to system for catching herself when she’s stressed, triggered, or procrastinating 

If you’ve been trying to push through the overwhelm, this conversation is a powerful reminder that focus, calm, and clarity aren’t things you force - they’re things you can train. 

Key Quotes: 

“What you have to do is recognise that it’s ok to have limitation and it's ok to only do so much in a day.” 

“Forcing yourself to do something that you're not good at, trains you to just do it better each and every time.” 

“My bad habits became my triggers for better habits — but only once I noticed them.” 

Connect with Ariel via LinkedIn, Instagram, and X (Twitter). Learn more about brain training and mindfulness with Muse and listen to her podcast Untangle. 

Save 15% on the Muse headband when you shop here and use the code HOWIWORK at checkout. 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) 

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) 

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at [email protected] 

Credits: 

Host: Amantha Imber 

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that just like a coffee break, or a toilet break, you can take a self-compassion break?  

And did you know using regular self-compassion can transform how you respond to setbacks? 

Professor Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the study of self-compassion with multiple best-selling books on the topic, and she believes a self-compassion break can make all the difference to your wellbeing. 

Kristin shares: 

• 🎧 A special, full walkthrough experience of how to take a self-compassion break. This is something you can come back and listen to every time you’d like to experience one. 

Listen to the full interview with Kristin here. 

Connect Kristin via X, Linkedin, or on her website. 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/  

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)  

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)  

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at [email protected]  

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber 

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BEST OF

Are the meetings you lead not actually getting enough done? Are you worried that participants are leaving them feeling annoyed? If so, then this episode is for you.

Professor Steven Rogelberg is an organisational psychologist, an award-winning author and the world’s leading expert on workplace meetings. He is an award-winning teacher with over 200 publications and has been cited well-over 12,000 times in the academic literature. Steven’s keynotes on meetings span the globe and occur at the world’s leading organisations such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Pfizer, Cisco, Bank of America, PayPal, The United Nations, and many more.

His book, The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance has been on over 25 “best of” lists including being recognized by the Washington Post as the #1 leadership book to watch for. To top it off, Adam Grant has called Steven the “world’s leading expert on how to fix meetings”.

In this episode Steven shares:

• How to figure out if something should actually be a meeting and who needs to be invited to it
• The common traits that make an effective meeting leader and the mistakes we make that can derail a meeting
• Some unusual and unique techniques you can use to liven up your meetings
• The role of AI in meetings and what you should and shouldn’t use it for
• What you need to do before and after a meeting to ensure maximum success

Key Quotes:

“One of the best predictors of the mood of a meeting is the mood of the leader coming into the meeting.”

“We act with intentionality all the time when we're meeting with important stakeholders, but we don’t act with intentionality when it comes to meeting with our peers.”

“The characteristic of really good meeting leaders is they understand that meetings need an ending.”

Connect with Steven via his website and linkedin.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all been there. A weird vibe in a meeting. A team member who’s clearly not themselves. A tension that hums under the surface. And still—silence. 

In this mini episode, I share a simple but powerful story about what happened when someone called out my mood (in the best way). It reminded me how transformative it can be to name the obvious—and how rarely we do it at work. 

We’ll explore: 

• Why unspoken tension is more damaging than we think 

• How naming the “elephant” clears the air—without making things weird 

• A practical way to build trust and psychological safety in your team 

• What to say when something feels off but you’re not sure how to address it 

If you’ve ever wished you had the right words to handle an awkward dynamic or tense moment at work, this one’s for you. It’s about choosing courage over comfort—and making space for real connection. 

Key Quotes: 

“The beautiful thing about naming what’s happening is that it’s like popping a balloon of awkwardness.” 

“You don’t need a perfect script. You just need to say the thing.” 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/  

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)  

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)  

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe  

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.  

Get in touch at [email protected]  

Credits:  

Host: Amantha Imber  

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BEST OF

In the face of uncertainty and change, how do you ensure you don’t feel lost and defeated?

More importantly, how do you ensure that doesn’t happen to the team you lead?

Dr Gabriella Rosen Kellerman is the Chief Innovation Officer at BetterUp and she sees firsthand their cross discipline research into what can be done to help human flourishing.

Professionally she advises Fortune 500 CEOs and CHROs and contributes regularly to Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review and Scientific American Mind,

Her book Tomorrowmind, co-authored by Professor Martin Seligman provides research on how to navigate the never-ending cycles of change and unprecedented uncertainty that we are all facing in the present working climate.

In this episode Gabriella shares:

• Her tricks on how you can bring creativity into your workforce
• Why you need to help your team develop their own sense of meaning if you want them remain with you long term.
• How to build resilience and use it to survive uncertain times and challenging times
• Why prospection is a key skill for every leader who wants to grow their teams trust
• How to master the stories you tell yourself to turn setbacks into growth

Key Quotes:

“Prospection, our ability to see and plan for the future is an essential part of what builds peoples trust in leaders today."

"Recognition is an antidote and it's almost a vaccine for a crisis of mattering."

“Resilience doesn't mean that it doesn’t feel incredibly painful and challenging and you may cry and scream and be furious."

Find Gabriella’s book via her website or connect with her on Linkedin.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.