How I Work

If your inbox is overflowing and you can’t shake the guilt of unanswered emails, you’re not alone. In this Quick Win episode, New York Times bestselling author Chris Guillebeau shares his email strategy for fighting time anxiety - including why he’s totally fine with ignoring some emails (even if it ticks people off). 

Chris also explains how email bankruptcy helped him reset his inbox every year, and why trying to be an “email ninja” can backfire when you’re focused on the wrong things. 

Chris and I talk about: 

• Why “inbox guilt” is so hard to shake—and how Chris reframed it 

• The bold email strategy Chris uses to stay sane 

• Why he’s been doing email bankruptcy for the last 5–6 years 

• The real reason he’s okay with not replying to every email 

Key Quotes: 

“If I am always responsive, that means I’m not doing other things.” 
“I just archive everything that’s in the inbox that I haven’t responded to.” 

Listen to the full interview with Chris here.  

Connect with Chris on Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn and his website, Listen to his podcast Side Hustle School, and check out his latest book Time Anxiety. 

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.

What happens to our ability to think critically when we start outsourcing it to AI?

Professor Scott Anthony is one of the world’s leading experts on innovation and disruption and he believes the way we use AI today will shape the future of our judgment, creativity, and even our careers.

Scott is a professor at the Tuck School of Business, the former managing partner at Innosight (the firm co-founded by the late Clayton Christensen) and author of several books, including his latest, Epic Disruptions.

In this conversation, Scott shares how AI is transforming the way he teaches, consults, and thinks - and why he draws a firm line on where he will never let AI do the work. You’ll learn exactly how to leverage AI as a teammate without letting it hollow out your critical thinking skills, and why protecting your judgment is more important than ever.

If you’ve ever wondered, Am I thinking less deeply than I used to?—this episode might just change the way you work.

Check out Scott’s new book Epic Disruptions.

***

My new 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
Episode Producer: Sam Blacker at the Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you stuck in autopilot, drifting through life without a sense of direction? This episode can help you get back in touch with what really matters. 

In this Quick Win, I’m joined by Dr. Emily Musgrove - clinical psychologist, author of Unstuck, and resident Psych on The Imperfects podcast. We unpack the signs you’re disconnected from your values and the simple ways to reconnect with them, like the “80th birthday” exercise and a values questionnaire. 

Dr. Em shares: 

• How values misalignment shows up in therapy and life 

• Why “stuckness” signals you’re out of touch with your values 

• The 80th birthday exercise for identifying what really matters to you 

• The power of questionnaires in surfacing your core values 

• Why values are bidirectional (hint: kindness to yourself counts too) 

Key Quotes: 

“The presence of avoidance often signals a values disconnection.” 

“Being kind includes being kind to yourself - sometimes that means setting boundaries.” 

Connect with Dr. Em on Instagram, LinkedIn and her website. Check out her new book Unstuck. 

Listen to the full episode here. 

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.

Who wants to be led by someone who’s burnt out? That’s the question I asked myself in 2024 - and why I kept pushing through and pretending I was fine. Until everything nearly broke. 

In part two of this interview, I’m back with psychologist and friend Sabina Read to unpack how I came out the other side of the hardest year of my professional life. 

We talk about what finally pulled me out of burnout, how I rebuilt trust inside Inventium, and the ripple effects of radical transparency. I also reflect on the shadow side of long tenure, the cost of silencing my instincts, and the surprising moment I knew our culture had truly shifted. 

If you’re leading a team, facing change, or quietly wondering if you’re the problem - this episode is for you. 

Sabina and I discuss: 

• The shift that helped me rebuild confidence after burnout 

• Why tenure can quietly sabotage growth and innovation 

• How I nearly missed a 7-figure opportunity (and what changed) 

• The difference between radical transparency and oversharing 

• What helped our team go from fractured to thriving 

• Why metrics matter - but they’re not enough 

• The cost of hiding how hard things really were 

Key Quotes 

• “Hope is not a strategy - but that’s what I was relying on.” 

• “If just one person doesn’t feel psychologically safe, that can do a lot of damage.” 

• “Radical transparency means being honest in a way that serves your team.” 

Connect with Sabina via her website, Instagram, or check out her podcast Human Cogs. 

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.

Work-life balance. We’ve all heard the phrase — but how do you actually achieve it? And more importantly, is it even possible when it feels like everything’s urgent and important? 

It sounds simple: prioritise your tasks and sort them out. But the real challenge lies in knowing what truly matters. In the whirlwind of competing demands from work, family, and life, how do you decide what gets your time and attention?   

In this Quick Win episode, I revisit a powerful conversation with Ariel Garten, neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and founder of Muse — to unpack her refreshingly honest approach to prioritisation in the face of constant demands. 

Ariel and I discuss: 

• How Ariel approaches prioritisation from both a big-picture (annual/quarterly) and micro (daily) perspective 

• Why value-based decisions matter when you’re torn between business, family, and personal needs 

• The relief of having some decisions made for you, and accepting the limits of your time and capacity 

• How embracing imperfection and setting boundaries can actually create more meaningful opportunities 

Listen to the full interview with Ariel here. 

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.

I got leadership wrong in 2024. That’s how I started a newsletter earlier this year that scared the hell out of me to publish. In this episode, I share what happened - and the high cost of indecision, fear, and people-pleasing. 

Today, I’m turning the mic on myself. I’m joined by psychologist and friend Sabina Read to unpack the personal and professional fallout of the hardest year I’ve had as a leader.  

From delaying redundancies to clinging to hope, to letting fear and likability steer my decisions - I share the choices I regret, what I learned from them, and how I’m showing up differently in 2025. 

Sabina and I discuss: 

• Why I refused to consider redundancies (and what it cost) 

• How fear, not strategy, drove my biggest decisions 

• The freeze response I didn’t realise I was stuck in 

• What my therapist told me that sent me into a spiral 

• How psychological safety broke down on my team - and what we do now to protect it 

• The cultural check-in we do every 6–8 weeks to catch small issues before they explode 

• Why listening deeply matters more than making the “right” decision 

• How I started letting go of the need to be liked 

Key Quotes 

• “Hope is not a strategy. But that’s what I was relying on.” 

• “I had a very high need to be liked—and that was making me a really bad manager.” 

• “You can’t rest on your laurels with culture. It takes conscious work.” 

Connect with Sabina via her website, Instagram, or check out her podcast Human Cogs. 

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.

Giving feedback to someone else is hard, especially when it involves constructive criticism or even outright bad news.

For those who have a need to be liked, we often end up beating around the bush, hiding the feedback in praise, or avoiding the conversation entirely.

Naturally, this can have some pretty poor consequences, often worse than if we had just been honest in the first place.

This is something that Laura Henshaw knows all too well and has worked incredibly hard to overcome.

Laura is the co-founder and CEO of the highly successful KIC App and co-host of the chart-topping KIC podcast.

Laura shares:

• Why you’ll never succeed at getting everyone to like your decisions.
• The one thing you should prioritise over kindness when giving feedback.
• Why giving feedback as a "shit sandwich" doesn’t actually work.

Listen to the full interview with Laura here.

Connect with Laura on Instagram, subscribe to KIC APP and follow KIC Pod

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

In an effort to make time for ourselves, many of us fall back on using To Do lists and time blocking. But often these strategies can end up with the same result: getting lost in chasing productivity. So how do we make time for the things that truly count?

Oliver Burkeman is a New York Times bestselling author of books such as ‘Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals’ and ‘Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts’. Oliver is also a regular columnist for The Guardian.

If there is anyone who truly understands the philosophy and psychology of time management and happiness, it’s Oliver.

Oliver shares:

• The mindset you should be using when you first approach a task if you want it to be achieved easily
• How you can free up time by minimising time spent on worrying
• The strategy you should be utilising instead of a to-do list to actually create a sense of achievement
• Why being open to distractions can actually be beneficial

Key Quotes:
“Don’t start from the position that unexpected things happening must be bad.”

“There is this tendency to set things up in your mind so that you can never feel like you’ve done something well enough.”

Connect with Oliver via his website, or get his latest book, Meditations for Mortals, here

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.

What if I told you that one simple kit could make your work and travel more sustainable - without adding extra hassle? 

The best eco-friendly habits are the ones that fit seamlessly into your daily routine. But when you’re hopping between shared workspaces, traveling for business, or just navigating a busy schedule, it’s easy to fall back on single-use plastics and convenience items. 

In this Quick Win episode, Lottie Dalziel, sustainability advocate, author, and NSW Young Australian of the Year, shares a practical strategy to reduce waste and make more conscious choices on the go. 

Lottie and I discuss: 

• The Single-Use Quitter Kit—what it is and how it helps you cut waste effortlessly 

• Simple swaps to make your workspace and travel habits more eco-friendly 

• Why small changes add up, especially when they inspire those around you 

Listen to the full interview with Lottie here. 

Connect with Lottie via her website, Instagram, Tiktok, and LinkedIn. Check out Lottie’s book 365+ Ways to Save the Planet and Your Money at the Same Time 

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

How does an entrepreneur go from being told to shut down their business to building a software company worth over $200 million and serving over 50,000 creators? In this episode of How I Work, Nathan Barry, founder and CEO of ConvertKit, shares his incredible journey and the counterintuitive strategies that propelled his success.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Nathan’s annual life review ritual: We delve into how he not only assesses business opportunities but also tracks his adventures, home life updates, fitness endeavours, and personal goals.
• The turning point: Just 18 months into launching ConvertKit, a friend advised him to shut it down. Discover the pivotal questions Nathan asked himself and the framework he used to make that crucial decision.

• Nathan shares his transformative experience of writing 1000 words a day for 600 consecutive days and how this habit has evolved over time.

• What on earth are flywheels? We unravel this concept and discuss how Nathan applied it to the sales process at ConvertKit.

• The importance of team building and its ripple effects on business success.

Tune in to discover more about Nathan’s incredible journey, or catch his documentary (which he reluctantly filmed!) on YouTube. Don’t forget to visit his website: nathanbarry.com, where you can sign up for his weekly newsletter or tune in to his podcast, “Billion Dollar Creator.” 

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.