How I Work

Building your own productivity practice can feel like a mammoth effort - so if you’re also trying to do it for your whole family, you need all the help you can get! 

Thankfully for How I Work listener Tracey, parenting expert Dr. Justin Coulson has just the trick, and it’s broken up into four rules to follow every single day. =

Whether you’re working on making sure you and your little ones are getting the right nutrition in before the day kicks off, or you’re just trying to get everyone out of bed on time, Justin’s “Making Mornings Magic” framework will help the whole family get out the door on time, well-fed, and ready to attack the day. 

Connect with Justin on LinkedIn or at the Happy Families website

Check out Justin’s New York Times article about his Making Mornings Magic process

You can find the full interview here: Making mornings magic with parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson

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Pre-order my new book Time Wise: www.amantha.com

Connect with me on the socials:

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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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The perfect day starts with the perfect morning routine, right? Or is that too late? 

How I Work listener Jason was struggling to juggle his workload as he transitioned from primary to secondary school teaching. A new system, new spaces, and constant COVID-induced interruptions to the status quo were making it all but impossible to always be in the right place at the right time. 

That is, until he heard that Laura Mae Martin, Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor, doesn’t make a plan of attack every morning. Instead, she plans the night before. 

Jason says this deceptively simple adjustment to his routine has been a lifesaver, especially when last minute classroom changes inevitably crop up!

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn

You can find the full interview here: Google’s Exectuive Productivity Advisor, Laura Mae Martin, on how she dramatically reduced the amount of time she spends in her inbox

***

Pre-order Amantha's new book Time Wise at amantha,com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you have a cheerleader? Someone who’ll congratulate on the little wins, who’ll remind you that you’re doing well, encourage you to keep going? I hope so!

And even if you do… I’ll bet it’s still sometimes not quite enough. After all, we’re usually our own toughest critics, and even the completely legitimate kind words of the people closest to us can’t overpower that little voice in the back of our minds: the one that says “you’re not doing enough.” 

How I Work listener Melissa knows this voice all too well, but after listening to author Oliver Burkeman’s advice to keep a “done list”, she realised the only voice that might be able to balance out the inner critic was her own inner cheerleader.

Connect with Oliver on Twitter

You can find the full interview here: Get your priorities straight with Oliver Burkeman

***

Pre-order Amantha's new book Time Wise at amantha,com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re into productivity, you’ve probably tried to become a “morning person”. Maybe you’ve tried it a couple of times. You set your alarm for 5am and go to sleep dreaming of pre-dawn yoga sessions and meditation, followed by some journaling and a bit of deep work before the office even opens. 

And maybe it worked! But maybe it didn’t - no matter how many times you tried. If you’ve tried waking up early over and over again, and felt like a zombie over and over again, you might actually be a square peg, trying to squeeze through a circular hole.

Whether you’re struggling to wake up all morning, or failing to power through a mid-afternoon stretch of mentally demanding work, the problem might be the same: you might be working against your chronotype. 

How I Work listener Kristy certainly was, until she listened to Dan Pink’s advice about learning your unique circadian rhythm, and tailoring your schedule accordingly. 

Connect with Dan on Instagram or Twitter

You can find the full interview here: Dan Pink on coming up with great titles for projects, how he structures his working days, and why he doesn’t believe in willpower

***

Pre-order Amantha's new book Time Wise at amantha,com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first episode of this new mini-series, How I Work listener Ruth writes in to share what she’s learned from bestselling author and computer science professor, Cal Newport. 

Cal’s “To Discuss” List is his method of saving countless hours of unnecessary, unscheduled back-and-forth emailing. While it might feel easier to quickly dash off an email when you need something from a colleague, Cal implores you to think long-term, and to save the discussion for when you next meet face-to-face.

Connect with Cal on his website

You can find the full interview here: Cal Newport on how to eliminate 80% of emails in your organisation

***

Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re often told not to take advice blindly, and this is especially true for productivity advice. The rise-and-grind schedule might work for a Lark, but it’s a recipe for a disaster if you’re a Night Owl. Sourcing ideas from people you admire is a great start, but you need to run your own experiments to figure out which ideas actually work for you. That is, unless your partner is a chronic experimenter! 

Frances Frei, a professor at Harvard Business School, doesn’t run experiments because she doesn’t need to. Her wife, Anne Morriss, runs them herself, and shares the best practices and ideas with Frances. 

As well as being Frances’ wife and most valuable productivity resource, Anne is a leadership couch and the Executive Founder of The Leadership Consortium. 

Frances and Anne share their favourite tools for staying focused, productive and present, including their yearly “visioning” process, their methods for building trust, and the best career advice they;ve ever received. 

Connect with Frances and Anne on LinkedIn

***

Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Episode Producer: Liam Riordan

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most guests on How I Work will tell you to turn off your phone if you want to get work done. They’ll probably tell you to leave it out of the bedroom when it’s time to sleep, and to keep it out of reach when you’re meant to be spending quality time with friends and family. 

It’s easy to forget sometimes just how useful that little super computer in your pocket can be - and that applies to life admin, too! Life Admin Hacks authors Mia Northrop and Dinah Rowe-Roberts put me onto the untapped power of Siri, and I’ve never looked back. And now they’re teaching you how to use it, too. 

If you’ve never used Siri for anything other than a Google search while your hands are full, you’re missing out on an on-demand, high-powered digital assistant. From reminders to calendar updates, Mia and Dinah share how to use Siri to supercharge your life admin. 

Connect with Mia and Dinah on their website and pick up a copy of Life Admin Hacks

You can find the full interview here: Get professional about your personal life with Life Admin legends Mia Northrop and Dinah Rowe-Roberts

***

Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com**

If your job title is “Executive Productivity Advisor for Google,” you probably need a pretty refined definition of productivity, right? And Laura Mae Martin certainly does. But she says it’s equally important that every individual has their own, unique definition of productivity. 

It’s all too easy to fall into “busy language”, she says. Back-to-back meetings and a three-page to-do-list might make you feel productive, but if you’re not making time for your most important work (and for rest), you might just be running in circles. 

So how do we see through the guise of busy-ness and get the real work done? For Laura, and the suite of Google execs she coaches, everything starts with the calendar. Whether you’re in too many meetings or spending too much time in your inbox, poor calendar hygiene is probably the root cause. 

Laura teaches you how to implement “zero-based calendaring”, calendaring for focus, calendaring for connection, and much more. 

Connect with Laura on her YouTube channel or at the Google Keywords blog

***

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Episode Producer: Liam Riordan

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might not be surprised to find out Lisa Leong has a colour-coded calendar. She’s the host of hit ABC podcast This Working Life, after all. But what might surprise you is how her attention to diaristic detail helps her when she’s not at work.

Her ABC work is orange, and the sessions working on her new book were red. But she also blocks out her e-bike commutes and social activities. Why? 

For one thing, it ensures nobody schedules her into a meeting when she’s meant to be out for dinner. But perhaps more importantly, it means she has something like a birds-eye-view of her life, one week at a time. 

Too much orange and red? Not enough yellow and blue? At a glance, Lisa knows whether she’s overworking (or spending a bit too much time on the town!).

Lisa also gives you what she calls a “compassionate challenge,” and asks you to work if you might have more autonomy at work than you initially thought. 

Pick up a copy of Lisa’s book, This Working Life

Or connect with her on Instagram or Twitter

You can find the full interview here: Lisa Leong wants you to forget work-life balance and cultivate work-life cohesion instead

***

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**Pre-order your copy of Time Wise at amantha.com**

It’s 5am, and Linktree co-founder Anthony Zaccaria’s already up. But this isn’t some productivity-robot morning routine he’s lifted from another tech leader’s biography. He’s up because he’s got twin toddlers, and when they’re up, he’s up. 

Linktree’s a global company, so any number of emails, messages and project updates have probably come through already, but Anthony’s not checking his phone. It’s his kids’ best time of the day - the only time they’re well-rested! 

So how does the co-founder of a unicorn startup balance the incredible demands of a rapidly growing business with the equally demanding job of being a new parent?

It’s all about focus. When it’s time to knuckle down and get some serious work done, whether it’s powering through emails or working on strategy, the noise-canceling headphones go on, and the rest of the world goes out. 

Anthony shares his top tips for focusing when it matters, and reflects on the key decisions he’s made as Linktree has grown to employ almost 300 people. 

Connect with Anthony on Twitter

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Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram 

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 [email protected]

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Episode Producer: Liam Riordan

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.