How I Work

My guest today is Eddie Perfect. Eddie is a singer-songwriter, an actor, a comedian, and currently has not one, but two shows on Broadway - King Kong and Beetlejuice. Australian listeners might know Eddie from playing Mick Holland in Offspring, and theatre-goers might be familiar with some of Eddie’s work such as Shane Warne the Musical and Vivid White.

When Eddie and I spoke, King Kong had literally just launched on Broadway and he was deep in re-writes for Beetlejuice. This interview really deep dives into what goes on behind the scenes in writing a musical, which for a musical theatre boffin such as myself, was delightful.

And here are some other things we cover during the chat:

• How Eddie came to be working on not one, but TWO Broadway musicals at the same time
• How he wrote Beetlejuice’s introduction song for Beetlejuice The Musical
• His process for coming up with titles for songs
• Where Eddie does his best writing
• Why Eddie aims to complete with himself, and not with others
• How Eddie deals with criticism and bad reviews
• The role social media plays in Eddie’s life

You can find Eddie on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And you can learn more about Beetlejuice the musical here and King Kong on Broadway here.

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, go to: https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast

Get in touch at [email protected]

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.co

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first mini-episode for 2019, I talk about the absolute quickest way to boost your mood and productivity at work (it will only take you 40 seconds!)

Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How I Work: Summer Series

My guest today is Carolyn Creswell. As Australian listeners probably know, Carolyn is the founder of Carman’s muesli, which is in pretty much every supermarket in Australia and is exported to 32 countries around the world. Over the last 25 years, Carolyn has built Carman’s into a $100 million dollar business.

But there is so much more to Carolyn that just delicious tasting muesli. She has given so much thought to the way she works and this interview is full of really practical gems. We talk about:

• Her morning routine
• Why she doesn’t do coffee meetings - and what she does instead
• Her trick to making new year’s resolutions stick
• Her annual self-reflection ritual
• The role self-discipline plays in her life
• Why Carolyn doesn’t listen to the news
• Carolyn’s happy place
• How she plans her year in advance
• Why she books all her hair appointments for the whole year in January
• How she protects family time
• Why Carolyn never eats lunch at her desk
• Her favourite productivity apps
• Carolyn’s novel way of using to-do list software
• Why you will never catch Carolyn in a lie
• Carolyn’s approach to giving feedback

You can find more about Carolyn and Carman’s at https://www.carmanskitchen.com.au/

Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How I Work: Summer Series

Rachel Botsman is a world renowned expert on technology and trust, and the author of bestselling books “Who Can You Trust?” and “What’s Mine Is Yours”.

Rachel is a lecturer at Oxford University and has been recognised as one of the “Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company and as one of the 50 most influential management thinkers in the world.

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including:

• Why Rachel never sleeps near her phone
• “Big stride days” and how to have one
• How the weather effects her productivity
• Her unusual but very awesome way of crafting presentations
• How Rachel hit a ridiculously tight book deadline
• Why she finishes her day midway through writing a paragraph
• Her one minute mindfulness routine
• Rachel’s “tips” to make it easier to say no

And a whole lot more.

You can find Rachel on Twitter and Linkedin at @Rachelbotsman and via her website https://rachelbotsman.com/

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, go to: https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast

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.co

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How I Work: Summer Series

Mia Freedman is the co-founder and creative director of the Mamamia Women’s Network, Australia’s largest digital women’s media company. They reach 4 million women per month and also have the world’s largest women’s podcast network, with eight shows that reach millions of women.

As many Australian listeners would know, Mia was the youngest editor of Australian Cosmo at 24 years old back in the mid 90s. And because I was one of many loyal Cosmo readers as a teenager, I feel like I grew up with Mia. I’ve also lapped all of her books and I just love how she speaks so honestly and is such a raw way about her life.

I found it fascinating to sit down with Mia and learn more about how she structures her days and the routines that she has. I particularly loved hearing about her methods for overcoming procrastination, which I think every listener can benefit from.

We covered a whole range of topics in our chat, including:

• How Mia carves out time to write books
• Why Mia hates long deadlines
• Mia’s daily rituals to stay on top of her mental health
• Why Mia has stopped reaching for her phone first thing in the morning
• Mia’s favourite podcasts
• Why Mia’s productivity peaks after 9pm
• Why Mia is spending less time on Facebook
• How Mia is rethinking her inbox
• How Mia reduces the amount of decisions she needs to make
• Mia’s top parenting hacks
• How Mia re-energises herself during the workday

And a whole lot more.

If you want to learn more about Mia, you can find her at www.miafreedman.com or via www.ladystartup.com.au which is her brand new project that includes an Online Bootcamp will help you activate your business idea in just 6 weeks.

Full show notes and a transcript of this episode can be found at www.amanthaimber.com/podcast

Want to get in touch? Reach out at [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How I Work: Summer Series

On today’s show, I speak to organizational psychologist, best-selling author and Wharton’s highest-rated professor, Adam Grant.

His books Give and Take, Originals, and Option B have sold over one million copies and have been translated into 35 languages. Adam has been recognized as one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers, was named one of Fortune’s 40 under 40, and he also happens to be the host of one of my favourite podcasts, WorkLife which is a TED original podcast.

In this conversation, we cover a whole bunch of topics such as:

• How to make email more bearable
• How becoming a parent completely changed Adam’s way of working
• How Adam approaches social media usage
• How Adam starts every week
• Why meetings kill productivity
• The podcasts Adam is listening to and books he is reading

And a whole lot more.

You can sign up to Adam’s e-newsletter Granted (one of my faves!) here: https://www.adamgrant.net

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, go to www.amanthaimber.com/podcast

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.co

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jocelyn K. Glei is a writer who is obsessed with how we can find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. She is the author of several books and was formerly the editor in chief of 99U. She also hosts the podcast Hurry Slowly, which is about how you can be more productive, creative, and resilient through the simple act of slowing down.

Not surprisingly, Jocelyn thinks very deeply about how she works. And she is very deliberate about how she structures her day.

In this episode, we cover:

* Jocelyn’s number one tip for not letting email take over your life* How Jocelyn uses the VIP feature of email* The big problem with the majority of productivity advice* The two hours of the day when Jocelyn produces her best work* Why Jocelyn works in sprints rather than marathons* What Jocelyn does to reenergise* Why taking breaks is so important, and what Jocelyn does to refresh her mind* How to carve out time for unstructured thinking* The best time of day to think creatively* What happens behind the scenes to create an episode of Jocelyn’s podcast Hurry, Slowly.* Tender discipline - what it means and how to do it* How she builds in time for reflection into her day* The role important journaling plays for Jocelyn

Sign up for Jocelyn's Reset course, which is like a cosmic tuneup for your workday. And you can read more about Jocelyn here and follow her on Twitter @jkglei

Check out amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is…me! I thought I’d turn the tables and share with you how I run my own workday. The delightful and wise Dr Jason Fox joins me on the show to sit in the interviewer chair. We cover all sorts of ground, including:

• My morning routine
• My system for to-do lists
• How I try to minimise morning decisions
• How I fit both Deep Work and Shallow work in my life
• My Deep Work “rituals"
• Why I left Facebook and Instagram
• My favourite go-to productivity and time management apps
• How I transition from Deep Work to Shallow Work
• The work that goes on behind the scenes of creating How I Work
• How to design a better workday if you don’t feel like you have control over your diary
• How to persuade your boss to give you more time for Deep Work.

You can find more about Dr Jason Fox at drjasonfox.com and I highly recommend checking out his podcast “The Cleverness with Dr Jason Fox”.

Check out amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you planning on setting new year's resolutions for 2019? If you are, this episode will give you the best chance of success.

Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Staying focused on work that matters and resisting digital distractions can be a big challenge for the best of us. In this mix-tape episode, you’ll get to hear several guests’ strategies for how they maintain focus in a world full of digital temptations.

This episode covers:* Why bestselling author and Wharton Professor Adam Grant doesn’t recommend going cold turkey on social media and other “distractions"* Adam Grant’s “rules" for checking social media* Why Rachel Botsman, the world’s leading authority on technology and trust, stopped using her mobile phone as an alarm clock* How planning ahead helps WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg resist the temptation of digital distractions* How Matt Mullenweg creates healthy habits and hacks to minimise unhelpful temptation* Why Sarah Green Carmichael, Executive Editor at HBR, loves working from home* How Sarah Green Carmichael deals with procrastination* Moment CEO Tim Kendall’s tactics for staying focused, including a very extreme method* Where Tim Kendall leaves his phone at night.

Check out amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.

Get in touch at [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.