sharppodcast

Episode 6 - Our second visit to the world of habits. Did you hear last week's yet? If not, I think it's worth doing that and then coming back here.

This week we look at Apps to support you with the 'cue' and 'reward' steps and some other online resource which can help when you want to change your behaviour. From presentations to party planning, a good understanding of why we behave like we do is key to unlocking the changes you really want to happen.

 Some of the stuff in there is:



• New Year's resolutions and why they don't stick - some stats
• Gym memberships - some stats from Planet Money
• Apps which can help you with the 'cue' and 'reward' parts of habit forming
• For both Android and Apple, there's - Coach.me
• Prefer simple and on Android? try - Loop Habit Tracker
• Prefer simple and on IOS (And Android)? try - Habit Bull
• Why the behaviour and reward cycle is so powerful - Judson Brewer on the TED stage
• Procrastination and how to attack it

Episode 5 - The first in our series on habits. Good/bad/ugly? Get your habit-making kit here.

What are your habits? Are there any you're embarrassed about? Would you like to share? I hope not! Habits are interesting and our subject for the next few episodes. This week we cover where there is a podcast resource to help you work on your good habits and look at some alternative ways of moving away from the bad ones. (no, not that one, we don't cover THAT one in this episode!)

Some of the stuff in there is:



• What are habits?
• How are they formed according to Charles Duhigg in his book - The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change
• The notion of cue/routine/reward
• Bad habits - smoking - yuk! How to stop with - The EasyWay method from Allen Carr
• The plasticity of our brains and changing habits
• Podcast resource 1 - Freakonomics Radio - How to be More Productive
• Changing behaviour - the BJ Fogg Model
• The notion of Motivation/Ability/Trigger
• Podcast resource 2 - The One You Feed Episode 91
• Why motivation is not the only way to change habits
• Why you should aim for 'easy'
• Baby steps - or 'How to design a website just by opening a laptop'
• David Allen's idea of 'Next Actions' when tackling a project - GTD

Episode 4 - Omnibus and Interview

This week's episode is a longer one, and it's an episode of two halves. The first part is a recap of the things we've covered so far in episodes 1-3. We're planning to do this monthly to give people the opportunity to listen to one longer episode covering the key take-away, so they can get the 'facts' without the other stuff we do. It doesn't cover everything, and of course, you'll miss the fun stuff, but we're trying to help you get this podcast in different ways to suit you.

All of the links we refer to are in the relevant show notes for episodes 1,2, and 3. So if you'd like to find out more about anything we cover, pop over to the relevant episode, and it's all there.

The second half is a recorded conversation with someone who has come along to talk to us about what their challenges are to 'being better' and how they overcome them.

This week I spoke to Lisa Rouse. It may seem like we hit it off really well; that's partly because we did and partly because she's my partner in crime.

Lisa talked about the challenges of being a mum, working a full-time job, and running a business. If you want to find out more about her business at Frenzyhouse or the smashing Soundwave art, here are some links:

• Frenzyhouse
• Soundwaves

As it's a longer episode, here are the timings to help you find the bit you want with links to the full episodes

• 02:11 An introduction to podcasts (From Episode 1)
• 07:44 Facebook (From Episode 2)
• 11:35 Twitter (From Episode 3)
• 17:58 LinkedIn (From Episode 3)
• 22:08 A conversation with Lisa

Episode 3 - You don't need to be faster, just better

Social media doesn't have to be a drag, it can be a superb resource and lively to use if we think about how we're using it. We talk about how to keep up with the ever-increasing social media 'noise' here in this episode. Can you use LinkedIn and Twitter to get better? We think so, and explain how and why you should. This time we take our life into our hands by talking to people on the street, and at least one of them isn't me!

Some of the stuff in there is:



• LinkedIn - should you?
• LinkedIn claim 60% of the UK's student, and working population are connected in this article
• The We Are Flint survey which gives a different and interesting perspective
• Some suggestions to get the most out of your time if you dive into LinkedIn
• Thank people - they'll appreciate it
• Take time to set up your profile
• Join groups - you can get good information
• Re-share articles - people will notice you
• Write articles. Come on, you know you want to. After all you know something that no one else does
• Limit your time on there - I reckon 30 mins a fortnight or month is probably enough
• Useful info from Forbes.com on setting up your profile and getting the most from LinkedIn

Twitter - do you bucket?

• Some of the numbers I quoted were from this article from Brandwatch
• Using lists and how they may save your life. Or time. Or money. Ok, maybe not your life, but definitely time and after all, time is money, eh?
• Some suggestions for starting your lists:
• 'Family stuff' - this could include people who tweet about days out, kids' clothes, education and so on
• 'People I want to engage with' - this is self-explanatory. Bear in mind people do see what you've called the list you put them in, so something like 'great connections' or similar may be a good name for this list
• Local Network
• People linked to the field you work in (field=vocation, not somewhere sheep graze unless, of course, you're a farmer, in which case it could be spot on).
• People linked to the field you want to work in (!)
• 'Inspirational People
• 'Monday List', and 'Tuesday List' - this is a different way to do it. Limiting the time you spend online each day

1. Do NOT buy followers or connect back to people claiming to "increase your followers to 20,000!". They are a waste of time, it's pointless and doesn't help you
2. Engage with people; that's a much better way to grow than any 'hack'
3. Remember that we're human (well, most of us), and we like to be acknowledged
4. Re-tweet and share tweets; it will grow your connections and show people you're interested in what they're talking about
5. Use Hashtags - they still work. Maximum 3 per tweet, though. #After #all #this #just #looks#annoying!!!

• And my bonus tip - Use the Twitter Hour. Here's a link to a directory from Design That Fits

If you liked this episode - we'd love you to come along and subscribe at i-tunes here

Episode 2 - Escape the Tractor Beam

In this second episode, we look at social media and how to consider using it to help us be BETTER at what we do. We also go out on location and take our life into our hands!

It might sound like I'm on a mission to upset the apple cart when it comes to social media, and I guess I am a bit. Taking control of your use is the key - after all, we don't want external things to control us, do we?

In this episode, we cover:



• Sending messages from the future
• Thinking differently about what successful people do - and stealing it to help us
• Why some social media is rubbish
• How to break the vicious circle using technology
• Ditching the 'News Feed' (it's the secret Tractor Beam)
• The difference between Profiles, Pages and Groups - did you know?
• How Arnie came back through Facebook
• Getting outside - go on, do it now (well after you've finished listening eh)
• We use bad grammar in one section - did you spot it? We did it on purpose, honest guv'.
• Why the PowerPuff girls are messing with your head

Some further information is available from this selection of carefully selected links:

The Telegraph article from 2015 on how much we actually use social media - Telegraph

Apps to help you reduce the time you 'waste' on your phone and social media - Breakfree

An article from the Guardian on the march of Facebook - Guardian

PEW survey on Social Media use in the USA where they use the word 'Math' - PEW

Arnie's page on Facebook - Arnie

An excellent article by Peter Bregman about how (and why) to STOP multitasking - HBR

One of my fave podcasts - TED RADIO HOUR