Working Conversations

Episode 144: Do This Instead of New Year’s Resolutions

Every year, millions of people make New Year's Resolutions, only to have them fail within a few days or a few weeks. They simply don’t work. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares a different ritual for the beginning of the year. It’s called Your Life: An Annual Inventory. This is a time-tested process she developed for being complete with the previous year and setting the stage for the coming year. She teaches this process to her executive coaching clients and has been following it herself for over 15 years. Listen to this episode and then carve out some “me time” so you can complete your inventory and have an amazing year ahead!

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/144

Episode 143: My Predictions for Work Life in 2024

In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson looks into her crystal ball and predicts the future of work in the coming year. Thinking about the future can help us understand the present and be ready for what’s coming next. Dr. Anderson’s predictions address whether the era of remote work is coming to a close or not, companies doubling down on employee well-being, and how artificial intelligence will revolutionize your meetings – from taking notes to catching you up when you show up late. Be ready for 2024 by putting these predictions to use in your work life.

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/143

Episode 142: Hits or Misses? A Review of My 2023 Workplace Predictions

At the start of each year, I make predictions about what the future of work holds for us in the coming year.  In this episode, I take inventory of my predictions and score myself on how accurate those predictions played out as the year unfolded. From the labor shortage to return to office (or not) to generative AI to generations to the importance of interpersonal skills, the predictions for 2023 covered a lot of ground. Join me as I look back on my predictions for 2023 and evaluate whether I had hits or misses.

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/142

Episode 141: On Turning 25 – An Interview with My Oldest Son

In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson catches up with her oldest son, Apple Crider, on his 25th birthday. He’s an entrepreneurial young man making his mark on the content creation industry. In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss career advice, leadership, life choices, and not being limited by conventional career choices.  The ideas shared in this episode will shake up your thinking and encourage you to try new things. Plus, you’ll find out why he goes by the moniker “Apple” and you’ll hear the advice he offers his younger brother and sister (which might apply to you, too). 

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/141

Episode 140: My Version of a Digital Detox 

Have you ever thought about doing a digital detox? It’s the idea that, for a set period of time, you give up the mobile devices that most of us are so addicted to. It turns out that unplugging entirely for a period of days (or even weeks) doesn’t do much good in the long run. What does work? Moderating your screen time and being intentional about when you’re on your device and when you’re not. This prevents hours of scrolling that bring little or no value to your life. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson shares a step-by-step plan for how to cut back without cutting yourself off. She is starting a six-week experiment in cutting back on screen time and invites you to join her in the experiment.   

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/140

Episode 139:  How to Stop Phubbing

Have you ever felt like someone wasn’t giving you their full attention while you were talking to them because they were also taking a peek at their phone? Or maybe they were completely distracted by their phone and not present with you. It’s known as Phubbing. Snubbing someone by splitting your attention between them and your phone.  Snub + Phone = Phub. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explains the negative impacts phubbing has on your workplace relationships, your personal relationships and your mental health. She also provides actionable strategies to keep yourself from phubbing and some ideas on how to bring it up if someone is phubbing you.    

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/139

Episode 138:  How to Prevent

Misunderstandings

If you’ve ever spent 20 minutes carefully

crafting a three-sentence email, carefully word-smithing it to include all the

subtleties needed to convey your message to this person, only to still have it

result in a misunderstanding, this episode is for you! In the current era,

workplace communication relies heavily on text-only mediums: think email,

texts, messages in Slack, Teams, etc.  In

this episode Dr. Janel Anderson explains why text-only mediums are rife with potential

misunderstandings.  She also provides

actionable strategies so that your workplace communication results in

misunderstanding far less often.   

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/138

Episode 137: 85% Productivity is the Sweet Spot

Productivity is always a hot topic – and maybe never more so than now, with some people claiming more productivity working from home and others saying it’s easier to be productive in the office. While we won’t solve that dilemma in this episode, we will talk about how to be productive without burning out. Research suggests that operating at 85% maximizes productivity without burnout, and leaves reserves available for when you need to meet a tight deadline or respond to unexpected situations. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares the latest research on productivity and offers several productivity hacks that can help you stay focused, at least 85% of the time!  

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/137

Episode 136: STOP Multitasking

Many people mistakenly believe that they can multitask. What neuroscientists have been telling us for years however, is that the human brain is a single processing system and that our brains are not set up to multitask. Instead, when you think you are multitasking, the brain is actually switching rapidly between tasks. This switching taxes the brain and has long-term negative effects on our ability to focus. Chronic multitasking also makes people more susceptible to stress, anxiety and depression. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson shares the research on why multitasking doesn’t work and offers strategies that will set you up for success in single-tasking instead.  

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/136

Episode 135: Quiet Hiring: How to Make it Work For You

Have you heard about quiet hiring? Quiet hiring is also a bit of a misnomer. It doesn’t necessarily involve hiring. Instead, quiet hiring is a term used to describe a practice of shuffling staff around to meet immediate business needs, typically without adding headcount. Often that means stretch assignments or additional training for existing staff – which could be a big win for an employee who’s gunning toward a promotion . . . or it could be a big loss for an employee who already feels burned out and stretched too thin. Join Dr. Janel Anderson as she explores quiet hiring and how it can be good (and bad) for employees and employers alike. You might find out that you’ve been quiet hired and didn’t even realize it!

Find show notes at https://janelanderson.com/135