How I Work

Latest Episodes:

Respecting your craft and your audience with kids comedy duo The Listies Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

Imagine trying to hold the attention of a child for a full, uninterrupted hour. Now imagine trying to hold the attention of a whole theatre full of them!

If it seems impossible, comedy duo Richard Higgins and Matt Kelly (AKA The Listies) have proven the opposite. And they’ve managed to do it while keeping adults equally entertained.

Rich and Matt share their process for bringing a full show to life, from inception to performance, as well as their philosophy for making art for kids.

They also recount the most valuable lessons they learned in their previous gigs in surrealist theatre, and give their top tips for maintaining a healthy and productive partnership as co-creators, co-performers, and co-owners of a business.

Connect with The Listies at their website or on YouTube

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

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 amantha@inventium.com.au

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.

My Favourite Tip: Mamamia Out Loud - If you can help it, don’t get cancelled! Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

How do you talk about big issues, on the internet, without getting cancelled? In our modern information age, most of our most heated and important debates happen online, whether it’s through blogs, comment sections, YouTube videos or podcasts.

While this unprecedented level of access to almost anyone’s opinions might’ve sounded like a dream to the tech-heads of yesteryear… Well, you probably know it’s not quite the dream we thought it might be. Sadly, all that access has a downside.

Whether it’s plain old trolls or well-meaning critics, you’re going to have a lot of digital watchdogs once you start publishing your ideas online. And Mamamia Out Loud co-hosts Mia Freedman, Holly Wainwright and Jessie Stephens are no strangers to this kind of scrutiny.

So what have they done to avoid being cancelled in the era of the “cancel culture”?

Mia shares her nuclear approach, while Holly and Jessie give tips for anyone who can’t quite step away from the noise.

Connect with Mia, Holly and Jessie on Instagram

You can find the full interview here: Mamamia Out Loud co-hosts Mia, Holly and Jessie on prep routines, reading lists and respectful disagreement

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turn your calendar into a virtual assistant with Reclaim co-founder Patrick Lightbody Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Most people who can hire EA’s or personal assistants struggle with the decision - especially if you’ve never had one before, it can feel like a luxury more than a necessity. That is, until you take the plunge, and see how much more you can get done with the right assistant on your team!

But what if you’re not in a position to hire someone? Well, it turns out you don’t have to miss out on the productivity boost - you just need to learn the lesser-known features of your digital calendar, and make the tool work for you, rather than against you.

Thankfully, Patrick Lightbody knows a thing or two about calendars. After running not one but two startups, Patrick developed a calendaring system to make sure nothing fell through the cracks - and he was especially committed to carving out more time for his health, his wellbeing, and his family.

And now he’s sharing his system with you, through Reclaim, software that turns your calendar into a virtual assistant.

Patrick shares how you can use Reclaim to up your calendar game, and he shares which existing Google Calendar features can help you get started.

Connect with Patrick in the support chat at Reclaim.ai

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

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.

My Favourite Tip - Eric Barker: How to use the five-hour timer Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

How much deep work do you get done on the average work day? And I mean DEEP work - completely focused, distraction-free work… An hour? Two?

Author Eric Barker does five. Yep, five - every single day. But how does he know for sure? Eric uses a simple countdown timer every day to track his most important work: the kind of work that doesn’t allow for a quick email check or a scroll through Instagram.

When he gets up to go to the bathroom, he pauses the timer. When he needs to check email, he pauses the timer. And when he just needs a break, he pauses the timer.

It might sound a bit pedantic at first, but Eric knows all too well just how easily we can trick ourselves out of hard work, and he doesn’t want to take any chances. And while it might sound intense, it’s not just a productivity tip: it’s also a means of preventing burnout. When the timer hits zero, Eric knows he’s done five good hours of focused work, and knows it’s time to relax and unwind.

Connect with Eric on Twitter or LinkedIn

You can find the full interview here: Eric Barker on his Five-Hour Rule and deliberate work-life imbalance

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Home & Away star Ada Nicodemou gives you a sneak peek into the life of a working actor Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Stability might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the priorities of a working actor. But for Ada Nicodemou, she’s sought out and found exactly that in Home & Away.

As a mother, the stereotypically chaotic and categorically unstable life of an actor has never been the right fit for Ada. Thankfully, though, her now two-decade tenure on Home & Away has provided her with a sense of security and routine almost impossible to find elsewhere in the industry.

So what does that routine actually consist of?

How does an actor prepare when she sometimes has to shoot sixteen scenes in one day? How does she make time to look after herself, to exercise and to eat well? And how does the school pick-up work when you’ve just cried your eyes out in front of all your colleagues for the fifth time in as many days?

Connect with Ada on Instagram

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

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.

My Favourite Tip: Brian Koppelman - Morning pages and other ways to kickstart your workday Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

You’ve heard it a million times by now: you need to start meditating. Maybe you’ve tried, like I have, but it just won’t stick. Maybe you can’t sit still for longer than five minutes, or maybe the whole thing feels a bit too woo-woo. If the latter is true, “Morning Pages” might sound like more of the same.

But listening to Brian Koppelman break down his morning rituals, “woo-woo” definitely doesn’t come to mind. After beginning his career in the music industry before becoming an enormously successful screenwriter, director, producer and now show-runner, Brian’s nailed the delicate art of balancing hard-nosed professionalism and open-minded artistic creation.

How? Well, like anything, it starts with his mornings. Brian’s an absolute devotee of Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages,” which he believes clears the “detritus” of the mind that can hold an artist back. And I say he’s a devotee, because he follows Cameron’s rules to the T.

Except for one thing: meditation comes first.

Connect with Brian on Twitter

You can find the full interview here: Learning on the job - how Brian Koppelman turned his first movie into a DIY film school

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie Perfect breaks down his songwriting process Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

Picture this: you’ve been invited to pop icon Bjork’s Big Day Out afterparty.

You rock up to her trailer and dance music’s pumping. You step inside and everyone’s having a grand old time, including Bjork herself, who’s posted up behind a set of turntables, grooving to the music. You figure you should congratulate her on a great set, but when you get closer, you notice… She’s got black gaff tape across her mouth?

It’s a bit weird, sure, but according to one of Australia’s most successful music exports, Eddie Perfect, it’s also genius. When Eddie heard this story from his manager, he knew Bjork was onto something.

The discipline required to properly care for and rest your voice is what separates the amateurs from the professionals in the world of performance, and Eddie’s a more seasoned professional than almost anyone else.

He shares the industry’s most effective tips for caring for the instrument inside you, including a surprisingly simple trick for recovering quickly after you’ve completely lost your voice.

Eddie also details the chaotic but incredibly efficient “29-Hour Read” process responsible for many of Broadway’s most beloved shows, as well as his own process for placing and writing songs for the stage.

Connect with Eddie on Instagram or find his performer page on the 9 to 5 The Musical website

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

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.

My Favourite Tip: David Siegel - Great decision making starts with great people Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

What’s the first question you ask yourself or your team when you need to make a big decision? Do you double-check your processes, weigh out the pros and cons? Meetup CEO David Siegel wants you to ask one question before any others when it comes to important decisions: ask yourself, ‘is this a trapdoor decision?’

Trapdoor decisions are irreversible - once you’ve made the call, it can’t be unmade. Scary stuff! But David believes trapdoor decisions are far, far less common than most of us realise. He also believes most of us vastly overestimate how irreversible certain decisions are, while massively underestimating how reversible they actually are. Usually, he says, anything can be pivoted, altered, undone or redone… It might just require a bit of time.

So how does David then make those decisions? Well, first - he delegates. David explains how getting your hiring process right will end up eliminating 98% of your decision-making down the line.

Connect with David on Twitter or LinkedIn, or grab a copy of Decide & Conquer

You can find the full interview here: Meetup CEO David Siegel teaches you to make better, faster, more purposeful decisions

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BEST OF: Fresh starts, commitment devices and collaboration – changing for the better with Katy Milkman Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

You know what it’s like when you move house – you’re tripping over boxes for weeks, eating takeout on the floor while you wait for that new dining table to arrive, and lamenting that the rest of the world – including work – doesn’t take a pause while you get your life in order. We’ve all been there, but have you ever used that moment of chaos as the trigger to start writing a book?

It sounds insane – and as someone who’s been working on a new book for some time now, I feel certified to call it that – but for economist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman, it made perfect sense.

Katy’s learned to take advantage of “fresh starts,” which can be anything from New Year’s Day to a relocation – or even just any old Monday.

She breaks down the most effective ways to change your behaviour for the better, whether that’s to break bad habits or form new ones. And it’s all backed by science.

Connect with Katy on Twitter or Linkedin

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Favourite Tip: Janice Lintz - The ‘rule of fours’ for contacting people you admire Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

You value your time pretty highly, right? That’s part of why you listen to How I Work - you’re trying to get the most out of what precious time you have, whether it’s a matter of getting more done when you’re in the office, or freeing yourself from distraction when you’re with your family.

So you’d hope others value your time just as much - and therefore, you need to show others how much you value their time, especially if you’re hoping to use some of it.

This is the underlying principle in all of Janice Lintz’s cold reachouts: whether she’s writing a letter to the queen or trying to sort out her phone bill, Janice knows people want to protect their time.

Janice Lintz is a hearing loss consultant and accessibility advocate, so when she wants to speak with someone, it’s pretty damn important. But she recognises that if she’s going to ask for someone else’s time, she needs to demonstrate that it’s worth her time, too.

Enter the rule of fours. When the late, legendary activist Vernon Jordan finally answered Janice’s phone call on the fourth attempt, he told her he only answered because she called so many times!

Janice shares why this rule of four is so powerful, and explains how to apply the methodology to other parts of your work.

Connect with Janice on Twitter or LinkedIn

You can find the full interview here: Janice Lintz teaches you how to be heard by people who don’t want to listen

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium