How I Work

Latest Episodes:

My Favourite Tip: Jocelyn K Glei on how she tamed her inbox Apr 15, 2019

Show notes

Jocelyn literally wrote the book on good email habits - it’s called Unsubscribe. So my favourite tip from this interview was hearing about Jocelyn’s own email habits, especially after writing that book.

You can find the full interview here.

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

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cal Newport on why you need to change your workflow, not your habits, when it comes to boosting productivity Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Cal Newport. Cal is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. Cal is the author of six books, including, most recently, the New York Times bestseller, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Cal’s work has been published in over 20 languages and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Washington Post, and the Economist.

It’s probably an understatement to say I was excited for this chat because I am a complete and utter fan girl of Cal’s and it’s fair to say that his work has had an enormous impact on how I work. We cover a bunch of different aspects of the way Cal approaches his work including:

Cal’s different Deep Work rituals and why he recommends having different rituals for different types of Deep Work
How to know if you are actually doing Deep Work
Strategies to break your Shallow Work habit
The critical conversation to have with your manager to get them supporting you doing more Deep Work
Cal’s ritual for "shutting down” his work day
Why Cal rejects the idea that we need to have a phone on us at all times
How Cal deliberately builds solitude into his day
Why changing workflows is more effective than changing habits when trying to increase productivity
The workflow Cal designed while on his book tour to minimise back and forth communication
Why giving your time a job is better than using a to-do list
How Cal uses weekly and daily time blocking to use his time effectively
How to take a “Deep Break"
The two key elements of Cal’s email system to minimise communication
The topic Cal is exploring for his next book

You can find Cal at http://calnewport.com/ and grab his books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Favourite Tip: Writer/Director Natasha Pincus on using location and wardrobe to delineate her day Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

My favourite tip from my chat with award-winning writer/director Natasha Pincus, in which she talks about how she uses location and clothing to delineate the different parts of her day and get in the “zone".

You can find the full interview here.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time Management expert Laura Vanderkam on how to use your time wisely Apr 03, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Laura Vanderkam. Laura is a global expert on time management, and helps people spend more time on what matters, and less on what doesn’t. She is the author of a bunch of bestselling books, ranging from Off the Clock, 168 Hours, What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast, and her latest book, Juliet’s School of Possibilities.

Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, and Fast Company. And her TED talk, “How to gain control of your free time,” has been viewed more than 5 million times.

I’ve followed Laura’s work for several years and I’ve always felt that she takes a really novel view of the whole time management concept. I think you’ll find this a really practical interview as Laura goes through a bunch of different strategies that she uses to make the most of not only her work time, but also her leisure time.

We cover:

Why Laura has tracked her time in 30 minute increments for four years
Why many people overestimate how many hours they work per week
Why Laura runs every day
How Laura creates new habits that stick
Where Laura’s ideas come from
Laura’s Friday afternoon planning ritual
Laura’s tricks to creating a great weekend
The importance of scheduling “anchor” events
Why planning things in advance increases happiness
How Laura managed to read over 100 books in 2017
And a whole lot more.

Find out more about Laura on her website, and listen to her podcasts Best of Both Worlds and Before Breakfast.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to create change: three magic words that will help Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

This episode looks at three very simple words that psychologists have found create huge change.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ella Bache's CEO Pippa Hallas on how to find a great mentor, overcoming imposter syndrome, and making meetings not suck Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Pippa Hallas. Pippa was just 33 when she became the CEO of Ella Bache. Ella Bache is one of the leading skincare brands in Australia, has over 150 salons. When Pippa is not busy being CEO, she is the mum of two young boys aged 3 and 6 and has also just released her first book called "Bold Moves: How to stand up, step out and make your next bold move".

I first met Pippa maybe 7 or 8 years ago when my company Inventium worked with Ella Bache on an innovation project. We talk about a bunch of things in this chat ranging from:

Pippa’s annual reflection ritual
What Maker versus Manager time looks like in Pippa’s world
How Pippa organises her diary
How Pippa is trying to get better at saying ’no’ and her strategy for saying no politely
How Pippa uses her time while driving
Pippa’s framework for making sure meetings are always productive
How Pippa balances being a CEO with being a mum of two little people
Why Pippa doesn’t believe in work-life balance, and instead sees being a CEO as a lifestyle choice
Why Pippa ends her workday at 4pm
How she manages her nerves
How she found mentors for her role as CEO

And more!

You can read Pippa’s new book Bold Moves here and find out more about Ella Bache here.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip: Netflix's Patty McCord on how to be radically honest at work Mar 25, 2019

Show notes

My favourite tip from my chat with Netflix’s ex Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord was her advice about how to be radically honest at work and why this is so critical.

You can find the full interview here.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chaser's Julian Morrow on how to write comedy Mar 20, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Julian Morrow. Julian is co-founder of The Chaser and Giant Dwarf. He has been the executive producer, writer and performer on various shows including The Chaser's War on Everything, Hamster Wheel, and the The Checkout.

I was keen to have Jules on the podcast to unpack his approach to writing comedy. Jules is a master of this and we talk about a number of different topics in this episode. We spend the first little bit talking about what The Chaser are probably most well known for, which was how they snuck into APEC with Chas dressed as Osama Bin Laden over a decade ago and we talk about what was involved in creating that stunt. We then move on to talking about:

How to write a joke
Julian’s favourite definition of comedy
How to know whether something is funny
How Julian overcomes writer’s block
How Julian records and files his ideas
What procrastination looks like for Julian
And a whole lot more

You can find out more about Julian and his adventures at Giantdwarf.com.au

Get in touch with me at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Favourite Tip: Scott D Anthony on finding and killing zombies at work Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

My favourite tip from my chat with innovation guru Scott D Anthony was his advice around finding and killing zombies at work.

You can find the full interview here.

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

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naomi Simson on why she unpublished 500 of her blog posts Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Naomi Simson. Naomi is one of Australia’s most well known entrepreneurs. She is the founder of RedBalloon and co-founder of the Big Red Group, which turns over more than $100m. Naomi is also the shark that wears red on Shark Tank, and happens to be the most followed Australian on LinkedIn, with over 2.7 million followers.

I caught up with Naomi at her office in Sydney to chat about her approach to work, which she clearly has thought a lot about. One of the things that I loved about her philosophy is that structure and rhythm will set you free. We talk about the different structures she has built into her working week and a bunch of other really practical stuff.

Topics we cover include:

Naomi’s morning routine
Why Naomi doesn’t have meetings on Fridays
How Naomi finds time to write
Why Naomi sees everywhere as an office
How Naomi decides what to say no to
How Naomi wrote a book in 14 days
Naomi’s approach to social media
When Naomi’s best ideas come to her
The role Naomi’s blog plays in her life
Why Naomi unpublished 500 blog posts over the summer

You can find out more about Naomi at Naomisimson.com and sign up to Naomi’s Monday espresso for weekly inspiration. You can also follow Naomi on LinkedIn.

Get in touch with me at amantha@inventium.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.