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Better Resumes & Covers Letters Pt.2 Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes

1:41 - is a cover letter required?
3:01 - how to think about what to put into a cover letter
4:10 - three things that if included in a cover letter, will INSTANTLY disqualify you from a job
9:20 - ideas for how to start a cover letter
12:15 - why including numbers in your cover letter can help grab the attention of the hiring manager
20:20 - how long should a cover letter be and how long is too long for a cover letter
24:22 - what is a personal brand strategy and why is it useful in the job search process
27:30 - what is the goal for your personal brand strategy
29:40 - the pros and cons of authenticity
32:50 - what kinds of things are appropriate to post in environments that blend personal and professional
37:50 - how to create your professional portfolio
39:49 - the pros and cons of using a website domain for your personal brand
44:55 - the benefits of blog posts
48:17 - why investing in your LinkedIn profile is important and using recommendations from others to enhance your personal brand
54:11 - our individual experiments on this topic

Better Resumes & Cover Letters Pt.1 Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes

1:01 — Why it’s important to polish your resume even if you aren’t currently looking for a job.
6:00 — Thinking about your resume and cover letter as an advertisement for yourself.
8:58 — Why does a well-crafted resume matter.
10:41 — The benefit of including a portfolio as a compliment to your resume — even if you aren’t a designer
13:32 — How to infuse authenticity into your resume and professional profile and the positive impact it can have.
17:44 — Darren shares an experience from early in his career when he had the benefit of getting professional advice on how to create a strong resume to represent himself.
20:21 — What is the role of automation in screening resumes and how can you benefit from automated resume screening.
23:44 — Treating your resume as a living document.
24:50 — The basic parts of a good resume.
27:14 — The psychology of using numbers on your resume to maximize the impact of your resume on a hiring manager.
29:44 — How to structure your resume if you don’t have a lot of work experience yet.
33:45 — How to know what keywords to include on your resume to customize it for a particular job.
36:39 — Listing extracurricular activities on your resume as a way to infuse your values and personality into your resume.
43:18 — How to get experience in areas where you currently don’t have any.
49:27 — Where to find very good templates for writing a resume.

Mentions

Podcast: The Better Show episode 96: Building a Better LinkedIn profile
📺 YouTube: Vintage Head & Shoulders commercial
📰 Document template: Great example resume
📰 Document template: Example cover letter
📰 Document template: Modern Chronological Resume template for Word

Better Bite: Garmin Forerunner 645 Smart Watch Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes

1:00 — If a Garmin running watch isn’t your jam, we suggest an alternate episode (Episode 59 — How to fight the flu) to check out instead.
6:05 —What is the Garmin Forerunner 645 and why did March decide to pick one up?
9:01 — Why you can’t simply “brute force” running training and why variety in your training routine benefits you.
11:07 — The design of the Garmin Forerunner and what’s it like to wear it while running.
12:29 — Battery life and how to extend it.
15:16 — Heart rate tracking — the strengths and the weaknesses of the current state of the art.
16:03 — Ian chimes in with his experience with the Scosche heart rate monitor he uses with his Peloton.
21:22 — March gives the Garmin his grade on industrial design.
24:39 — What is a “stride length” and how do smart devices use stride length and information from other sensors to improve accuracy of their measurements.
29:10 — When you should back off your training routine.
32:52 — What else the Garmin Forerunner does in addition to measuring your running training routine.
34:19 — Why some people prefer to listen to podcasts or audiobooks rather than music when they exercise.
36:48 — The social features of the Garmin app.
38:54 — The other features of the watch includes the Garmin Pay feature that enables fast payments at retail stores.
43:40 — March concludes with his final rating of the Garmin Forerunner 645 smart watch.

Mentions

📱 App: Garmin Connect app
📦 Product: Garmin Forerunner 645 smart watch

Beat the Winter Blues Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes

2:01 — March shares that he recently switched over to all Christmas music all the time on his Spotify playlist and Darren discovers a couple of new Christmas songs that are exclusive to Amazon Prime.
6:40 — How can you tell if you are affected by the “winter blues.”
10:22 — What causes the “winter blues.”
15:14—We explore a new study that suggests that people with lighter eyes might be more resilient to Seasonal Affective Disorder.
18:39—March shares his personal experience with the winter blues growing up in Ireland.
25:07 —Darren discusses his first experience dealing with the winter blues after moving to the Pacific Northwest.
27:01 — Ian does a latitude check on his hometown and discusses the experience of a friend whose doctor prescribed a sun lamp as a way to combat winter blues.
34:14 — Exercise as a way to counter the effects of winter blues.
35:23 — How avoiding simple carbs can also help improve your mood during the dark days of winter.
37:57 — We discuss some research that indicates that consumption of fish oil can help improve mood.
43:42 — How to use light therapy to help overcome Seasonal Affective Disorder and the relationship between bright light and the body’s production of melotonin.
54:20 —If the sun won’t come to you, maybe you consider going to the sun.
58:44 — How hot-cold therapy and spending some time in a sauna can help improve your mood during the cold winter months.
1:06:21 — We decide on The Better Next Step for this episode and discuss what experiment each of us are going to try based on this episode.

Mentions

📦 Product: Best light lamps for SAD — Independent.co.uk
📦 Product: Best light therapy lamp — Wirecutter
📦 Product: Philips GoLTE Blu
📦 Product: Sauna Hats

Better Habits for 2020 Jan 01, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes

2:28 — Why habits matter so much
10:17 — Flashback to March's meditation 2019 habit goal & update on how it went
16:15 — Flashback to Ian's reading 2019 habit goal & update on how it went
21:16 —Flashback to Darren's exercise 2019 habit goal & update on how it went
28:24 — Flashback to March's 2019 wine habit he wanted to break, and how it went.
32:48 —Flashback to Ian's 2019 late bedtime habit he wanted to break, and how it went.
36:33 — Flashback to Darren's 2019 cookie habit he wanted to break, and how it went.
40:42 — Darren's 2020 habit to make: fat burning exercise at least 2x per week.
43:50 — March's 2020 habit to make: body weight resistance workouts 2x per week and couples habits
47:29 — Ian's 2020 habit to make: read 2 books each month
51:03 — Darren’s 2020 habit to break: stop driving to work
51:39 — March's 2020 habit to break: TBD
53:09 — Ian's 2020 habit to break: time randomization

Better Fasting 2019 Pt. 2 Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes

1:04 — Day 4 (Thursday): March finally feels good; Darren feels great and experiencing incredible mental clarity; Ian reflects on his hardest day yet.
3:40 — Ian and March compare last year’s fast with their experience this year including the fast’s effect on their sleep quality.
5:30 — Darren shares the data he’s collected on his overall weight, % of water weight and % of muscle weight from his digital scale.
13:15 — Day 5 (Friday): March has 4 hours to go and Ian does a little karaoke.
14:00 — Ian’s soup tragedy.
17:10 — Darren’s continued battle with sleep.
19:57 — Ian’s water-drinking super power and March ponders how that superpower could help him fight crime.
21:05 — March lists off the various “cheat codes” we’ve discovered to stave off hunger during this fast.
21:19 — We give a shout to soup for all its wonderfulness.
22:10 — How we are each preparing to transition off of our fast and how it all went wrong for March and Ian after last year’s fast.
27:09 — Darren’s plan for breaking his fast in cooperation with UberEats.
33:32 — Day 6 (Saturday): Darren wonders whether this the end of his fast or whether it is a new beginning for him.
36:25 — How often should someone do a fast, anyway?
39:10 — March describes his first meal post-fast and the hangover that followed the next morning.
43:18 — We discuss the importance of developing a healthy relationship with food.
45:22 — The benefit of doing a fast with someone else — for motivation and for moderation.
47:29 — Ian describes his and Carine’s first post-fast meal and his experience with a little nausea the next day.
50:28 — Our final thoughts about this fast and how this experience is going to affect us going forward.

Better Fasting 2019 Pt.1 Dec 19, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes

1:07 — We introduce the week-long fast with an overview of the rules for the fast, a discussion of what the research shows about fasting, and the benefits we hope to experience.
13:30 — March’s motivation behind doing this fast.
15:29 — Darren’s motivation behind doing this fast.
19:38 — The Keto flu
22:28 — The Lumen device that claims to measure metabolism
24:30 — Darren and March document the time of their last meal.
27:02 — Day 2 check in: Ian is clearly feeling the hunger, March is holding strong to his water-only fast, and records this episode in total darkness.
29:57 — Coffee as the killer “cheat code” for surviving a fast
31:20 — Darren’s initial impression of the Prolon food kit and his doctor’s reaction to hearing about this 5-day fast.
33:50 — March uses a VR headset; Darren loses a couple of pounds; Ian appreciates having Carine as a partner in the fast.
39:35 — How the fast is affecting Ian, Darren, and March’s sleep.
42:12 — Day 3 check in: Darren and March each reflect on a difficult night; Ian grieves over an uneaten birthday cake.
46:38 — Ian and Carine start experiencing some increased mental clarity
49:00 — March gets a renewed appreciation for soup; Ian and Carine start plotting their approach for breaking their fast.
53:02 — How the fast is screwing up sleep quality for Darren and improving sleep quality for Ian.

Mentions

📦 Product: Prolon food kit

Better Health with Wearables Pt. 2 Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes

2:42 — We look at wearable devices to help measure fertility
6:46 — Darren describes a new device he pre-ordered from an Indiegogo campaign that aims to personalize fitness and diet advice based on your metabolism.
11:54 — Ian shares a new tool for making fitness-based virtual reality more immersive.
15:29 — March educates Darren about Beat Saver
18:20 — March shares an ambitious project among the DIY diabetes community that aims to replicate the human pancreas.
15:29 — March educates Darren on Beat Saver
20:28 — Diagnosis documentary about DIY medical research
22:30 — Devices that are coming very soon including glucose monitoring devices that measure glucose in real-time with no finger prick.
30:00 — Devices that measure stress levels through perspiration.
34:30 — Ingestible sensors that measure medical conditions from inside your body.
38:19 — New earbuds and ear-based instruments for measuring vital signs.
41:24 — Stats on the sales of Apple Airpods
47:23 — Smart glasses and smart contact lenses.

Mentions

📦 Product: KAT loco: Complete Wearable Locomotion System — Walk into V3R
📦 Product: Homemade artificial pancreas
📦 Product: Lumen personalized fitness coach based on metabolic measurement
📦 Product: Ava fertility monitor
📦 Product: CheckMe Pro vital signs monitor
📦 Product: Timex internet messenger
📦 Product: ECG as a patch
📦 Product: Self powered sweat sensor patch
📦 Product: Blood glucose patch
📦 Product: The medical tricorder
📦 Product: Apple Watch
📦 Product: Fitbit watches
📦 Product: Garmin watches
📦 Product: Garmin Forerunner 645
📦 Product: Pebble watch (wikipedia)
📦 Product: Microsoft Band (wikipedia)
📦 Product: Spire (relaxation wearable)
📦 Product: Lumo Lift (posture wearable)
📦 Product: Upright Go (posture wearable)
📦 Product: Oura ring
📦 Product: fitbit ace 2 activity tracker for kids

Better Health with Wearables Pt.1 Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes

2:19 — Ian is curious about the origin of the term “wearable”
3:20 — We recommend checking out Episode 29: Emergency Preparedness as an alternative episode if this week’s topic is not your jam.
6:55 — March reveals the origin of the term “wearable computer” first coined by a mathematics professor in the 1960's.
8:45 — March quizzes Ian on a few facts about wearables.
10:50 —What is the origin of the rule about achieving 10,000 steps per day?
14:40 — How can wearable tech benefit you?
22:05 — Ian shares his experience with wearable tech starting all the way back in 2004.
26:06 — That time Ian used a heart rate monitor to measure his nervousness at asking his future wife out on a date. ️💘
28:39 — The evolution of March’s wearables starting with a pedometer in 2008 and evolving to a Pebble watch in 2012.
33:40–-A reference to Episode 57 where we discuss the Oura ring.
35:13 — Where to start when shopping for a piece of wearable tech.
44:05 — The pros and cons of a wearable with GPS.
46:59 — Three categories of fitness wearables.
55:57 — How you can use a wearable to improve your posture and why that matters.
1:03:03 — Using wearables to improve stress management.

Mentions

📦 Product: Ava fertility monitor
📦 Product: CheckMe Pro vital signs monitor
📦 Product: Timex internet messenger
📦 Product: ECG as a patch
📦 Product: Self powered sweat sensor patch
📦 Product: Blood glucose patch
📦 Product: The medical tricorder
📦 Product: Apple Watch
📦 Product: Fitbit watches
📦 Product: Garmin watches
📦 Product: Garmin Forerunner 645
📦 Product: Pebble watch (wikipedia)
📦 Product: Microsoft Band (wikipedia)
📦 Product: Spire (relaxation wearable)
📦 Product: Lumo Lift (posture wearable)
📦 Product: Upright Go (posture wearable)
📦 Product: Oura ring
📦 Product: fitbit ace 2 activity tracker for kids

Better Holidays: Gifts & Relationships Redux Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

In this episode Ian, Darren & March talk about how to have better holidays. We reflect on why holidays matter, our own personal experience with them, tips & tricks you can use, and experiments we're going to try and report back on.

Show Notes

1:16 — The Better Show is growing like a weed: quick update on how many countries we have listeners in worldwide.
2:44 — What is the most popular holiday in the world?
4:30 — Why do holidays matter?
6:41 — The Tail End insight about the time you spend with family
12:11 — How to have better conversations during the holidays
17:26 — Gift giving tips from Darren's wife Mardee
22:35 — Ian's "Buy One, Get One" trick for gift buying
24:07 — The Pajama Fairy story
26:15 — Giving the gift of choice with a personalized gift catalog
28:13 — How experiences can be some of the best gifts
29:12 — Does Ian have a bad gift giving habit?
33:49 — Maintaining routines during the holidays
43:23 — The Averaging Effect on gift giving
46:36 — The value of the surprise in gift giving
50:22 — The power of batching when gift giving
52:52 — Pinterest, Amazon Universal Wish List and more for inspiration and organization
55:32 — Asking questions of people's personal experiences to build empathy and avoid conflict
59:53 — Using your family history as a shared common background for family discussion
1:04:53 — March will experiment writing Thank You notes for gratitude this holiday
1:06:46 — Darren will experiment with small gifts, mostly experiences, and being more present this holiday season
1:07:34 — Ian will experiment with sending hand-made holiday greeting cards to family & friends
1:10:28 — Darren recommends Postagram for sending quick thank you cards