How I Work

Want to complete tasks quicker and fit more into your day?Productivity nerd Ashutosh Priyadarshy says effective and productive behaviour comes from setting a goal for your time. He’s the founder of productivity software company Sunsama, the makers of a daily planner tool that helps you plan out a focused work day by pulling together your tasks from all of your tools.During the early days building Sunsama software, Ashutosh set a 1.5-day turn around from demo to delivery. This forced the team to find creative solutions which allowed them to more rapidly ship iterations of their product.  You can find the full interview here: Ashutosh Priyadarshy on how he deliberately removes bulls@*t from his diary Find out more about Ashutosh at Twitter or email ashutosh@sunsama.com Check out Sunsama here. Subscribe to my new podcast How To Date in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 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 https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In March 2020, Simon Griffiths was watching as toilet paper sold out across Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Even as the CEO of toilet paper innovators Who Gives A Crap, he never imagined the same thing was about to happen in Australia, UK and the US.  But on March 4th, things took a dramatic turn. As the great toilet paper wars broke out across supermarket aisles, sales rose by 30-40%. Who Gives A Crap sold out, with half a million buyers on their waitlist.  The challenge excited Simon Griffiths, and over an eight week period the company pushed its systems to the absolute limit.  So how did Griffiths keep his team motivated? Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of profits towards building toilets and providing sanitation to those in need, so Simon and his team knew this was their moment to shine. Having a purpose at the heart of the company propelled the team into action.  As a remote-first organisation, Griffiths says focusing on autonomy, mastery and purpose, combined with clear goal-setting, can motivate a team to tackle anything. Simon Griffith’s recommended reading: - The Lean Startup Amantha’s recommended reading:- Measure What Matters Podcasts he listens to: - The Journal by the Wall Street Journal - How I Built This- 20VC And Amantha’s current favourite podcast:- Pivot You can connect with Simon on Twitter and Linkedin and the Who Give’s A Crap website - whogivesacrap.orgVisit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want to transform your day by creating a more resilient and positive mindset? Engineer, athlete and burns survivor Turia Pitt has quick gratitude techniques that offer an easy way to take control so you’re not at the mercy of a bad mood.  In the morning, think of three things you are grateful for. It’s that simple.For Turia, she likes to think about her son, or how nicely her new surfboard rides. You can find the full interview here: Turia Pitt’s Next Tuesday rule, hacks for dramatically improving self-talk, and how to be useful when someone is going through a rough time Connect with Turia: Turiapitt.com/letter Subscribe to my new podcast How To Date in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 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 https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you do if your boss suggested that you cut your working hours down to just four normal length days but said to you, I'll still pay you for five? Would you pinch yourself to check you weren't dreaming? Well this is what happened last April at Inventium. Our CEO, Michelle Le Poidevin, suggested to the team that we should try out the Four Day week. This lead to us running a six-month experiment where the team all worked four days per week and had Friday off. As a participant in this experiment, I can tell you it was bloody awesome. And today, we are going to learn exactly why Mish even suggested this idea and how she manages to be a CEO in just four normal length working days a week.Now you might have heard my chat with Inventium's Head of Learning, Charlotte Rush, last week where we got into the nitty gritty details of how our four day week experiment worked, what we measured and we also addressed what some of the skeptics might be thinking. So go back and listen to that show if you're keen to go deep into the four day week concept.In my chat with Mish today, we talk about how on earth do you lead a business where people only work four days but we pay them for five, how we balance the need to collaborate with also working super efficiently, and what the biggest challenges have been in making the four day week work.Connect with Mish on Linkedin and at michelle@inventium.com.auVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with Coca-Cola Amatil's Managing Director Alison Watkins was on how to receive negative feedback.You can find the full interview here: Coca-Cola Amatil’s Group Managing Director Alison Watkins on why doing great work isn’t enough to get ahead in your careerConnect with Alison on LinkedIn.Subscribe to my new podcast How To Date in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.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.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine it's 6am on a Friday morning. You wake up, about to get ready for work, but then you remember - you don't have to go to work. Instead, you have a blissful three day weekend ahead. Now imagine that you get to experience this feeling every single Friday morning. Yet, you're still on a full-time salary.This is what life is now like at my consultancy Inventium. Back in July last year, we ran an experiment to see if we could improve our productivity and fit our work into four normal, eight-hour days - yet still get paid for five. Seven months on, the experiment has been a huge success. And on today's episode, and also on next Thursday's episode, I'm unpacking how on earth we have managed to make this work.On today's show, I speak to Inventium's Head of Learning and Organisational Psychologist Charlotte Rush. Char lead Inventium's approach to implementing the four day work week. Inventium is definitely not the first company to do this, and we are still one of only a handful globally. So how did this idea for having a four day week even come up? How did we make it happen? And how did Char manage to fit all her work into just four days? We cover all these questions and more. And on next week's show, I'll be speaking to Inventium's CEO to uncover how you run a business when staff only work four standard days yet we pay them for five.Check out: Four Day Week pioneer Andrew Barnes on How I Work Peakon (employee engagement software) Inbox when ready (software to help with batch checking your email. Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My favourite tip from my chat with SEEK's Managing Director, Kendra Banks, was on how her executive team make their biggest decisions.You can find the full interview here: Managing Director of SEEK, Kendra Banks, on how her leadership team make their most important decisionsConnect with Kendra at kbanks@seek.com.au and on Linkedin.Subscribe to my new podcast How To Date in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.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.coVisit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

***BEST OF HOW I WORK***I'm currently taking a few weeks off, so today's episode is a Best Of episode. I've gone back through the archives of the last 2.5 years of hosting How I Work and picked out my absolute favourite episodes!My guest today is Darren Murph who is GitLab’s Head of Remote. If you have never heard of GitLab, it's the world’s largest all-remote company, with over 1,300 team members in 67+ countries with no company-owned offices. Darren has spent his career leading remote teams and charting remote transformations and authored GitLab’s Remote Playbook. Darren also holds a Guinness World Record as the planet's most prolific professional blogger, having published 10 million words.In this chat, we cover: How crisis-induced remote work is different from true remote work Darren’s favourite tips from Gitlab’s Remote Working handbook Why companies need to change their default to asynchronous communication How to create a corporate culture in a remote working environment The importance that values play in company culture How to recruit for people who are suited to remote work The key software that you need to make remote work, work How to design for serendipitous moments when everyone works remote How to replace water cooler conversations in the remote environment How to have effective meetings - and more importantly - deciding when NOT to meet Darren’s one page operating manual Darren’s favourite gadgets Companies that he looks to for remote working inspiration. Connect with Darren on Linkedin and Twitter. Check out Darren’s personal operating manual, GitLab’s remote playbook, and Darren’s book Living the Remote Dream.  Visit https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auIf 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.coSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Sonenshein, a Rice University Professor and New York Times bestselling author, shares his insights on transforming meeting culture. He emphasizes the importance of questioning the necessity of meetings and suggests actively engaging with organizers to enhance relevance. The conversation introduces the POA strategy—Purpose, Agenda, and Outcomes—aimed at streamlining meetings and boosting productivity. Listeners will learn how to navigate workplace dynamics more effectively and reduce unnecessary commitments.

Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author of "Digital Minimalism," shares insights on productivity. He emphasizes the need to change workflows rather than habits for better efficiency. Newport discusses tailored rituals for deep work, debunks the myth of constant phone accessibility, and highlights the importance of solitude. He also outlines strategies to combat shallow work, manage emails effectively, and engage in 'deep breaks' for enhanced focus. His thoughts challenge conventional productivity metrics, advocating for meaningful engagement over mere busyness.