How I Work

Do you work in an open plan office? It turns out they are not all fun and games and collaboration. This episode reveals research into the dark side of the open plan office and why it might be killing your productivity.Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Baratunde Thurston. Baratunde is a particularly hilarious comedian, he wrote the bestselling book How to be Black as well as many feature articles for places like Fast Company and Medium. He helped to re-launch the Daily Show with Trevor Noah through building the digital expansion team. And he used to write for the Onion and has been nominated for an Emmy award.This conversation is a little different in that we deep dive into a very specific work project of Baratunde’s and it was one that I witnessed a few months ago. It was the closing keynote of the TED 2018 conference. While the footage is not yet live, you can get a feel for what this looked like when he did the same thing at TED2015.To set the scene, the 2000 TED delegates had just experienced around 100 talks over the course of five days. Imagine the impact of watching just one TED talk and multiply that by 100. It’s an amazing and immersive experience and feels like you have been blasted by a fire hose with ideas. And the very last talk was Baratunde Thurston who summed up the entire conference experience - from the 100 or so talks to the snack foods to the parties - in 20 hilarious minutes.But here is the thing - Baratunde wrote this phenomenal presentation during TED. So while experiencing the five day event he also wrote his talk. And then he memorised it. And then he presented it. In front of the entire TED audience. It was one of the most mind-blowing performances I have seen in my life. So I reached out to Baratunde to speak to him about how we did this. We delve into: Preparation - and why its almost impossible to prepare for a performance like this The technology he used to record and collaborate His physical / health routine The different ways to structure a joke Unpacking some of the jokes and how they came together How he memorised a 20 minute talk in the space of a few hours How he manages nerves We also cover a heap of other things, including: Baratunde’s quirky (but effective) email autoresponder Baratunde’s weekly reflection ritual How he writes articles Why working on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah was the hardest job he has ever job The key question to ask your employer when accepting a new job Why he is so frustrated with the social media companies Find more about Baratunde at www.baratunde.com, on Medium, on Facebook, and on Twitter.SMS Baratunde at +12029027949 (and use #howiwork).Visit www.amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How would you like to leave work at 2.30pm today having achieved a full day’s output? This mini-episode explains a very simple change you can make to the way you work that will allow you to do just that.Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Pamela Meyer. You might know Pamela from her very famous TED talk about How To Spot a Liar, which has been viewed by 20 million people. She also wrote the bestselling book Liespotting: Proven techniques to detect deception. Pamela is also the founder and CEO of Calibrate, a leading training company that teaches people how to spot lies.Pamela is someone who thinks a lot about how to get the most out of each day, and I particularly liked hearing about her rather counter intuitive strategy for time management which I am trying to now apply in my own life.Some of the topics we covered in this chat include: How Pamela structures her to-do list Pamela’s strategies for preparing for the day ahead Pamela’s counter-intuitive time management technique Pamela’s must-have tool for keeping focused Pamela’s “burst” method for getting things done How Pamela uses self-rewards to drive motivation How Pamela decides what to say yes to versus what to say no to Pamela’s rules for having “clean” email Pamela’s go-to places for creative work And a whole lot more.You can find more about Pamela at http://liespotting.com/ and via her company Calibrate.Full show notes and a transcript of this episode can be found at www.amanthaimber.com/podcastWant to get in touch? Reach out at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost every one of us has experienced a 10 point drop in IQ from something that happens many times a day. And if you are wondering: is 10 IQ points a lot to lose? The answer is most definitely yes - it’s the equivalent of losing a night’s sleep. This mini-episode explains how to never experience this drop in IQ again.Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mia Freedman is the co-founder and creative director of the Mamamia Women’s Network, Australia’s largest digital women’s media company. They reach 4 million women per month and also have the world’s largest women’s podcast network, with eight shows that reach millions of women.As many Australian listeners would know, Mia was the youngest editor of Australian Cosmo at 24 years old back in the mid 90s. And because I was one of many loyal Cosmo readers as a teenager, I feel like I grew up with Mia. I’ve also lapped all of her books and I just love how she speaks so honestly and is such a raw way about her life.I found it fascinating to sit down with Mia and learn more about how she structures her days and the routines that she has. I particularly loved hearing about her methods for overcoming procrastination, which I think every listener can benefit from.We covered a whole range of topics in our chat, including: How Mia carves out time to write books Why Mia hates long deadlines Mia’s daily rituals to stay on top of her mental health Why Mia has stopped reaching for her phone first thing in the morning Mia’s favourite podcasts Why Mia’s productivity peaks after 9pm Why Mia is spending less time on Facebook How Mia is rethinking her inbox How Mia reduces the amount of decisions she needs to make Mia’s top parenting hacks How Mia re-energises herself during the workday And a whole lot more.If you want to learn more about Mia, you can find her at www.miafreedman.com or via www.ladystartup.com.au which is her brand new project that includes an Online Bootcamp will help you activate your business idea in just 6 weeks.Full show notes and a transcript of this episode can be found at www.amanthaimber.com/podcastWant to get in touch? Reach out at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How would you like to add 30 extra days to your year? Imagine all the things you can achieve. Today’s mini-episode shows you how to do just that. All it takes is one simple change.Click here for full show notes from all episodes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy Duarte is the world expert on designing and delivering presentations. Nancy’s firm Duarte, is the largest design firm in Silicon Valley. They help very big and famous companies and people, from Apple through to Al Gore, design and deliver great presentations.Nancy has also written several books about storytelling and presentations, including the Harvard Business Review guide to creating persuasive presentations.I’ve been a fan of Nancy’s work for a long time so I was very excited to chat with her. We covered a heap of ground in this interview, including: How Nancy overcomes writer’s block How email changes her body chemistry Why Nancy hasn’t been on facebook for three months Why Nancy always has a major and a minor work on the go at all times How she decides which opportunities to say yes to Nancy’s ultra organised approach to managing her inbox Why Nancy has reduced the amount of emails she sends Her favourite “productivity” app How Nancy prepares for her own presentations Nancy’s pre-presentation ritual And a whole lot more.If you want to read more about Nancy, you can find her on Twitter or via her firm Duarte.Full show notes and a transcript of this episode can be found at www.amanthaimber.com/podcastWant to get in touch? Reach out at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you have a behaviour (or maybe several) that you are trying hard to change? Today’s mini-sode will reveal some fascinating research on a single word that you can use that doubles the chance of creating real behaviour change.Check out the research study cited in this episode right here.For comprehensive show notes and a transcript of this episode, click here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Botsman is a world renowned expert on technology and trust, and the author of bestselling books “Who Can You Trust?” and “What’s Mine Is Yours".Rachel is a lecturer at Oxford University and has been recognised as one of the “Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company and as one of the 50 most influential management thinkers in the world.We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including: Why Rachel never sleeps near her phone “Big stride days” and how to have one How the weather effects her productivity Her unusual but very awesome way of crafting presentations How Rachel hit a ridiculously tight book deadline Why she finishes her day midway through writing a paragraph Her one minute mindfulness routine Rachel’s “tips” to make it easier to say no And a whole lot more.You can find Rachel on Twitter and Linkedin at @Rachelbotsman and via her website.Comprehensive show notes on this episode can be found right 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 here.Want to get in touch? Reach out at amantha@inventium.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.