1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: used by the world's most successful people to get so 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: much out of their day. 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: I'm an organizational psychologist, the founder of behavioral science consultancy Inventium, 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,920 Speaker 1: and I'm obsessed with finding ways to optimize my work day. Now, 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: before I get into this How I Work from Home episode, 8 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: I wanted to let you guys know about a special 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,599 Speaker 1: webinar that I'm hosting next Tuesday, the twenty first of April. 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: So I'm going to be doing and Ask Me Anything 11 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: session where I'll be inviting you to write in and 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: ask me any question you want about working from home, 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: and I'm going to try and get through as many 14 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: as possible, So I will link to that event in 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: the show notes if you want to get read. 16 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 2: It'd be great to have you there. 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: As I said, we'll be talking all about working from 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: home and I will be answering as many questions from listeners. 19 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 2: Like you as I can. 20 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: So that's next Tuesday, April twenty one. That'll be at 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: ten am and are linked to that in the show 22 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: notes so that you can register. And that is completely 23 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: free as well. 24 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 2: So hopefully I'll see you there. Now. 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,279 Speaker 1: What I want to cover today are some really great 26 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: apps and software for making working from home a bit 27 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: easier because I think there are so many distractions in 28 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: the office, but now that we're all working from home, 29 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: it almost feels. 30 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 2: Like distractions double. 31 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: And also given everything that's going on in the world, 32 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: it's quite natural, I think, to want to refresh your 33 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: local news site every few minutes, so to help reduce 34 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: those distractions. Here are some apps that I'm loving and 35 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: using most days now. 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: Some of these I have spoken about on the show 37 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 2: before and. 38 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: Others I have not, so one that I've recently discovered 39 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: that I love is an app that is great to 40 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: use on your laptop, which is called Serene, and again 41 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: I'll link to all these in the show notes. So 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: Serene is kind of like Freedom, which I have also 43 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: mentioned on the show, and you can use it to 44 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: not only block out distracting websites and software, so you 45 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: basically set it for the different things that you want 46 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: to be locked out of and during what time, but 47 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: it also helps you prioritize what you should be working on, 48 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: so you basically set the sites and software that you 49 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: want to be blocked from entering the most important task 50 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: or tasks that you need to be working on for 51 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: the day, and how long you want to have uninterrupted 52 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: work time for and then Serene lets you just get 53 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: to it. And as a bonus, it also plays some 54 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: quite serene music in the background. So right now I 55 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: am loving Serene. It's probably my favorite new discovery in 56 00:02:58,600 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: terms of software. 57 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 2: Now, one of my favorite. 58 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: Apps for the mobile and just getting rid of mobile 59 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: distractions is an. 60 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 2: App called Forest. So I learned about this app through near. 61 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: El who is the author of Indestractable and Hooked, who 62 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: was on the podcast a few months ago, and this 63 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: is a really cool app. So basically how Forest works 64 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: is that you set the timer for how long you 65 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: want to focus on a task for and Forest will 66 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 1: grow a virtual tree. But if you succumb to the 67 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: same temptation to do a just check of your phone, 68 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: you kill the tree, which is surprisingly motivating to stay 69 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: focused and not kill the tree. 70 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 2: Now, the next app, which I do speak about a lot, 71 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 2: but I do love, is Superhuman. 72 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: So, like most people, I spent about an hour a 73 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: day sometimes more in my inbox and I think that 74 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: just loving your email software can make a really big difference, 75 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: not just to happiness, but also to productivity and just distraction. 76 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: I really like having an email client or email software 77 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: that I can actually physically close and not have visually anywhere, 78 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: and Superhuman does that. 79 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 2: So I discovered Superhuman. 80 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 1: Oh gosh over a year ago through an interview on 81 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: my podcast with the ex president of Pinterest, Tim Kendall, 82 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: and for me after being a very loyal Newton user, 83 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: which ended up shutting down, but it did end up relaunching. 84 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: I was looking for something else. So Superhuman claims to 85 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,919 Speaker 1: be the fastest email experience ever, and I reckon this 86 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 1: is pretty true. 87 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: So spending time in. 88 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: Superhuman feels very zippy and light and makes me feel 89 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: very productive and allows me to just focus on email 90 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: if I'm doing email now. Superhuman also speaks English, which 91 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: sounds strange. What this means is it has a natural 92 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: language process at so I can simply hit command K 93 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: and just type in exactly what I need Superhuman do, 94 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: such as remind me about this email that I've sent 95 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: if I don't receive a reply in the next three days, 96 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: or There are also shortcuts to do things like automatically 97 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,239 Speaker 1: bcc a person who's introduced me to someone else via email, 98 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: so it is super handy. There is a long waiting list, 99 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: but it is worth the weight. Now, another app that 100 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: I love is Pocket. So I don't know if you've 101 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: ever found yourself in an Internet black hole after being 102 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: sent an article that a coworker maybe insists you read, 103 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: and then you read it, and then that leads to 104 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: a ton of other tabs being opened from clicking through 105 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: links contained within that story. 106 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 2: Of course you've experienced that. 107 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: I've experienced it many times, and it is a great 108 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: source of distraction. And so Pocket is an app that 109 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: solves this problem. So you basically can put it on 110 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: your phone or use it as a plug in on 111 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: your Internet browser like on Chrome, which is where I 112 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: use it. And whenever you find yourself faced with an 113 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: article that you want to read but at a really 114 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: inopportune time, which is at most times, you can just 115 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: save it to your pocket. So thanks to Pocket, I 116 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,840 Speaker 1: batter read all my articles that catch my attention on 117 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: a semi weekly basis without getting lost down any black hole. 118 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 2: So I'm a huge Pocket fan. 119 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: Now, one other app I want to mention is called 120 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: send from Gmail, So I personally try to avoid my 121 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: inbox in the morning, which I'm successful at most days. 122 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: But what I find is that a problem that used 123 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,119 Speaker 1: to frequently arise is when I need to send someone 124 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: an email to complete one of my morning tasks. So 125 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: let's just say I've finished writing an article and I 126 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: need to email it through to the editor. I find 127 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,039 Speaker 1: that if I open up my inbox really quickly to 128 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 1: execute the task, I do get sucked into the web 129 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: of emails that awake me. So send from Gmail is 130 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: the perfect solution to this problem. It plugs into Chrome 131 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: and possibly other Internet browsers, and when you click on it, 132 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: a Gmail Compose window opens up. Let's you send an 133 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: email without having to physically venture into your inbox, and 134 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: you can just get back onto whatever you were doing, 135 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: which was hopefully not email. 136 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 2: So I'll link to all those apps in the show notes. 137 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: I hope that there's something new or useful there for you. 138 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: And that is it for today's show. So if you 139 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: enjoyed this episode and think that maybe you've got some 140 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: coworkers or friends that could benefit from some of these apps, 141 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: why not share the episode with them. 142 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 2: I'd love it if you could do that. 143 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: And if you're enjoying how I work and enjoying how 144 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: I work from home. 145 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 2: Why not leave a review in Apple Podcasts. 146 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: Or wherever you listen to your podcasts. I love reading 147 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: reviews from listeners. It's so awesome getting feedback, so thank 148 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: you to everyone that does that. That is it for 149 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: today and I will see you next time.