1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: If you've ever found yourself staring down a big task, 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:08,479 Speaker 1: feeling that mix of dread, self doubt, and the urge 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: to do li truly anything else, you are not alone. 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: In today's Ask Me Anything episode, where I answer your 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: listener questions, I am diving into the stuff that we 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: all wrestle with, procrastination when the stakes are high. How 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: Australia's Right to Disconnect laws might or might not reshape 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: our working lives, and the practical ways I use AI, 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,160 Speaker 1: and also some simple systems to stop my days spiraling 10 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: into utter chaos. By the end of this episode, you 11 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: will walk away with concrete strategies for getting unstuck on 12 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: complex projects, a fresh perspective on flexible work culture, and 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: some real workflows you can steal right from my playbook. 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: And if you have a question that you would like 15 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: to ask me, drop me a note on I'm very 16 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: easy to find. Just search for Amatha Imba or share 17 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: a voice note with me via the link in the 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: show notes. Because I'm recording these Ask Me Anything episodes 19 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: about once a quarter, so let's get on with today's show. 20 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about habits, rituals, 21 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: and strategies for optimizing your date. I'm your host, doctor 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: Amantha Imba. The first question that we have is from Louise, 23 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: and she asks what are your top three remedies for procrastination? 24 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: Specifically when the procrastination is a result of anxiety about 25 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: a complex task that you do not know how long 26 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: it will take, may not know where to start, and 27 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: perhaps doubt your expertise to complete the task. I know, 28 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: once I have completed a big task, I am ecstatic, 29 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: but this is short lived and forgotten the next time 30 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: I face the same scenario. 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 2: Oh, I love this question, Louise is Oh gosh. 32 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: I think about this a lot, and I feel like 33 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: there are a lot of listeners that will be able 34 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: to relate. So let me break this down in terms 35 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: of something that I have been struggling with at. 36 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 2: Work for the last few months. 37 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: So as if you are a regular listener of how 38 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: I work, you will know that I am in the 39 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: middle of writing my fifth book, and you would think. 40 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 2: By book five that I would have the process. 41 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: Down pat I would be feeling confident I would know 42 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: exactly how to get this done. And I have found 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: this the hardest book that I have ever written, so 44 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: let me tell you my process. 45 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 2: Firstly, what I. 46 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: Have done this has become a monthly ritual is that 47 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: I will break down where I am in the process 48 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: and where I need to be at the end of 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: the month. So when you are writing a book and 50 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: you have signed up contract with a major publisher so 51 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: my books are published through Penguin Random House, there is 52 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: a deadline. And I hear that very few writers meet deadlines, 53 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: but I always meet my deadline because it kind of 54 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: has a domino effect if you don't. So the stakes 55 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: are really high. So I think about month to month, 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: what do I need to achieve and then what I do. 57 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: I open up a notes page and I literally break 58 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: it down into tasks. So, for example, in this past month, 59 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: I knew that I needed to create an energy type assessment. 60 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: I knew that I had to finalize the gameplay mechanics, 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: which won't mean anything right now, but it will if 62 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: you hopefully purchase the book next year. 63 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 2: Midnext year, it's out. 64 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: I knew that I had to polish and restructure part 65 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: one of the book, and so on and so forth. 66 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: I could go on and I could list the tasks 67 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: then to make it less overwhelming, what I did is 68 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: I estimated how many hours each task would take, and 69 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: by doing that it made me sort of it made 70 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: my logical brain take over from my emotional brain in 71 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: terms of going, oh, okay, I can actually fit this 72 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 1: into the month ahead, keeping in mind I've still got 73 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: all the work that I do as head of Inventium 74 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: and what that involves, which is in itself a full 75 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 1: time role, and yeah, I'll be able to fit the 76 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: book writing tasks around this. 77 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 2: Then what I. 78 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: Will do is I, after I've listed it all out, 79 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: I will actually timebox it in my diary. Now, I 80 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: could go and timebox the whole month, but I actually 81 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: tend to timebox about a week in advance. So I'll 82 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: sit down at the beginning of the week or the 83 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 1: end of the week prior, and I will block out 84 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: meetings with myself to achieve the tasks that I have 85 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: listed out. 86 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:54,359 Speaker 2: And then the final thing. 87 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: Which is I don't know if this is to do 88 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: with procrastination, but it is part of my process. I 89 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: will seek feedback earlier rather than later. I remember when 90 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: I interviewed Dan Heath, who was one of my favorite 91 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: business book writers, on the show several years ago. He 92 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: talked about getting feedback at the sixty percent mark. So 93 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: you don't want to get feedback on your work too 94 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: late in the process, because then you're just going to 95 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 1: get defensive, and it's going to be annoying. Because if 96 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: you're ninety percent there and someone says this all's ups 97 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: or this needs a major rewrite, you're just going to 98 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: feel pretty ordinary and probably dismiss the feedback. 99 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 2: But if you get feedback at about that sixty. 100 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: Percent mark, you've got enough done that there's something to 101 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: give feedback on and you'll actually feel less defensive. So 102 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: I have been getting feedback relatively early on, or probably 103 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: at about that fifty to sixty percent mark with what 104 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: I've called my Energy Army, which was a group of 105 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: about thirteen hundred people that were doing a bunch of 106 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: energy experiments as I was writing and creating the book, 107 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: and even in the last couple of weeks sending out 108 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: the energy Types assessment that I've been working on and 109 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: getting feedback on that. So that's also been part of 110 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: my process, just to force myself to ship something and 111 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: get the feedback. Yeah, and look, I find nothing beats 112 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: procrastination like a deadline. 113 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 2: So that is what i'd have to say, I hope 114 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 2: that's helpful, Luise. Okay. 115 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 1: The next question is from Bev and she has said, 116 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: I'm really curious how you think about the new right 117 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: to disconnect laws will fit into our working culture. Do 118 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: you predict it will lead to more paid hours or 119 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: just less worked hours? Okay, so for context, if you 120 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: have no idea what Bev is talking about, but you 121 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: probably do because they're pretty well publicized. The Right to 122 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: Disconnect laws basically give employees the right to refuse to monitor, read, 123 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: or respond to contact or attempted contact outside their working 124 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. So that came into 125 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: effect in August twenty twenty four for all businesses except 126 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: for small businesses, and then as of August twenty twenty five, 127 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: now small businesses defined as a business employing less than 128 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: fifteen people. 129 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 2: Are also also under the Right to Connect laws. 130 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: So so I guess to start with to frame up 131 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: my answer, who I help and who I think about? 132 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: Most knowledge workers so people that are paid for the 133 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: value of their thinking. They're typically people that work at 134 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: a desk, and they typically don't have rostered hours like 135 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: you would find in other industries like healthcare or hospitality. 136 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 2: So that's just my first frame for this answer. 137 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: What I think is that the right to disconnect laws 138 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: are kind of interesting because they assume that employees are 139 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: meant to be working nine to five Monday to Friday. 140 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: That is the traditional hours and days for knowledge workers. 141 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: And I actually think that workplaces that are you know, 142 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: a bit more modern, bit more contemporary, are a little 143 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: bit more flexible with hours. So at Inventium, for example, 144 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: for I think for over a decade, we've encouraged people 145 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: to work to their chronotype, so you know, if they're 146 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: a morning type or a night type, unless there's client 147 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: work to deliver, where we're you know, delivering a workshop 148 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: or a keynote or whatever that might be at a 149 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: client for a client at a predetermined time. I love 150 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: it when my team work really flexibly, and I certainly 151 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: do you know there are some days where I would 152 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: start work at seven am, but I would finish in 153 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: the middle of the afternoon. Or today, for example, I 154 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: went to the gym pretty early at about six thirty. 155 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,319 Speaker 1: I then was at my computer starting work at eight am, 156 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: and my plan is to be off for a couple 157 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: of hours between three to five pm. For catching up 158 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: with a friend, and then I'll probably do an hour 159 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: or so more work when I'm back at my computer. 160 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: So you know, I kind of think that flexibility and 161 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: flexible hours doesn't really match with the right. 162 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 2: To disconnect laws. 163 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: And I also think that for businesses that are a 164 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: bit more traditional, and specifically managers that are a bit 165 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: more traditional, it's really hard for legislation to change old 166 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: school views. So sure you can, you can still message 167 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: people outside of hours, but I think we all know 168 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: if we're working for a manager that actually unconsciously or 169 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: consciously responds really positively when we do respond at seven 170 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: or eight at night, and that manager thinks, wow, they're 171 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,320 Speaker 1: really dedicated, they're definitely going to be up for a 172 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: promotion because they've got amazing work ethic and so while 173 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: legally you don't have to respond, I think with some managers, 174 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: to be honest, that can be a career limiting move 175 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,439 Speaker 1: and that really sucks. And you know, if you are 176 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: a manager that can relate to that, I would challenge 177 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: you to change your views, because it doesn't mean someone dedicated, 178 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: It just means they happen to have notifications switched on 179 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: and maybe feel pressure to respond. 180 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 2: But if you work for. 181 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,679 Speaker 1: A manager like that, I think that's really hard. And 182 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: you know, maybe hopefully in your next job you can 183 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: find someone who is a little bit more contemporary in 184 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: their thinking. So I hopev that gives you some food 185 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: for thought. Or Right now we have Jeff and Jeff 186 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: the legend that he is, has recorded a message for 187 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm going to play that for you now, 188 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: and by the way, I will put a link in 189 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: the show notes because I'm doing these ask Me Anything 190 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: episodes about once a quarter now and I love it 191 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: when I hear your voice listeners, So please be like 192 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,959 Speaker 1: Jeff and send through little voice memos to me. 193 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 2: I love them. So let's hear from Jeff a method. 194 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 3: We have a problem in our office and it seems 195 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 3: to be a bottleneck. I'm a financial planner and we 196 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 3: seem to have a delay in processing documents and not 197 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 3: being able to produce a statement of advice in under 198 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 3: six weeks. It could be a staffing problem, but it's 199 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 3: more likely an operational problem. Where do we start in 200 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 3: trying to work out how to best solve the answer 201 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 3: to this? 202 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: Okay, Jeff, Oh, I love your question. Here, what a 203 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: great thing to be thinking about. So a few thoughts 204 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: from me. Firstly, I think when you're trying to re 205 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: engineer a process, the first thing is to visually map 206 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: out the process. And even when you visually map out 207 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: a process, just the act of doing that can often 208 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: just reveal some some massive inefficiencies that you just wouldn't 209 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,079 Speaker 1: have seen that I'd be asking yourself, where does most 210 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,200 Speaker 1: of the time currently get spent? Is it in gathering data? 211 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: Is it in compliance? Is it in writing? Is it 212 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: in the approval process or decision making process? So really 213 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,439 Speaker 1: breakdown where does most of the time currently get spent? 214 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: Because it seems like quite a lengthy period of time 215 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: to do something that I think could be done in 216 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: a lot shorter. Then I would be asking where are 217 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: the biggest points of friction? And I would actually be 218 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: doing this collaboratively with your team, with all the people 219 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: that are involved in this process right now, because presumably 220 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: you don't have insight into all of it. So get 221 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: everyone in a room and you know, be asking these questions, 222 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: So where are the biggest points of friction, Like, you know, 223 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: are there you know, delays from manual data entry, is 224 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: their duplicated effort anywhere in the process. Is there a 225 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: lot of rework going on thinking about the decision making 226 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: O their bottlenecks in approval process, for approval processes for 227 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: certain parts of this document. How about document formatting? Are 228 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: there parts of that couse that could be automated or templated? 229 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,199 Speaker 1: So they're the things that I would be asking as 230 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: a group and getting the team's perspective on that. And 231 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: then of course you know, again you will know how 232 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: you know pro gen AI I am, so I would 233 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: be looking for. You know, certainly I don't know where 234 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: your team's at in terms of AI fluency. You know, 235 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: obviously reach out to us that Inventium if you want 236 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 1: to up the skill set there, because man, you know, 237 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: jen I is brilliant for making processes quicker. But you know, 238 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: there's some relatively simple things that you might be able 239 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: to do, like, for example, producing a prompt library where 240 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: you you know, refine and document certain prompts that can 241 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: live a certain components that right now are being done manually. 242 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 1: That's you know, that's that's a pretty well, I won't 243 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: say straightforward because there's you know, certainly a science to 244 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: writing good prompts, but I guess you know it requires 245 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,959 Speaker 1: a lower level of AI expertise, and then through to 246 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: if he's kind of up the AI fluency game with 247 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: your team again, no idea where it's at right now, 248 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: through to creating agents and automations using software like ZAPR 249 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: or nh N or you know, there are a few 250 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: other ones out there that I recommend to automate certain 251 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: parts of the process. 252 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 2: So there's some thoughts. I hope that that's helpful. 253 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: For anyone that is, you know, maybe thinking about process 254 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: re engineering and they are there are a few steps 255 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: that you can go through. Okay, so far we've talked 256 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: about procrastination and flexible work. But stay with me because 257 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: in the second half I get very very practical. I'm 258 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: going to share some of my exact workflows and the 259 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: software that I use, and also how I use AI 260 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: every single day and. 261 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 2: What those workflows look like. 262 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: So if you've ever wondered how to actually make AI 263 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 1: work for you in a busy job, I think you 264 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: will find the second half very valuable. Okay, we have 265 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: another question from a listener who has been an absolute 266 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: legend and recorded a. 267 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 2: Message, Himantha. 268 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 4: So my question is really basic and it feels a 269 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 4: bit silly to ask, but it's something I struggle with 270 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 4: on a day to day. I work in HI and 271 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 4: I have a team of people who report into me. 272 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 4: One of the things I do struggle with, though, is 273 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 4: my own organization skills. So I find that, you know, 274 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 4: my day to day, my to do list is some 275 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 4: most of the time, it's in my head, and it 276 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 4: feels really unreliable. So I'll drop things down on a 277 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 4: piece of paper, but they're not being meetings and I'm 278 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 4: taking notes on a Google sheet or I'm taking notes 279 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 4: in a Google doc or whatever. I'm keen to sort 280 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 4: of understand from your perspective, what tools or strategies do 281 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 4: you use to keep your workflow organized and your notes together. 282 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 4: I would just love to hear from you a bit 283 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 4: more about the practical application of those sorts of tools, 284 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 4: and then maybe even how you use AI to in 285 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 4: your day to day workflow, and really the practical application 286 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 4: of how is that actually impacting on creating efficiencies in 287 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 4: your work? 288 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: Thank you, I love that question. That is an awesome line. Okay, 289 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: so you have to do your listers in your head, 290 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: everything's all over the place, and yeah, how I use 291 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: AI and my day to day workflate, all right, So 292 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: I will start by saying I've experimented with so many 293 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: different workflows, so let me tell you what my current 294 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: one is, because it works pretty well, but it's still 295 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: got some areas that I'm trying to find tune. So 296 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: in terms of where I keep my keep all my 297 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: notes and my tasks is in Notion. So I several 298 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: years ago I was using Notion as the main way 299 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: that my main digital notebook, if you like, but I 300 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,920 Speaker 1: didn't double down on really understanding all the features in Notion, 301 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:28,720 Speaker 1: and I think this is I mean, this is this 302 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: the same with any software, whether a little bit of 303 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:33,879 Speaker 1: a learning curve. I didn't take that learning curve, and 304 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: so I ended up moving out of Notion and moved 305 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 1: into Apple Notes. And that's then what I've been using 306 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 1: for the last few years. But I recently spent some 307 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: time a few hours on doing a course that helped 308 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:53,719 Speaker 1: me set up a really great system in Notion. Shout 309 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: out to Jeff Sue, who is an awesome productivity YouTuber 310 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: and did a really great course on how to get 311 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: the most out of Notion. 312 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 2: So I did that course. 313 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: It was brilliant, and now I feel like notion is, 314 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 1: to use Jeff's words, my command system, my commands center rather, 315 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 1: so this is where everything lives, all my projects, both 316 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: work and personal, Everything is organized, everything has a place, 317 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: everything is filed somewhere that makes sense to me. And 318 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: it's also where I have all of the different tasks 319 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,880 Speaker 1: that I need to get done, whether they're deep work 320 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,439 Speaker 1: or shallow work tasks. Now where where the system is 321 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 1: slightly falling down for me is I will often think 322 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,400 Speaker 1: of things that I have to do when I'm on. 323 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 2: The go, and I will ask. 324 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: Siri and I'm hoping that Siri doesn't get activated now 325 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: while I'm saying it's name, no, it's okay, And I 326 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: will say, hey, set a reminder to do blah at 327 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: this particular time on this particular. 328 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 2: Date. 329 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: And that is how I offload tasks that are in 330 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: my head and get them on paper, because that's really important. 331 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: So you need some sort of a workflow for that. 332 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,199 Speaker 1: But the challenge that I've got is how do I 333 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 1: get Siri creating a task in notion for me? Which 334 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: I have been mucking around with shortcuts on my iPhone 335 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: and I can't figure it out. So if there's someone 336 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: listening that can help me with this, I would really 337 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,679 Speaker 1: love your help. But anyway, what that means is that 338 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: there's just there's a manual transfer of tasks that pop 339 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: into my reminders app on Apple because that's the easiest 340 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: thing for Siri to connect to, and then moving that 341 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: into Notion or into my calendar. 342 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 2: And then sometimes. 343 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: What I do is I also have post it notes 344 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: a deck of post it notes on my desk, and 345 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 1: often when like something comes up in a meeting and 346 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: I just want to write it down manually or just 347 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: pops into my head and I just think I just 348 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: need to quickly do that today, I'll sometimes just put 349 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: it on a post It note. And there's something just 350 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: really nice about scrunching up a post It note when 351 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: the task is done. So that's just a little aside. 352 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,120 Speaker 1: I also use time boxing a lot, where I book 353 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: meetings with myself to do the things that I need 354 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: to do on the days I. 355 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 2: Need to do them. 356 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: And that is really critical now in terms of how 357 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: I use AI in my day to day workflow. Oh, 358 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: I've got I've got quite a few, So let me 359 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: talk about some of these. Something I have invested quite 360 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: a bit of time in doing is firstly creating a 361 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: prompt library slash database which lives in Notion, where I've 362 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: got prompts either that I want to test that you know, 363 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: maybe I found in a newsletter I subscribe to or 364 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: online that I want to tinker with, see how they work, 365 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: do my own editing of them, and. 366 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 2: I sort of I keep those in Notion in a database. 367 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 1: And I have also got quite a lot of GPTs 368 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,679 Speaker 1: that I've created in Chat GPT, as well as projects 369 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: that I've created in chat GPT, and also projects that 370 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: I've created in Claude and. 371 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 2: There for very specific purposes. 372 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: So for example, I have I've just been deciding that 373 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: I am going to do some experimenting with doing some 374 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 1: reels on Instagram and YouTube shorts, and so I've created, 375 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:44,400 Speaker 1: with the help of shout out to Neo Applan, who 376 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: is Inventium's GENAI lead, with his immense help, have created 377 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: a pretty cool GPT that helps me refine concepts that 378 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,400 Speaker 1: I have that maybe I've written about in my newsletter 379 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: or and my books into scripts that I can use 380 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: and edit for recording reels. So that is one specific 381 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: GPT that I have. I have another GPT that I 382 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: have prompted to be a senior editor at Penguin. And 383 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 1: this is really helpful because when I want either a 384 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: like a structural view and say like a book chapter 385 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: I'm writing, or if I want a copy edit, which 386 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: is more about grammar and you know, typos and sort 387 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: of like the nitty gritty like that, which are two 388 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 1: different GPTs, I should add I can paste in a 389 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: chapter into that GPT and get some feedback, and it 390 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 1: means that I don't have to be copying and pasting 391 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 1: or creating a prompt from scratch. So I should also 392 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: say that because I create a lot of content in 393 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: my in my roles that I have, I always always 394 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: make sure that a real human that is me, does 395 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 1: a lot last pass on any content, regardless of how 396 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: much or how little I'm using the AI. I just 397 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: think that's critical. I'll share one other workflow that I 398 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:10,919 Speaker 1: have that I do use every day. So a lot 399 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: of my work involves sales at Inventium, So you know, 400 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: we get a lot of inquiries for the programs that 401 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: we run around AI, productivity, innovation well being. You know, 402 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: literally get emails every single day from companies that want 403 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: to work with us, which is brilliant. And so then 404 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 1: a lot of my time, or let's say, you know, 405 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: a couple of hours a day, is spent in sales meetings. 406 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: So in those sales meetings, because I always like to 407 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:43,679 Speaker 1: turn around sales proposals really quickly, I have a workflow 408 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: that makes that process produce quick results, but I think 409 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: high quality results. 410 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:51,360 Speaker 2: So this is my workflow here. 411 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: What I do is I typically use Granola to record 412 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: my meetings. It doesn't record audio or video. It's simply 413 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: a transcript that's running in the background. But it also 414 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: combines that with my human notes that I'm making in 415 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: the Granola app. I just I just think it's one 416 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: of the most brilliant apps out there. But it doesn't 417 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: play with I think it only plays with. 418 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 2: Mac. 419 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: Is it a Mac only app? I think it is, 420 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: and it also plays with Google. Doesn't play as well 421 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,199 Speaker 1: with Outlook, but anyway, that's by the bye. 422 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 2: Then what I do. 423 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: I get my notes from Granola, and I have a 424 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:38,640 Speaker 1: sales or proposal writing GPT, and I feed in some 425 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 1: of the notes that I think are relevant and my 426 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: human notes into that GPT, and then I work with 427 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: it through asking questions and getting it to ask me 428 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: questions to create a proposal. It means that I can, 429 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: you know, create a pretty decent proposal for a project 430 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: that is not soon for complex, you know, within about 431 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: sort of fifteen to twenty minutes. And then what I 432 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 1: do is I use software called Teller, which is kind 433 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 1: of like Loom if you're familiar with Loom, but it's 434 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: it's slightly different in terms of its features. So I 435 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: use Teller to then record me explaining the proposal, so 436 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,399 Speaker 1: talking it through. 437 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,360 Speaker 2: So that is what. 438 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: That like. 439 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 2: There's some of my workflows. 440 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: I've got quite a few, but they're just you know, 441 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: a few that come to mind that are ones that 442 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:40,160 Speaker 1: I use certainly weekly and sometimes daily. That is it 443 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: for part one of this Ask Me Anything. But I'm 444 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: going to be back next week with part two because 445 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to try and cover all the brilliant questions 446 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: I received. 447 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 2: So in part two next week. 448 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: We're going to be covering how to differentiate yourself in 449 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: the job market, my best tips for developing high performing teams, 450 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: and my top pieces of advice for leaders who want 451 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,439 Speaker 1: to have a big impact and especially for those that 452 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: are new to leadership roles. So please hit follow or 453 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: subscribe to How I Work so you don't miss next 454 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 1: week's EPP. And if you know someone who's drowning in 455 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: procrastination or could use a few workflow hacks, please share this. 456 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,399 Speaker 2: Episode with them. Thank you so much for listening, and 457 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 2: I'll see you next time. 458 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: If you like today's show, make sure you hit follow 459 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: on your podcast app to be alerted when new episodes drop. 460 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 1: How I Work was recorded on the traditional land of 461 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: the warrangery people, part of the Cooler Nation. A big 462 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: thank you to Martin Nimber for doing the sound mix.