1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the technics 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: he used by leading innovators to get so much out 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: of their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm 4 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: an organizational psychologist, the founder of innovation consultancy Inventium, and 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: I'm obsessed with finding ways to optimize my work date. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: This episode is another my favorite Tip episode. The title's 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,080 Speaker 1: probably pretty self explanatory. It's about my favorite tip from 8 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: each of the interviews I conduct. I use this format 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: because sometimes I feel myself as a podcast listener, I 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: just want to get in, get some value, and get out. 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,599 Speaker 1: So my guest today is Abbi Jacobson. Abby is a 12 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: co creator, writer, director, executive producer and star of the 13 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: critically acclaimed Comedy Central show broad City with Ilana Glazer, 14 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: and that is how I first became familiar with her work. 15 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: I am a hardcore fan of broad City, and I 16 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: would go so far to say that I think it's 17 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: the funniest show on TV right now, although recently wrapped 18 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: its fifth and final season. Seriously, though, if you have 19 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: not watched broad City or have no idea what I'm 20 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,279 Speaker 1: talking about, check it out. Aside from broad City, Abby 21 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: has done a stack of things, ranging from voicing the 22 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: character Bean in Netflix's series Disenchantment by Matt Groenig, hosting 23 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: the podcast a piece of work with WNYC and MoMA, 24 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: in which she discusses modern and contemporary art. Oh and 25 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: she's also written and illustrated a stack of New York 26 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: Times best selling books, ranging from I Might Regret This, 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: which is a memoir style collection of essays, who illustrated 28 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: book Carry This Book, and two coloring books called Color 29 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: This Book, New York City and Color of This Book, 30 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: San Francisco. In this extract, we talk about Abby's relationship 31 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: with imposter syndrome, and then we go into how she 32 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: manages her nerves before big events. 33 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 2: I think it goes in and out where I feel 34 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 2: way more confident now in actually being good at what 35 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 2: I do. But then again, I'll be at a thing 36 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 2: like an event or a panel or something, and I'll 37 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: be taken completely right back there where I'm like, what 38 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 2: am I doing here? Why does anyone care what I 39 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 2: have to say about this topic? And or if I'm 40 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 2: like on a set, you know, I get I get 41 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 2: very nervous before performances or new things, and I while 42 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 2: that still is you know, doubting myself and and you know, 43 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 2: feeling that like some I'm going to be like exposed 44 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: for not being good or or actually I think it's 45 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 2: good to have a little bit of that, is what 46 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 2: I'm saying. Where I get I'm happy that I still 47 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 2: get very nervous even if I maybe shouldn't be, like 48 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 2: if I have nothing to be nervous about, like I 49 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 2: totally should be on this panel of writers where I 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 2: should be giving a talk, you know, at this event. 51 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 2: Like if there ever was a day where I was like, yeah, 52 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 2: I fucking should be here, it's like, fuck you. I 53 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 2: don't want to be like that, Like I want to 54 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 2: always be looking at myself and questioning, you know, where 55 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 2: I am right now in my career and sort of 56 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 2: measuring like how far I've come and know that there's 57 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 2: still so much farther to go. So like even if 58 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 2: I am really confident in what I'm doing right now 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: and the projects I'm working on, I still can be 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 2: so much better. So there still is that. 61 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: I think that's really interesting that you kind of embrace 62 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: it when you're feeling that in pluster syndrome and the 63 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: nerves a good thing, I guess it says that you 64 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: know you care and also that you're not becoming this complaint, 65 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: arrogant monster. 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and like I know those people, and I know 67 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 2: people that are like that, and I just I feel like, 68 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 2: I'm like, if you're like that when you're alone by yourself, 69 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 2: I think all the time, I think that there's something wrong. 70 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 2: I think you need to kind of check yourself because 71 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 2: I listen. I I do want to be more kind 72 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 2: of outwardly confident. Sometimes I feel like I'm showing my 73 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 2: cards a little too much with my insecurities. It changes 74 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:27,599 Speaker 2: every day for me. 75 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: I think I was curious, do you like you sort 76 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: of spoken about how you know you still get nervous, 77 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: you know, for sort of big performance occasions. Do you 78 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: have a version or something like that, an equivalent that 79 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: you do just with yourself to manage your own nerves, 80 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: like perhaps when you are working solo, you. 81 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,479 Speaker 2: Know, I don't. I have messed around with breathing. I 82 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 2: need to get better at breathing, although I do do 83 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 2: it every day. Still also don't worry. 84 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: But I I just so I just had this. 85 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 2: I just gave the commencement speech at my alma honor, 86 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: which was absolutely terrifying, And it was the whole thing, 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 2: all of the thoughts we've just talked about. I was like, 88 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 2: why am I Why have they asked me to be here? 89 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 2: No one's going to even know who I am? Like 90 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 2: what am I doing? Why am I giving this speech? 91 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 2: And you know, interesting, it was different because I had 92 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 2: to sit up on the stage for quite a while 93 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 2: before it got to me giving the speech, So it 94 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 2: wasn't like I was backstage like getting to pace around. 95 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 2: I was just I was like on stage with everyone 96 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 2: while the rest of the commencement ceremony went on, waiting 97 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 2: to do my thing. And I think it I think 98 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 2: at that point it just becomes sort of like an 99 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 2: internal like like breathing and like focusing inward, like a 100 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 2: little like talk like okay, we got this, here we 101 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 2: go like this is fine, Like just you can do this, 102 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 2: like kind of like a little inner pep talk. I mean, 103 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 2: that's at least what. 104 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:04,280 Speaker 1: I did for that. Yeah. 105 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 2: Cool, the most recent terrifying thing, Hello me again. 106 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: I just love this chat with Abby. It's almost reassuring 107 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: to hear someone like Abby, who I have way on 108 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: a pedestal, talk about how she still struggles with certain things. 109 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: Like the rest of us, and because I'm very guilty 110 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: of engaging in very unhelpful social comparisons, which is a 111 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: recipe for feeling pretty crap. I find these chats very 112 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: reassuring because at the end of the day, we're kind 113 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: of all struggling with the same stuff, aren't we. So 114 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: that is it for today. If you like this excerpt, 115 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: you should probably listen to my full chat with Abby, 116 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: which I link to in the show notes. And if 117 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: you're enjoying how I work, why not tell other people 118 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,799 Speaker 1: about it? Word of mouth is one of the ways 119 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: in which how I work has grown a lot since 120 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: I first started it. And thank you, thank you if 121 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: you're spreading the word about how I work, I'm very 122 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: very grateful. So that is it for today, and I'll 123 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: see you next time.