How much power can just a few words hold? Turns out: a lot. In this Quick Win episode, Olympian Libby Trickett reveals the invaluable advice that changed her life: the power phrase. Facing the challenges of asthma and bronchitis while competing in the world championships, Libby adopted a mantra that propelled her to victory and later helped her navigate life beyond sports. My new book The Health Habit is out now. Order your copy here . Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram . For more life-im...
Mar 20, 2024•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a world where success and connection often feel inseparable from our digital devices, it's rare to hear about someone going to extreme lengths to break free. Yet that's exactly what Kristina Karlsson did. Kristina, best known as the founder of the beloved kikki.K stores, shares her remarkable journey from the highs of global expansion to the lows of having her company put into administration. But instead of giving up, Kristina defied odds and picked herself back up. How did she do it? Kristin...
Mar 13, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever found yourself drowning in a sea of tasks, feeling like there's never enough time to think deeply about the things that truly matter? Mel Silva, who heads up Google's Australian and NZ business, has been there, and she's found a powerful solution. Thinking Days. And in today's Quick Win episode, you'll learn how to create your own. My new book The Health Habit is out now. Order your copy here . Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram . For more life-improving tips, sign up for my...
Mar 06, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Singing, dancing, and performing eight shows a week, Broadway star Andy Karl is no stranger to the grind of musical theater. Andy reveals the physical and vocal warm-up routines he depends on to bring his A-game to the stage each day. From tackling vocal warm-up hacks to staying healthy during demanding performances, Andy shares insights that are invaluable for anyone with a high-intensity schedule. Andy also opens up about his journey, from landing his dream role to overcoming a major injury ju...
Feb 28, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you tired of spending too much time composing emails or writing reports from scratch? Do you wish you had more time to focus on the core of your work rather than the administrative tasks? In today's quick win episode, Wharton Professor Katy Milkman shares her favourite time saving hack - the template. From responding to emails to pursuing goals, Katy has unlocked the power of templates to save time and improve outcomes. Check out the full interview with Katy here . My new book The Health Hab...
Feb 21, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Imagine walking into a one-on-one meeting with your boss and leaving feeling not just heard, but genuinely empowered. It almost sounds too good to be true, but Professor Steven Rogelberg, a renowned organisational psychologist, insists it's not only possible but essential. In this episode of How I Work, I sit down with Steven to peel back the layers on what makes for effective one-on-one meetings that inspire and motivate. Did you know that the right questions in these meetings can be the key to...
Feb 14, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re anything like me or the guests on How I Work, you want to optimise absolutely everything. But when you’re after the best, sometimes ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. So what do you do when you know exactly how to optimise something, but the right tool doesn’t exist yet? If you’re Ulrich Dempfle, you build that tool yourself! After learning about REHIT, a very short but very intense exercise protocol with astounding fitness outcomes, Ulrich knew he wanted to give it a go. But doing REHIT...
Feb 07, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Smartphones are so ubiquitous today that living without one sounds like something only monks and mountain hermits would be able to do. While many of us crave an extended break from our addictive little pocket-computers, it’s hard to imagine actually making it work. So how did Ryan Shelton pull it off? The comedian, actor and co-host of The Imperfects podcast felt like his phone was beginning to control him, instead of the other way around. He’d tried to reduce his screen time in the past, but co...
Jan 31, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dom Price’s health journey didn’t start where he expected. In fact, it started in phases… Phase one was a realisation. He’s always lived like a youngster - he’s energetic, excitable, passionate, and incredibly busy. This made him think he was immortal, even if he wasn’t exactly pursuing a healthy lifestyle. But he realised he was mortal the hard way when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer a couple of years ago. He says it shocked him, but not quite enough to change him. Phase two was about activ...
Jan 24, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Struggling with the endless cycle of distractions? You're not alone. On this episode of How I Work, I sit down with the wizard of focus, Nir Eyal, who's literally written the book on becoming indistractable. Nir's sharing some top-tier life hacks that go beyond typical self-help fluff. Think about turning every decision into a personal experiment, having actual uninterrupted time with your family, and even carving out sacred moments for your own personal goals. So, whether it's creating your own...
Jan 17, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lisa Leong discovered the hard way that you can be both fit and unhealthy. While working a high-powered (read: high stress) job that required her to fly around the world, she thought she might need some balance. For some reason, she thought training for an Olympic-distance marathon was the way to do it! Between working marathon hours and training for a literal marathon, she didn’t have time to slow down when she first got a chest infection. Instead, she loaded up on antibiotics and steroids and ...
Jan 10, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you tossing and turning every night, struggling to get the restorative sleep you crave? Or perhaps you find yourself reaching for that comfort bar of chocolate a little too often? I can most definitely relate - or at least I could - before I applied some clever behaviour change strategies that I write about in my new book, The Health Habit :) In today’s episode, I share my own health habits that have transformed how I eat, sleep and move, along with how I successfully kicked a several-decade...
Jan 09, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered what goes into getting a book into the world? To celebrate the launch of my new book, I’m taking you behind the scenes of The Health Habit. In this episode, I share how I came up with the idea, the process of pitching it to Penguin Random House (my publisher), how I wrote the manuscript in record time, and everything else involved in getting a book onto shelves. My new book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ Co...
Jan 08, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hall passes are one of the most powerful strategies we can use when it comes to making new habits stick. I explore the "what the hell" effect, the benefits of flexible routines, and the surprising impact of cheat days. Get ready to learn practical strategies for staying on track with your goals, even when life throws you curveballs. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The Health Habit, which comes out on January 9, 2024. Learn more about it and pre-order it here: https://www.amantha.c...
Jan 03, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Self-identity plays a huge role in shaping our behaviors and decision-making. So it stands to reason that if you want to make a big change to your life, you might need to change your self-identity. I reveal what the research says about self-identity and health habits. I also share some practical steps to help you recreate your own identity and solidify your commitment to new and better habits. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The Health Habit, which comes out on January 9, 2024. Le...
Dec 20, 2023•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast We often hear about how bad social media is for our health. Today, I flip that assumption on its head and explain how you can leverage social media for good. Discover the power of social normative theory, how good habits are contagious, and the influence of social media on our behaviors and expectations. Learn how to strategically curate your social media feed to align with your health goals, whether it's improving sleep, movement, or nutrition. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The...
Dec 13, 2023•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know that the sequence in which you eat can affect your blood glucose levels? Studies have shown that the order in which you consume vegetables, proteins/fats, and carbohydrates can make a significant difference. By simply changing the order of your meal, you can potentially reduce glucose spikes by up to 75% and experience benefits including increased energy levels and a greater sense of satiety. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The Health Habit, which comes out on January...
Dec 06, 2023•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you striving for a healthier life? I explore the popular notion of taking 10,000 steps per day for better health. Is this magic number really all it's cracked up to be? Let's uncover the truth by delving into the scientific research behind the ideal number of steps to take per day to reduce the risk of premature death. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The Health Habit, which comes out on January 9, 2024. Learn more about it and pre-order it here: https://www.amantha.com/the-hea...
Nov 29, 2023•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you struggling to get a good night's sleep? In today's episode, I explore a fascinating and science-backed strategy called the pre-sleep task dump. Today’s episode is an extract from my new book The Health Habit, which comes out on January 9, 2024. Learn more about it and pre-order it here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ *** Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin Instagram If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a weekly newsletter called One Percent...
Nov 22, 2023•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does it take to make someone give up on their dream? Which straw breaks the camel’s back? For Hugh Van Cuylenburg, a simple but critical mistake in his calendar almost spelt the end of The Resilience Project before it’d truly begun. But it didn’t. Why not? Where did Hugh find the strength to keep pursuing his goals, even after messing up the best opportunity he’d ever had? Hugh’s a master storyteller, with no shortage of material. He shares which moments in his life turned out to be make-or...
Nov 15, 2023•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast You think you’ve got a procrastination problem? TIm Urban, the man behind the sensationally popular blog Wait But Why reckons he might have you covered. He’s so well-acquainted with procrastination, in fact, that he gave a TED talk on the topic… And finalised it at the last minute. However, for a self-proclaimed master procrastinator, Tim sure gets a lot done. And thankfully, among the many, many articles he’s written are some antidotes for the serial procrastinator. Tim shares his process for r...
Nov 08, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast **BEST OF** If there’s anything I don’t miss about my school days, it’s homework - and I’ll bet you feel the same. So when my new favourite book on storytelling told me I needed to do “homework for life,” I wasn’t exactly pumped. That is, until author Matthew Dicks explained the benefits. Matthew’s the bestselling author of a slew of novels and non-fiction books, he’s written a rock opera, multiple musicals and even a handful of comic books. So when I read his new book in the hopes of upping my ...
Nov 01, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast The way we work has never changed quite as much as it did during the pandemic. Sure, you probably knew a couple of people with home offices or flexible hours, but after lockdowns, remote work went from a rarity to the new normal. When everyone was suddenly forced to stay inside, we all realised we could get by with tools like Google Docs and Zoom. But what if we were wrong? Adam Nathan, the co-founder and CEO of Almanac, worries that where we work has changed, but how we work hasn’t caught up ye...
Oct 25, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Adam Alter might just have the simplest productivity system of anyone I’ve interviewed. He uses a to-do list app, but it’s barely more advanced than a piece of paper. He values deep work, but he doesn’t build his life around it. So if he’s supposedly doing so little, how’s he getting so much done? And trust me, he’s getting a lot done: Adam’s a Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the Robert Stansky Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow. He’s also the author of multiple best...
Oct 18, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite living in Australia for his entire life, my dad speaks with a Polish accent. But that’s not all that’s different about him since he suffered a stroke in 2009… Martin Imber always considered himself a logical, “right-brained” person - he was a computer programmer, after all. But since his stroke, he believes he’s become more empathetic, more compassionate. Martin shares what he’s learned about life, love, family and himself since his stroke, as well as the lessons he learned from his own ...
Oct 11, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re into productivity or life-hacking, you’ve probably come across some pretty unusual tips and tools recently: we’re talking automatic ice baths, full-scale saunas, magic mushroom teas, and a whole lot of multi-hour morning routines. While I love a wild idea as much as the next productivity nerd, I also have a budget! Thankfully, Susan Carland’s favourite time-savers and life-upgraders are as accessible as they come. As long as she’s got a piping hot cup of coffee in her hand when she get...
Oct 04, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast No two careers will ever look exactly the same, but few of them look anything like a professional sporting career. Former AFL player Tom Boyd is the prime example: he’d worked towards the same goal since his early childhood, and after reaching the pinnacle of his game, he retired at the ripe old age of 23. So, what do you do when your career ends before you’re even halfway through your twenties? Tom reflects on his sporting career and shares its most impactful lessons, covering everything from t...
Sep 27, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast What matters most when pursuing a goal? Discipline? Routine? Accountability? All of those are important, sure, but how come nobody ever mentions fun? Economist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman wants to change that: according to research out of the Univeristy of Chicago and Cornell University, people persist in goal pursuit for longer if they can find a way to make the process more enjoyable. Katy gives this advice to her students, but it’s also the guiding force in her own career. Academia is ...
Sep 20, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The greatest stories inspire, terrify, inform and change us. They might change our lives, or simply help us get through the day. But if we know how central stories are to the human experience, why don’t more of us learn how to craft them more effectively? Matthew Dicks has been writing (and teaching writing) for decades now, and he’s seen the craft of storytelling change many lives in many ways. Most of all, he’s seen just how beneficial it is to tell stories to ourselves. Whether your ultimate ...
Sep 13, 2023•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast When he reached 60, Nigel Marsh realised his most ‘conventionally’ successful days might be behind him… But what does that actually mean? After a long and lucrative career in the commercial sector, Nigel knew the day would come when he’d no longer be able to keep pace with his younger colleagues. He’s had to accept that there comes a time in all of our lives when we need to step back and slow down. But he’s also learning that slowing down is far from a bad thing. Nigel’s gone from running multin...
Sep 06, 2023•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast