Ep 119: Are you sabotaging your sleep?

In this final episode of 2022, Richard explores how we can reflect on the year gone by to better help us plan for the year coming.  It doesn't have to mean big, demanding goals, but the reflection can help us be more realistic and practical about what we want to achieve.   

In this episode, Richard takes a look at a common (and frustrating) experience - the tasks that just won’t die! They keep appearing on our lists, just like zombies. There are a few potential causes and thankfully, a few ways we can deal with them. It might be how we prioritise, how we feel about the tasks or the lack of an agreed deadline. But seeing them pop up on your task list every week certainly isn’t motivating! Get in touch with you own experience of ‘zombie’ tasks and how you’ve dealt with them. We love hearing from listeners and you can drop us an email to tell us more: podcast at worklifepsych dot com. Thanks for listening! Resources for this episode Learn more about Community Plus: https://www.worklifepsych.com/communityplus Join Community Plus with a 50% discount via this link: https://www.worklifepsych.club/plans/249856?bundle_token=2eb8d1df9cc95e64161436524e13a8c4&utm_source=manual Ep 049: The Challenges of Task Management -https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/ Ep 050: Choosing a Task Management app - https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-051-choosing-a-task-management-app/ Ep 118: Your Productivity Toolkit - https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/118/

This time round, Richard and Pilar discuss Richard's experiment of working a four-day week. We look at why he decided to trial it, how it worked for him and how he benefitted from this working arrangement.  The big question is: will he keep going with a four day week now the experiment is over? There are no one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to flexible or alternate working arrangements, and this is very much a personal reflection. We'd love to hear your thoughts: are you considering a four-day week for your team or organisation? Have you trialled it? What questions or feedback do you have? Drop us your thoughts via email: podcast at worklifepsych dot com.  Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Richard and Pilar explore some of the reasons we don’t achieve our goals. Even when we are clear where we want to get to and go through the goal-setting process carefully, we still might get in our own way when it comes to progress. We might set goals that are too demanding, or aren’t even something we want to achieve. We can fall prey to popular bandwagons and sign up for something we don’t believe in. We might set a goal too far in the future, or just set the goal because others think we ‘should’. As we explore, goal-setting is just one part of the journey. Understanding how our goals align with our values and having clarity on the first few practical steps we need to take - this makes all the difference. Resources for this episode ‘Goals and when to let them go’ - Post on WorkLifePsych Club https://www.worklifepsych.club/posts/27831626?utm_source=manual Community Plus - worklifepsych.com/communityplus

A very special episode! Richard and Pilar discuss the recent launch of the latest initiative from WorkLifePsych: Community Plus.  It's the premium level membership of our existing WorkLifePsych online community and features a plethora of events to address all aspects of your personal development journey.  In this episode, we look at why Richard launched it, who it's aimed at, and what you can expect from it. You can find out more by visiting worklifepsych.com/communityplus or, if you're already a member of our online community, just click on the 'Groups' menu and you'll see the Community Plus button.  Please get in touch with your questions and comments - we love to hear from our listeners. You can message us on Twitter @MyPocketPstch or send us an email to podcast at worklifepsych dot com.  Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 120 where Richard is joined by Dr. Lyn Lanka for a further exploration of the PERMA model for human happiness and flourishing. Together, they explore the impact of small behaviours, why there’s no need to make huge disruptive changes and how you can treat the PERMA model like your very own recipe. Big thanks to Lyn for her expertise and input into this episode. And don’t forget, if you’d like to more about positive psychology and the concept of flourishing, check out episode 113 of the podcast. Please get in touch with any questions either via Twitter (@MyPocketPsych) or by email: podcast at worklifepsych dot com Thanks for listening! Resources for this episode Dr Lyn Lanka: https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/people/dr-lyn-lanka-32551017 An introduction to PERMA https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model

In this episode, we return to the vital topic of sleep. Sleep really is the bedrock of our wellbeing, and if we're not getting enough quality sleep, it undermines all the other things we do to stay healthy.  We look at sleep through the lens of our daily habits and explore some of the ways we might be unintentionally depriving ourselves of the sleep we need.  Resources for this episode  'How to have a good day' by Caroline Webb 'Why we sleep' by Matthew Walker Why your wellbeing initiative needs to include sleep 

In this episode, Richard and Pilar look at the essentials of any productivity toolkit: a place to keep tasks, a place to keep track of commitments and a place to keep notes.  With so many apps available, we'll look at some of our favourites and explain how they can support your productivity. They go from the totally free through to apps that need some investment.  We'd love to hear about your productivity app recommendations and why they help you get your important stuff done. You can get in touch on Twitter @MyPocketPsych or send us an email at podcast at WorkLifePsych dot com.  Thanks for listening! Resources mentioned in this episode  Task management apps Apple Reminders: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/reminders/id1108187841  "How to level up Apple Reminders": https://youtu.be/qwM8TlR8fk0  Todoist: https://todoist.com  Things 3: https://culturedcode.com/things/  Microsoft ToDo: https://todo.microsoft.com/tasks/  Omnifocus: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/  Trello: https://trello.com  Remarkable tablet: https://remarkable.com  Calendar apps Apple’s calendar app: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/calendar/welcome/mac  Google Calendar: https://www.google.com/calendar/about/  Microsoft Outlook: https://outlook.live.com/owa/  Fantastical: https://flexibits.com/fantastical  Schedule Once: https://www.oncehub.com  You can book me: https://youcanbook.me  Blog post about the Eisenhower matrix: https://www.worklifepsych.com/whats-the-difference-between-urgent-and-important/  Notes apps Microsoft OneNote: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app  Apple Notes: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes/id1110145109  Google Keep: https://www.google.com/keep/  Evernote: https://evernote.com  Craft Docs: https://www.craft.do  Bear Notes: https://bear.app  Zoho notebooks: https://www.zoho.com/notebook/  Pocket: https://getpocket.com/ 

Welcome to episode 117, where we take a look at the importance of rest - for our productivity, our effectiveness and our wellbeing. It’s easy to take it for granted and ‘squeeze’ if in where we can. But being intentional about rest and breaks from work can pay dividends.  Rest isn’t optional, it isn’t the last thing we should think of. Or only consider when we’re too tired to continue or when everything else on our todo list is done. Rest doesn’t have to mean sleep, either. We can take a break from work activities and engage intentionally with leisure activities. Going for a walk. Gardening. Reading.  The bottom line is that we need to prioritise rest as we do everything else we hold as important. Making space and time for rest allows us to flourish in the other domains of life. We’d love to hear how you take breaks and what rest looks like to you. Contact us on Twitter (@MyPocketPsych) or send us an email: podcast at WorkLifePsych dot com).  Thanks for listening! Resources for this episode Shane O’Mara’s book “In Praise of Walking” - https://amzn.to/3vVtO6W  Community post about the importance of rest - https://www.worklifepsych.club/posts/24498264?utm_source=manual  Link to Claudia Hammond’s book - ”The Art of Rest” - https://amzn.to/3BUhIP6  Link to episode on fresh starts - https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/096/  Join our online community here: https://www.worklifepsych.club 

Welcome to episode 116, where Richard and Pilar explore the importance of getting intentional about managing our inbox. Rather than live in our email inbox, Richard outlines the benefits of another, separate inbox, accessible without delving into your email. Why? Because even in 2022, not all work comes to us via email! We look at how to get clarity on the tasks that come our way, apply some form of prioritisation to them and the importance of differentiating between individual tasks and projects. All in an attempt to focus on the right things and avoid the habit of 'busy'. Thanks for listening! Additional resources Podcast episode on task management: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/ Podcast episode on the challenges of task management: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/ How to chose a task management app: https://www.worklifepsych.com/how-to-choose-a-task-management-app/ Webinar recording: getting started with Todoist: https://youtu.be/92owmoXNf7s