How I Work
About this creator
How I Work explores practical ideas on work habits, productivity, decision-making, and building more sustainable ways of operating.
Why they're in the library
Included for practical guidance on work habits, productivity, decision-making, and building more sustainable ways of operating.
Showing 195 digests for How I Work.
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Using an experimental mindset to build better habits in 2020
How I Work
February 3, 2020
Productivity & habits
9
Goal setting
6
- Goals put you in a failure state before you even begin
- Treat habit change as experiments, not resolutions, to remove guilt
- Five criteria filter strategies: free, simple, novel, fast, science-backed
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Daniel Pink on writing, timing, and eliminating willpower
How I Work
January 29, 2020
Deep work & focus
9
Productivity & habits
7
Automation & tools
5
- Why willpower fails — and what to do instead
- Schedule your hardest work during your daily performance peak
- How Pink titles other people's books better than his own
Founder interviews
Podcast
Abbi Jacobson on creative routines, imposter syndrome, and finding presence
How I Work
January 15, 2020
Founder interviews
10
Productivity & habits
8
Identity & self-belief
6
- Why manufactured social contracts beat willpower for creative deadlines
- Getting a dog fixed her inability to stop working and switch off
- Imposter syndrome is worth keeping — arrogance is the real problem
Hiring & recruitment
Podcast
Amantha Imber answers 25 questions on work, leadership, and innovation
How I Work
October 30, 2019
Hiring & recruitment
8
Deep work & focus
8
Culture building
7
- Busy is a time-allocation myth, not a capacity problem.
- Peer mentoring groups outperform formal mentors for founders.
- Moving from CEO to maker took three years of planning.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Cal Newport on deep work, digital minimalism, and fixing your workflow
How I Work
September 25, 2019
Deep work & focus
10
Productivity & habits
6
- Changing habits won't fix email overload — only workflow redesign will.
- Solitude deprivation from constant screens stunts insight and wellbeing.
- Time blocking trains estimation skills; revising the schedule is the point.
Resilience & grit
Podcast
How magician Simon Coronel designs tricks, seeks brutal feedback, and performs under pressure
How I Work
August 28, 2019
Resilience & grit
8
Iteration & feedback loops
7
Deep work & focus
6
- Why paying audiences dollar coins for criticism improves any performance
- Smarter people are easier to fool — the brain's lazy evaluation explained
- Never feel ready? The quitting-your-job epiphany that actually works
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Designing your workday around your chronotype
How I Work
July 15, 2019
Productivity & habits
9
Deep work & focus
8
- Why most productivity advice fails without knowing your chronotype
- Owls, larks, and middle birds each have a different peak window
- Block deep work at your peak; dump shallow work in the dip
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Reducing phone addiction, beating stuck points, and using systems instead of goals
How I Work
June 26, 2019
Productivity & habits
9
Deep work & focus
8
Identity & self-belief
5
- Locking your phone away cuts usage by 30% without willpower
- Goals keep you in failure mode — daily systems build momentum instead
- Boredom is a creative resource; constant stimulus blocks your best ideas
Founder interviews
Podcast
Carolyn Creswell on designing a life through systems and radical honesty
How I Work
January 23, 2019
Founder interviews
9
Work-life balance
8
Productivity & habits
7
- An annual summer ritual audits what's serving your life — and cuts the rest.
- Treating time requests like money requests protects your calendar from everyone.
- Never telling white lies, even uncomfortable ones, is Carolyn's core operating principle.
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Adam Grant on productivity habits, giving, and managing motivation
How I Work
January 2, 2019
Productivity & habits
9
Deep work & focus
8
Motivation
7
- Doing exciting work tanks your performance on the next boring task
- Self-control means avoiding temptation, not resisting it in the moment
- A simple weekly ritual balances personal goals with helping others
Deep work & focus
Podcast
How five experts manage digital distractions and reclaim focus
How I Work
December 5, 2018
Deep work & focus
10
Productivity & habits
8
- High self-control means avoiding temptation situations, not resisting them.
- Physical environment design beats willpower: hide the phone, unplug the router.
- Compulsive phone checking — 100+ times daily — is as toxic as heavy screen time.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Amanda Palmer on songwriting, creative solitude, and her TED Talk process
How I Work
October 17, 2018
Deep work & focus
9
Productivity & habits
7
Public speaking
6
- Why she needs everyone out of earshot before she can write
- From a 50-minute draft to a 12-minute talk: two months of brutal cutting
- Public deadlines and financial stakes as a forcing function for creativity
Founder interviews
Podcast
Using imposter syndrome as fuel: Dom Price on how he works
How I Work
September 25, 2018
Founder interviews
9
Identity & self-belief
8
Communication
5
- Imposter syndrome, embraced rather than suppressed, drives relentless self-improvement.
- Deleting every calendar meeting — and a third never came back.
- Energy over time: no fixed hours, outcome-based work and a 70% definition of done.
Deep work & focus
Podcast
Amanda Palmer on songwriting, creative solitude, and her TED talk process
How I Work
August 1, 2018
Deep work & focus
10
Productivity & habits
8
Relationships & family
6
- Why songwriting demands complete solitude — even one room away kills it
- A 50-minute ramble became a 12-minute TED talk through two months of brutal cutting
- Public deadlines and Patreon payments replaced daily routines as creative discipline
Productivity & habits
Podcast
Adam Grant on productivity, motivation, and giving wisely
How I Work
July 24, 2018
Productivity & habits
10
Deep work & focus
9
Motivation
7
- Jumping from exciting to boring tasks tanks performance — taper instead.
- Meetings on your calendar make you 22% less productive beforehand.
- Saying yes to everyone burns you out — help only where you add unique value.