Favorite Podcasts Lately #5

Today I listened to a bunch of productivity podcasts that are fitting for the quarantine season, and I wanted to share some of my insights as I listened to them.

Listening to podcasts were my lifesavers during my commutes to and from the office. Now that we're all staying home, they keep me company for when I clean my room, do my laundry, and all sorts of other house chores that I do. Here's a few episodes that I've listened to, mainly from the podcasts: Before Breakfast and NPR Life Kit.

Before Breakfast

The Sneaky Phrase That Tanks Your Productivity
It's a given that the things we list down on our to-do lists are things we have to work on. But perhaps there is a better way for us to write our to-do's, which would give us more clarity in what we want to achieve. It's more efficient when we write our tasks down clearly, and when we refrain from using the phrase "work on". Action words that relate to what we need to do would be more effective, as we're able to visualize exactly what kind of action to take for us to get that particular task done.

I'm also guilty sometimes of just writing down something vague, which would've made sense to me at the time that I wrote it down, but maybe I might risk forgetting later on.. which I admit has happened to me quite a few times!


Do The Best Job You Can Today
Listening to this reminded me that I need to give myself grace, to be kinder to myself, and to not beat myself up for the days when I feel like I could have done better. Instead of this kind of mindset, we should encourage ourselves to acknowledge all our efforts for the day, and be content with the work that was accomplished, because work will never run out and there's always tomorrow.


Nurture Your Virtual Relationships
Especially in this quarantine season, it's nice to see people getting creative with how they reach out and connect with one another. We are social beings, and it's in our nature to find connection and belonging. Sometimes I think about this, and I'm thankful for technology, with how we're able to connect easily through our screens. While I would honestly prefer sitting down and talking to someone in person, connecting virtually is the best we can do for now.

Which is why I think now more than ever is an opportunity to reach out more, to initiate conversations with loved ones more often, and to really check in on how we're all doing. This can be through chat, call, or videocall. I would say that these are all great forms of communication-- chatting allows us to exchange words of encouragement and to lift others up, calls add a bit of human touch as it's comforting to hear the voice of the person on the other line, and videocall helps us put a face to the name of who we're talking to, and we're able to catch the non-verbal cues. One thing for sure is that nowadays there should be no such thing as over-communication.

NPR Life Kit

We Need Art Right Now. Here's How To Get Into Poetry
Poetry for me, and probably for most of us was a requirement back in school. But then now after school, it's nice to actually dabble in creative pursuits without having to be graded, or to just simply express ourselves. This podcast shifts our mindsets into thinking beyond what school has taught us about poetry, and to naturally seek it as an art that helps us appreciate life a bit more.


8 Tips To Make Working From Home, Work For You
I'm not going to spoil what these 8 tips are, as I want you to hear (or read, there is a transcript available) it for yourselves!

What I'd like to share more on however would be how my meetings and calls with my team and clients have been going lately as I work from home. For my meetings with the team, we have all acknowledged that we are all dealing with change and adjustments with how we work, as we struggle to find our "new normal". We keep things lighter nowadays by first having an icebreaker. A question is asked and we all take turns in answering them. In fact, majority of the time spent for that allotted meeting has been for the icebreaker alone, and that is okay. In return, we're actually able to get to know each other more as we share about our interests, and show a bit more of our personal side than we usually would during in-person meetings.

For my clients, we would ask each other how we're doing, especially with how each of our countries are dealing with the corona virus. We find it interesting and fascinating with how things are handled. We also share about funny things that happen in other meetings, as well as tips and tricks on how to cope during this time. I would say it's made us all more human as we cheer each other on.


When It Comes To Exercise, "All Movement Counts"
This I think is quite timely, because while we're already sedentary in the office, it's all the more tempting to be extra sedentary while at home. This is our comfort zone after all, and once it has meshed with work, suddenly we find ourselves just sitting all day and not getting up at all because it's our house! But then we should remember to really, really allot time to move around. It doesn't have to be a full blown exercise routine; it can be as simple as standing up to get water, to pee, to pace around the room, and to stretch and reach your toes.

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I hope these podcasts will be helpful for you during this time, and that you'll gain valuable knowledge nuggets, as I'm sure I have!

For my previous favorites, you can find them here:

Favorite Podcasts Lately #1

Favorite Podcasts Lately #2

Favorite Podcasts Lately #3

Favorite Podcasts Lately #4

Stay safe and healthy always, dear reader!

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