Learn and Work Smarter

Send me a message!🤓 Digital clutter is easier to ignore than physical clutter, because we can hide it behind folders and tabs. But eventually, digital clutter builds up so much that it impacts our focus and productivity even more than the physical mess around us. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm diving into the hidden consequences of digital clutter, the 5 zones dig...

Send me a message!🤓 This is our 100th episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast! To celebrate this cool milestone, I've gone back into every single episode and extracted one key tip to re-share with you. Grab your pen and paper (or grab the transcript at learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/100) and be prepared to get inspired. I read each episode number, the episode title, and the key takeaw...

Send me a message!🤓 In this Q&A episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m answering two listener questions from college students who are both wondering what comes next. One student is deciding between a traditional job and entrepreneurship, and the other is trying to make the most of college while figuring out her future path. We’re diving into the myths around entrepreneurship, the...

Send me a message!🤓 There’s more to meetings than just showing up and trying to sound smart. In fact, there’s a whole hidden curriculum in most meetings that is more about how you act than about what you say. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m sharing the secret meeting skills that nobody talks about, but that everybody notices. When you know these skills, you’ll start usi...

Send me a message!🤓 All the strategies in the world won't protect you from having an occasional bad day. Bad days are just ... part of being human. But how we respond to a bad day can make all the difference in the world. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I dig into the two options you can choose from when your day begins to tank: quit the day (this is actually a legitim...

Send me a message!🤓 You're following all the productivity advice you see on the internet, you're waking up early, and getting to inbox zero, and doing all the "right things" ... but still, you're stressed out and overwhelmed.  The problem just might be that the advice you're following is ... bad. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm sharing...

Send me a message!🤓 Accurately predicting how long tasks will take to complete is a core skill related to time management. It’s called time estimation, and many of us are terrible at it. If you want to improve your time management skills, you can’t ignore the power of learning how to accurately estimate how long common school or work tasks take you to finish. If you’ve struggled with time managem...

Send me a message!🤓 Two of the biggest barriers to our productivity as students and professionals are over-complicated systems that don’t work and disruptions to our focus. In this month’s Q&A episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I answer two listener questions about those exact two roadblocks. Question One: How do I know if my task management system is working? Question Two: How do...

Send me a message!🤓 Beating procrastination and lowering stress at school and at work requires getting crystal-clear about what you’re doing. Without clarity, your mind spirals with anxious questions (What do I have to do? Am I missing something?) and you’re more likely to waste time on the wrong things. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I teach you a practical 10-minute habi...

Send me a message!🤓 Many smart students struggle in school because no one ever taught them the actual skills of learning. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m sharing highlights from a larger free parent training I created. You’ll hear why “study harder” is bad advice, why motivation isn’t the magic fix we think it is, and what students really need to thrive in school and be...

Send me a message!🤓 Our working memory has many strengths, like doing mental math and remembering the first part of a sentence as we read the second part.  But the one thing it’s NOT good at is the one thing we keep asking it to do: remember information for longer than a brief moment. That’s NOT what our working memories are designed to do. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, w...

Send me a message!🤓 Getting more reading into your life isn’t just about willpower, and working productively with chronic illness isn’t just about “pushing through.” Both require smart strategies that fit your real life. In this month’s Q&A episode, I answer two listener questions: how to finally build a consistent reading habit, and how to adapt productivity systems when chronic illness is p...

Send me a message!🤓 Getting work done and completed on time isn’t just about motivation or working harder. (It rarely ever is.) Instead, it’s about whether your tasks move smoothly through a hidden but super-powerful funnel. In this episode, I break down the 4 stages of the Assignment Funnel for students and the Project Funnel for professionals, showing how both systems explain why some people fi...

Send me a message!🤓 Multitasking feels productive, but the science says otherwise. Every time we switch between tasks, we lose time, accuracy, and energy — up to 40% of it. No wonder so many of us end the day feeling exhausted but not actually accomplished. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I dig into why multitasking doesn’t work (even if you think you’re the exception) and...

Send me a message!🤓 The most traditional journey after high school is directly to a 4-year college. But for many students, there's a smarter path. In this expert interview with education consultant Annie Reece, we demystify the gap year and PG year options for students. Never considered these options? This episode might change everything you thought you knew about this magical year. You Lear...

Send me a message!🤓 In this monthly Q&A episode, I answer two questions submitted by listeners of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast. Question one comes from a student. He asks me to weigh in on the most underrated parts of college. (Oof, there are a lot!) Question two comes from a working professional. She asks for some ways to use her blank (untimed) planner to manage work tasks without usi...

Send me a message!🤓 Some of the most powerful influences on your success aren’t your calendar, your study techniques, or your productivity apps. They’re quieter, more hidden, and easier to overlook.  In this episode, we explore three surprising areas of life that deeply affect how well you show up at school and work… even though they have nothing to do with school or work on the surface. If you&a...

Send me a message!🤓 Failing hurts. But the better we can extract meaning from our failures, the faster we can bounce back from them.  In this (slightly vulnerable) episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share my personal experiences with failing and the strategies I use to now view those “failures” as some of the best things that have ever happened to me. What You'll Learn: Why fai...

Send me a message!🤓 In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I interview Dr. Jackie Parke, founder of Through the Waters and a psychologist who specializes in helping teens and college students cope with anxiety.  In this value-packed and emotional episode, Dr. Parke shares important insights that can help both students and professionals suffering from anxiety at school or work. The...

Send me a message!🤓 In this monthly Q&A episode, I answer two questions submitted by listeners of the show.  Question One: A college student asks whether taking a year after graduation to travel will impact their hiring prospects. My answer might surprise you! Question Two: A professional asks me to weigh in on some common productivity advice about email. I'll bet you've heard this...

Send me a message!🤓 Grad school can be a terrific way to gain industry knowledge, career advancement and a financial bump. But it’s also expensive, time-consuming, and not always necessary. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share a unique framework (the WNC Framework) for deciding whether graduate school is the right option for you. We also discuss alternatives to grad scho...

Send me a message!🤓 Got a big project you’ve been avoiding? Or one you just need to make massive progress on, fast? In this episode, I walk you through one of my favorite strategies for intense productivity: the work sprint. I’ll define what a work sprint is, walk you through exactly how to set one up (logistics, mindset, and all), and share real-life examples of using this method to get massive...

Send me a message!🤓 Most ADHD productivity advice skips something essential: the internal dialogue, the fear of being judged, and the deep self-doubt.  In this episode, I’m joined by ADHD thought leader and creator of ADHDKlub Lindsay Roberts to talk about what happens beneath the surface of an ambitious ADHD mind. We have a raw and honest conversation about rejection sensitivity, identity wounds...

Send me a message!🤓 Is it okay to work on weekends? And what’s going on when you sit down to work during the week but just… can’t?  In this Q&A episode, I’m answering two listener-submitted questions that get at the heart of time, focus, and burnout. We’ll talk about when weekend work can actually serve you, and when it’s just masking deeper problems. I’ll also walk you through the most commo...

Send me a message!🤓 If you’re overwhelmed, distracted, or constantly wondering where your day went, time-blocking can help.  And if you've tried time blocking before and thought it “didn’t work”, I invite you to try it again using the strategies I teach in this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast. Listen in as I break down how to use time-blocking to improve focus and productivity...