You Are Not A Frog

What criteria do you use when prioritising the tasks on your to-do list? Do you just put them in the order you get them? Maybe you pick the ones that seem the most urgent? Here’s an alternative: do the ones that are the easiest first. Not everything worth doing needs to be difficult! In this quick dip episode, we talk about the reality of our limits. In a high-stress job, getting everything done i...

Professor Chloe Orkin & Dr Nuthana Bhayankaram of the Medical Women's Federation join us in this episode to discuss sexism in medicine. We share first-hand experiences and explore why it remains a glaring issue today. We then discuss some strategies for action and what we can do to improve things. If you want to know what the glass ceiling, glass cliff, and glass slippers are and how to avoid...

When you're dealing with a stressful situation, your first instinct might be to act immediately to solve it. Unfortunately, acting immediately often means you don't think your actions through. Acting rashly can worsen the situation, making it even more stressful. Fortunately, there's a better way to respond to stress. All you have to do is take a few seconds to press the pause button. In this quic...

For high-stress professionals like us, one of the biggest obstacles to making a change in our lives or pursuing our great ideas is time. You might feel overwhelmed by the change you want to make or afraid of what other people would say. It's your choice not to let these reasons stop you from changing your life. Robbie Swale changed his life by using 12 minutes of his week. He joins us in this conv...

As healthcare professionals, we know what we need to do for our physical and mental well-being. So why aren’t we doing it? Often, the first thing we give up when we get busier is something that makes our lives happier. We've normalised giving up our basic needs to make room for productivity. No one bats an eye at it anymore. But is living your one shot at life like this really worth it at the end...

Whether we like it or not, meetings are essential in running an organisation. But when was the last time you attended a  meeting without feeling bored? Meetings are supposed to help us get work done more effectively. It's an opportunity for us to raise issues and make important decisions. But despite their importance, very few of them are done well. How, then, can we transform our meetings fr...

Do you constantly feel guilty about unfinished tasks at the end of the day? Do you keep finding yourself wanting to improve how you manage your time? Your to-do list is not a fixed and immovable bucket. It’s a river of opportunities that you have a choice and control over. How would you choose what things to fish out of this river wisely? In this quick dip episode, we discuss shifting our mindset...

Why is it that doctors work themselves to the point of burnout and stress and making themselves sick? In a system that seems to demand perfectionism in healthcare workers, medical professionals aim for impossibly high standards. What happens when they can't meet the standards they set for themselves? Dr Sandy Miles joins us in this episode to explore the concept of shame and how we respond to it....

Everyone praises those who work hard — so it’s not unusual for people to think that it’s good to push your limits and do as much as you can. But what’s the best thing to do when you’re tired and exhausted? Should you see how far you can go, or take a break? In this short episode, we discuss embracing our limits as a choice. With so many things out of control, we need to discern when to take a rest...

Convince change to happen. You've got great ideas for change. It's just a matter of putting these plans into motion. However, change needs to be something where everyone works together. You can't just tell someone to do this or that. Because of this, change can be a challenge. But don't let this discourage you! With the right message and space for a conversation, you can convince the people around...

How have you been living your life so far?  Most of us have worked hard all our lives to be successful. Whilst hard work is commendable, it can start to define your life. Instead, how about we try to work happier so that we can find fulfillment in everything we do. In this quick dip episode, Rachel talks about what to do when working harder isn’t working anymore. She explains why working hard...

The stress and worry we felt during the pandemic didn’t disappear in 2022. As medical practitioners, having a myriad of problems and uncertainties on our plate has simply become part of the job. But after over a hundred episodes, our conversations here at You Are Not A Frog have shown that we can make choices that help us to cope with and even overcome stress, anxiety and worry.  So let’s wra...

As trained medical professionals, we are confident about our technical skills and our ability to work harder than most professions. But are we truly confident and happy about our lives and careers? Every day is a whirlwind at our workplace, and we need to learn how to build confidence, take a step back and be compassionate to ourselves. Every day, we can learn something new. Not just about the tec...

Do you look forward to Christmas holidays or other family celebrations only to be disappointed that reality is not what you had hoped it would be? Or has life not worked out as expected, and you're struggling with regrets and disappointment? How do we deal with feeling disappointed, especially with the upcoming holidays? In this 2022 Christmas Special of You Are Not A Frog, executive coach and rel...

What is your first thought when you think of the word ‘resilience’? For many professionals and organisations, this means becoming superhuman — someone who can do anything despite the stress, heavy workload, and emotions. Not only is this perspective wrong, but it’s also impossible! We’re all human. So why do we expect perfection? In this episode, Rachel dives into the concept of resilience victim...

How do you feel about your job? Do you enjoy all aspects of your work? Do you sometimes wish you could make it better? The demands in healthcare make it almost impossible to remove the constant pressure surrounding the job. What follows risks burnout. But with the right combination of resources, support, and an innovative mindset, employees can craft jobs in ways that will make them feel happier a...

We often think stress and burnout are normal. However, anyone who has experienced extreme pressure can tell you that too much stress is bad for our health and performance. Our physiological reactions to stress are normal. Despite this, we continue to blame ourselves if we cannot cope with it. In this quick tip episode, Rachel shares how doctors and other individuals in demanding jobs see stress as...

Many professionals in high-stress careers can find themselves working long hours every day and not growing wealthier. No matter how much you do or how many hours you add, you find yourself trapped in a cycle of work and finances. Getting out of this trap is difficult when you don't know the financial decisions you need to make. You'll find practical steps on controlling your finances so that they...

Do you sometimes find yourself thinking that you don’t have a choice? Your circumstances and obligations seem to prevent you from taking any course of action except for one. But the thing is, we always have a choice. We choose all the time. Life is made up not of the big choices we have to make but of the little, compounding choices we make on a daily basis. So what choice will you make today? You...

We're all guilty of eating our feelings from time to time. It can happen to anyone for any reason — a bad day at work, a stressful time at home, a plan falling short. We start emotional eating because eating is an inherently satisfying activity—and it must be! You feel good when you eat things you like. However, the problem arises when this is our only coping mechanism for dealing with difficult s...

Learning to manage your emotions is a crucial skill. No matter the situation, letting your emotions get the best of you doesn't typically end well. However, that doesn't mean we should shut our feelings down. Instead, it's best to identify and analyse them first, then take action. In this quick episode of You Are Not A Frog, I discuss difficult, negative emotions and how to handle them. We tackle...

Does having a healthy work-life balance seem so unattainable that you’ve given up trying to acheive it? Work takes up most of our time, leaving only spare time for our other commitments. Maybe you have tried doing everything at once, only to end up resentful. This may be because you’re aiming for the impossible.  Dr. Claire Kaye joins us in this episode to discuss why we should never aim for...

Rachel gives a quick tip on facing shark music in this short episode of You Are Not a Frog. She shares her experiences of anticipating the worst-case scenario. She talks about why we hear 'shark music' in the first place and shares two quick steps you can take to stop it. It's time to stop assuming the worst and enjoy your life without shark music playing in the background. Tune in to this episode...

In this episode, Angela Deutschmann joins us to talk about how to experience joy despite the challenges of the healthcare profession. Being in a high-stress job can make you mistake happiness about external things with internal joy.  Angela talks about how to reprogram your unconscious mind and find joy and satisfaction in your everyday life. She also discusses the difference between caring f...

In this short episode, Rachel talks about becoming more productive in life and work by escaping the urgency trap. She discusses the principles of the Urgent-Important Matrix and how it can help us assess the urgency and importance level tasks. She then shares how to begin doing gradual deep work towards a bigger goal. If you want to know how to escape the urgency trap and become more productive in...