Secrets Of The Most Productive People

Secrets of the Most Productive People will be back in your feeds on August 31st where we'll be exploring one of the biggest issues facing our nation during the COVID-19 pandemic: the reopening of schools.

Dorianne St Fleur--Diversity & Inclusion Strategist, Career Development Coach and Founder of Your Career Girl Inc.--joins Secrets of the Most Productive People to discuss how to look for a job during the pandemic. If you have a problem in your career or on the job hunt, tell us about it. Leave us a voicemail at ‪833-582-3278, send an email to MostProductive@fastcompany.com or tweet with #FCMostProductive and we will find an expert to answer your question.  Subscribe to Secrets of the Most Productive People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On this week’s episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People, we talk about the mental health struggles so many of us are facing right now. We also speak with Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist and the author of The Healthy Mind Toolkit and The Anxiety Toolkit. Boyes gives us insight into the accommodations that employees have a right to at work and offers tips on how to broach the subject of mental health issues with your manager. If you have a problem in your career or on the job hunt, tell us about it. Leave us a voicemail at ‪833-582-3278, send an email to MostProductive@fastcompany.com or tweet with #FCMostProductive and we will find an expert to answer your question.  Subscribe to Secrets of the Most Productive People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week we’ll learn about a new toy robot that could help children socialize, a good alternative to Rosé and some handy productivity tips.   Be sure to check in with us next week for another roundup of helpful tips and creative ideas to stay positive throughout this challenging time.  You can subscribe to Fast Break on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. If you like this show, please leave us a rating or a review.

This week, Fast Company deputy editor Kate Davis and Head of Video and Podcasting Scott Mebus are talking about parenting during a pandemic. How can working parents attempt to get everything done, what should managers do to support all of their employees, possible tensions among those without kids, and how this unprecedented time may be forcing us to rethink work overall.  When shelter in place orders went into effect in most of the country in March, parents across industries had to scramble to find childcare. For those of us lucky enough to not only keep our jobs but have jobs that can be done from home has meant trying to do the impossible: work and take care of children full time.  They also talk with Dr. Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler, an expert on conflict and organizational psychology, the founder of Alignment Strategies Group, and the author of the new book Optimal Outcomes: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home, and in Life.  You can listen and subscribe to Secrets of the Most Productive People on Ap

Presenting Fast Break, a new podcast from Fast Company Magazine. This week we’ll learn about how some companies are adjusting their advertising game, why the L.A Clippers are helping change the way people watch sports, and some self care tips for working moms. You can subscribe to Fast Break on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. If you like this show, please leave us a rating or a review.

As COVID-19 has spread, many aspects of our working lives have changed. Some of us wear masks and face-shields; some join meetings from our couches; others juggle conference calls and toddler nap times.  For leaders overseeing teams, there are also new challenges. As information about the virus and economic conditions change rapidly, leaders must make quick (and often painful) decisions about staffing, shutting down offices, and pivoting business plans overnight. Meanwhile, there are the more mundane—but still critical—day-to-day challenges of overseeing a team effectively during a global pandemic. How do you hold meetings when your team is suddenly all remote? How can you accommodate more flexible employee schedules while still meeting productivity goals? How often should you be communicating with your employees?  To get answers to these questions, on this week’s episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People, assistant editor Pavithra Mohan and I speak with Eric Pliner, CEO of YSC consulting. Pliner, who

In the this bonus episode of Secrets of Secrets of the Most Productive people, hosts Pavithra Mohan and Julia Herbst discuss how you can continue your professional connections and develop career skills while sheltered at home during this pandemic.

As far as obstacles to productivity go, procrastination is a challenge that many run into over and over again. Add the uncertainties caused by COVID-19 and the distractions that working in unsettling environment brings, tackling things that require effort and brainpower can feel downright impossible. That's because as my cohost Pavithra Mohan and I discuss on this week's episode of Secrets Of The Most Productive People, procrastination—at its core—is about our unwillingness to deal with unpleasant emotions. It's not a time-management issue, nor is it an issue about willpower and discipline. We often procrastinate because in our heads, we assume that as soon as we start that thing we're putting off, we will experience bad feelings. Mohan also spoke to Nir Eyal, author of Indistractable: How To Control Your Attention And Choose your life about why discipline and willpower is a myth when it comes to combating distraction and procrastination, and the role of internal and external triggers. We also discuss how sel

From our friends at Inc. Magazine, please enjoy this trailer to What I Know. Subscribe to What I Know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify The greatest businesses weren’t born from moments of genius. They emerged after years of discovery--and often after years of failure. What I Know from Inc. magazine takes you inside the messy, painful, and --every so often -- transcendent journey of starting a company. Through candid interviews, Inc. senior writer Christine Lagorio-Chafkin draws out the real grit and true lessons behind innovative companies and remarkable brands. 

In this bonus episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People, Pavithra Mohan moderates a debate between Scott Mebus and Ruth Reader to determine who is more productive: night-owls or morning-birds.

COVID-19 has upended every aspect of our life, including the way we work. For many office workers who are fortunate to remain employed during this period, that can mean working from home for the foreseeable future. That in itself comes with its challenges, as we’ve discussed in previous episodes. But add other household members to the mix—whether that be spouses, children, siblings, or roommates—and it’s a whole new dilemma altogether. On this week’s episode of Secrets Of The Most Productive People, Anisa Purbasari Horton and Pavithra Mohan discusses their experience working from home while their significant others are also doing the same. They also speak with Dr Rachel Sussman a New York-based licensed family and marriage therapist and relationship expert, to speak about what couples, parents, and roommates can do to take care of their mental health while keeping their relationships strong. Scott Mebus, head of video and podcasts for Fast Company and Inc, will also make an appearance to talk about what it’s

In this bonus episode, the Secrets of the Most Productive People team talks through how they've been coping working from home and provides some tips for how you can be more productive.

Now introducing Book Smart, a new podcast from our friends at Inc. Magazine. Each week, host Cameron Albert-Deitch highlights the books beloved by well-known founders and entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Warren Buffet. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

We're currently living in a time where uncertainty is our reality. The global pandemic that is Covid-19 has disrupted almost every aspect of modern life, including the way we work. On this week's episode of Secrets Of The Most Productive People, co-hosts Anisa Purbasari Horton, Pavithra Mohan, and Julia Herbst discuss all of the ways that stress and anxiety have impacted their working lives and the different ways that they are learning to tackle it. They also share some tools and practices that have helped them stay sane and ways to look for a silver lining in these challenging times.

Companies in industries from tech to retail to hospitality have found a novel way of getting their employees to be more productive: They let their staff pursue their passions, on company time. It may seem counterintuitive, but by allowing personnel the opportunity to do anything from volunteer to create a fully operational nonprofit, firms are giving their people a chance to connect with their communities, learn new skills, and come back to the office energized and invigorated.  In this episode of Productivity Confidential, we talk to Richard Achée, global technology partnerships lead on the Google Chrome enterprise team, about his experience in Google’s famed “20% Time” program, where employees can use a full fifth of their time to pursue personal projects. Achée discusses his own 20% Time project, how its helped him do his day job better, and how other companies can let their staff follow their dreams without hurting the bottom line. 

Impostor syndrome is something that cohosts Pavithra Mohan and Anisa Purbasari Horton have had to battle throughout their professional lives. But as they both discussed on this week's episode of Secrets Of The Most Productive People, it never quite goes away. They learned that rather than trying to make it disappear, they needed to learn how to act in spite of their impostor syndrome tendencies. Mohan also spoke to Fast Company contributor, and author and CEO of The Memo, Minda Harts, about why impostor syndrome is especially prevalent to women of color and under-represented minorities in the workplace. While there are things that individuals can do to not let impostor syndrome get in the way of their success, workplaces also have a responsibility to ensure that they are creating a better and more inclusive culture.

Innovation in employee benefits has a long history. Take sabbaticals, a benefit that began in academic institutions. These long breaks allowed professors and researchers to take time off to pursue personal projects or simply recharge their creativity over the course of several months off. Those novel approaches are slowly inching themselves into the corporate world and companies from Patagonia to McDonald’s to Intel. And it’s not just sabbaticals that are growing in popularity, perks like unlimited PTO, 4-day work weeks, and company-funded personal experiences are becoming more widely accepted across industries. Company leaders see these perks as a way to give back to loyal personnel, and employees are increasingly searching out organizations that are embracing new approaches to time off.    But it’s not as simple as awarding staff a bundle of PTO and walking away. How do you pick up the slack for key team members when work hours aren’t the same as extended leave? How do you decide when an employee is eligib

In Season 1 of Secrets of the Most Productive People, we examined why people found it so difficult to focus in an open office. This week, we try to figure out how beat the distractions that make open office work so hard. Fast Company editorial assistant, Talib Visram, tried out three different methods to combat open office distractions and then reported back to co-host Pavithra Mohan on what he learned, what he'd do differently, and how effective each method was in helping him be more productive.

On this bonus episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People, Fast Company assistant editor, Pavithra Mohan, and Fast Company staff editor, Julia Herbst, break down the pros and cons of where we get our work done. Open offices have become common place in many industries. While they may give you an opportunity to collaborate at a higher level, you can't always shut out the distractions when you need to get a solitary task done. You can always work from home to beat the distractions, but what are the downsides? Leave Secrets of The Most Productive People a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. You can follow Fast Company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.