Squiggly Careers Podcast

Episode: Squiggly Shortcut: How To Move From Complexity To Clarity
Host: Sarah Ellis (with a brief intro by Helen Tupper)
Date: December 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this Squiggly Shortcut episode, Sarah Ellis delivers practical strategies for navigating workplace overwhelm by moving from complexity to clarity. Speaking directly and empathetically, she offers three actionable techniques designed to help professionals—either solo or in teams—tame chaos, prioritize, and gain traction. This episode is packed with simple, effective tips and encourages listeners to borrow ideas from others while not being afraid to experiment with their own approach.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Challenge: Overwhelm & Complexity at Work

• Sarah frames the issue: Many people experience moments when work feels messy, overwhelming, or impossible to make sense of—either due to sheer volume, newness, or multiple stakeholders.
  Notable quote:

  "This is for those moments when work is feeling overwhelming and messy and you are struggling to make sense of it." (Sarah, 01:10)

Tip #1: Empty Your Head

• Get everything out of your head and onto paper.
  • Two main tools:
    • Mind map: Write the central topic or question in the middle, then radiate all your thoughts around it.

      "...just do a mind map. Put the topic or the theme or the question in the middle of a page and just get everything down..." (Sarah, 02:05)

    • 'To Think' List: Instead of a to-do list, create a list of questions you want to answer or reflect on.
      • Why questions? This approach activates curiosity and drives clearer thinking.

      "When we write things down as questions, it kind of activates the curiosity and inquiry part of our brain." (Sarah, 02:30)

Tip #2: Figure Out What Matters Most—The Bird and the Worm

• A prioritization exercise for dual perspectives:
  • Bird’s Eye View: Zoom out, consider long-term significance ("What matters most over the next month/three months?").

    "The bird's eye view...is you zooming out and kind of looking ahead." (Sarah, 03:18)

  • Worm’s Eye View: Zoom in on immediate, actionable priorities ("What do I need to do this week or today?").

    "The worm is down in the detail. They can see the actions that are immediate, that are urgent..." (Sarah, 03:55)

  • Balance both: Many people tend to be either bird-like or worm-like; using both helps ensure you’re neither just firefighting nor only focusing on appealing tasks.

    "I think most of us are naturally either slightly more worm like or slightly more bird like. I'm definitely slightly more bird like." (Sarah, 04:32)

  • Reflect on both perspectives to avoid missing out on crucial work.

Tip #3: Find a Thought Partner or a Mirror

• Talk things through with someone else (or use AI):
  • Getting feedback from someone uninvolved provides helpful distance and fresh perspectives.
  • Alternatively, use AI tools (like GPT) to stress-test your thinking—the important part is to get a playback of your thought process.

    "Find someone or something because you could use AI, you could use a GPT for this, who can hold a mirror up to your messiness." (Sarah, 05:12) "It's always really good to have that thought partnership." (Sarah, 05:53)

Emphasizing the Process

• Sarah encourages listeners to become comfortable with these strategies and even enjoy the journey from confusion to clarity.

  "...it can actually just help you to almost quite enjoy, dare I say, that process of going right. I know this is feeling difficult...and then I can actually...take some action that's going to help me feel more confident and more in control." (Sarah, 06:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On team learning:

  "What tools and techniques do people already have so you can borrow brilliance from different people." (Sarah, 01:39)

• On mind-mapping and thinking lists:

  "Just doing that helps us to kind of create some clarity by just having that list of things we want to think more about." (Sarah, 02:40)

• On prioritization and perspective:

  "By balancing those two areas, by asking yourself both of those questions, what matters most?...it can just help you with making sure you don't do just firefighting and troubleshooting..." (Sarah, 04:20)

• On using AI as a neutral mirror:

  "Or ask some questions of a GPT. This is what I'm thinking. What questions might I have missed? What questions do you think I should be asking myself?..." (Sarah, 05:26)

• On building confidence:

  "I can notice that I can spot something and then I can actually, I can take some action that's going to help me feel more confident and more in control." (Sarah, 06:19)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:10] — Setting up the challenge of workplace complexity
• [02:05–02:40] — Tip 1: Mind map and 'To Think' list
• [03:18–04:32] — Tip 2: Bird and worm perspective for prioritization
• [05:12–05:53] — Tip 3: Using a thought partner or AI as a mirror
• [06:13] — Wrapping up and encouragement to apply these shortcuts

Summary

Sarah’s episode is an empowering, practical mini-guide for anyone feeling swamped by work or struggling with clarity. Her three-step process—emptying your head, prioritizing from both a high and ground level, and seeking a mirror for your thinking—equips listeners with simple yet effective tools to turn overwhelm into confident action. Whether you're tackling the mess solo or with a team, Sarah encourages ongoing experimentation and peer support as key ingredients to making the path forward clearer and more engaging.