
Hosted by Martin Baehrenz & Silke Ahrens & Andrew McAllister · EN

We are fast approaching the end of the calendar year and with that an excellent opportunity to review where we are and how good we feel about it (or not) and to gain some clarity on where we want to get to. Join us for a conversation about our clarity process - we are covering this in a couple of episodes, each one focused on a particular step of the process. It probably sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is so listen in to hear about our experiences in finding out what is important to us.

No description available

Being out of work is tough at the best of times but over the past 18 months, it’s been beyond testing. With huge amounts of the population out of work due to the pandemic, job boards have seen at times, upwards of 400 people applying for one single role.We meet with Gabriella Parker who has made it her mission to help job seekers understand how to look for a job (successfully) whilst protecting their mental health. Gabriella also works with companies to improve their recruitment process to ensure each job seeker is treated respectfully and has the chance to improve upon being interviewed - even if not successful. Gabriella shares great practical tips on how to look for a job / how to hire effectively and respectfully whilst protecting the mental health of all involved. Follow Gabriella on LinkedIn for inspiration and practical advise: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-parker-91567ba3/Definitely check out Gabriella`s podcast the Passion Project where she shares wisdom on the different aspects of the working life: https://open.spotify.com/show/0X5cyVRvsF1i5tK3ZQQ21T

No description available

Taking a few minutes at the beginning or end of each day to disconnect and tune inwards is a great way to remove yourself from anxiety, gain clarity and get a sense of calm. Our first Mental Manager meditation is narrated by Silke and sets an intention for the week to come. We will be releasing short 5-10 minute long meditations for you to enjoy on a monthly basis going forward - always with the aim of supporting you in disconnecting with the outside world and reconnecting with your inner strength.

What have you achieved over the past week? A loaded question for sure, and often difficult to answer. Following a blog post by Paul Graham about splitting life into a "managers" and a "makers" schedule, Martin adopted said approach and has been reaping the benefits ever since.This podcast episode is a special one because we recorded it with a live audience during corporate Thrive Week, who add a different dimension to our usual approach. Martin shares his real life experience and gives some good examples of how he is utilizing this approach to lead a more focused and less stressful life with better results. Here`s the blog post: “Maker`s Schedule, Manager`s Schedule” - reading is highly recommended if managing time and energy whilst achieving consistent results is for youIn short the idea is to divide your time between a "Maker`s Schedule" and a "Manager`s Schedule" with the Maker`s Schedule utilizing longer consistent blocks of time for focus activities (enabling you to "make" things without interruptions) and the Manager`s Schedule being the more traditional appointment booking approach with time divided into smaller blocks time. Whilst running on "manager" schedule is the typical go to and more socially accepted version, it also often means your calendar and life is dictated by external forces rather than what you need to be successful (whatever that means to you personally). We need ‘makers time” to finish those projects that create lasting change. And that’s the hard part. To block out time continuously and focus on the difficult task we have in front of us, regardless of whether that is a business plan, presentation, analysis or even something more personal. Whether you listen to the recording or not, we still encourage you to take time out to think of what you achieved over the past week. It makes you realize how you have spent your time, and something we encourage leaders to incorporate into corporate culture and encourage your teams to do. We are individually responsible for our own time and achievements, but managers and leaders can make room and remove barriers to make this happen.

Yoga and meditation have become popular in the Western world as a way to decompress, manage anxiety and build physical strength and flexibility. In this episode we are joined by Ashwani Bhanot who grew up in India in a family of Yogis and is the founder of Studio Yoga Omline (https://www.studioyogaomline.com), runs international Yoga retreats, meditation sessions and Yoga at Work workshops for organisations. Join us for a deep dive into the path of Yoga, Yoga philosophy and learn why Yoga and meditation if done without proper guidance can turn out to be harmful rather than beneficial - and why Ashwani considers both to be necessary rather than optional for Westerners.

Why do we need to sleep? Why does anyone think that not sleeping might advance a career, let alone produce quality work results? When did lack of sleep in favour of a late night PowerPoint become something of a status symbol in the corporate world, and how do we steer away from this unhealthy trend? All great questions that we discuss alongside our own experiences on improving quality of sleep, getting back to sleep and stepping out of thought loops in the middle of the night. Book recommendationWhy We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew WalkerRelaxing ASMR by itsblitzzz:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feWqKFrYvfE&ab_channel=itsblitzzz

Changing habits, changing lives - in this episode we are exploring the science behind our habits with our guest Azzy Aslam. We dive into how habits shape in our brain, what impacts habit creation, finding the emotions behind our goals, how to build new habits that stick and much more.About our guest: Azzy Aslam is an accredited coach with deep knowledge on the psychology and neuroscience behind habit creation. He is focused on helping his clients create the right habits to achieve goals and long-term success. You can connect with Azzy here:Website: https://comentra.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azzyaslam/

2021 is all about stress testing tools and techniques that may improve quality of life. We are excited to share what works and what doesn`t work quite as well with our listeners as we go along.In our first episode of 2021 we`ve tried out a bunch of different approaches to the traditional New Years resolutions: we dive into the practice of the Past Year Review and share the process and our outcomes, look into practical systems that can improve the day to day and talk about goals versus resolutions.If you`d like to check some of the inspiration we reference, please see links below:Tim Ferriss Past Year Review blog article: https://tim.blog/2018/12/28/past-year-reviewMaker versus Manager schedule: https://fs.blog/2017/12/maker-vs-manager/Dandapani - Mind versus Awareness, focusing your energy: https://dandapani.org/