
100 episodes

My Pocket Psych: The Psychology of the Workplace Dr. Richard A. MacKinnon
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- Science
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4.5 • 8 Ratings
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My Pocket Psych is all about the psychology of the workplace. Each episode, we'll examine the world of work and explore a topic through the lens of psychology. We'll aim to give listeners tips to help improve their experience of work - moving from surviving to thriving! My Pocket Psych is brought to you by WorkLifePsych Ltd and hosted by Dr. Richard MacKinnon and Pilar Orti.
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Ep 117: The importance of rest
Welcome to episode 117, where we take a look at the importance of rest - for our productivity, our effectiveness and our wellbeing.
It’s easy to take it for granted and ‘squeeze’ if in where we can. But being intentional about rest and breaks from work can pay dividends.
Rest isn’t optional, it isn’t the last thing we should think of. Or only consider when we’re too tired to continue or when everything else on our todo list is done. Rest doesn’t have to mean sleep, either. We can take a break from work activities and engage intentionally with leisure activities. Going for a walk. Gardening. Reading.
The bottom line is that we need to prioritise rest as we do everything else we hold as important. Making space and time for rest allows us to flourish in the other domains of life.
We’d love to hear how you take breaks and what rest looks like to you. Contact us on Twitter (@MyPocketPsych) or send us an email: podcast at WorkLifePsych dot com).
Thanks for listening!
Resources for this episode
Shane O’Mara’s book “In Praise of Walking” - https://amzn.to/3vVtO6W
Community post about the importance of rest - https://www.worklifepsych.club/posts/24498264?utm_source=manual
Link to Claudia Hammond’s book - ”The Art of Rest” - https://amzn.to/3BUhIP6
Link to episode on fresh starts - https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/096/
Join our online community here: https://www.worklifepsych.club -
Ep 116: What’s in your in-box?
Welcome to episode 116, where Richard and Pilar explore the importance of getting intentional about managing our inbox.
Rather than live in our email inbox, Richard outlines the benefits of another, separate inbox, accessible without delving into your email. Why? Because even in 2022, not all work comes to us via email!
We look at how to get clarity on the tasks that come our way, apply some form of prioritisation to them and the importance of differentiating between individual tasks and projects. All in an attempt to focus on the right things and avoid the habit of 'busy'.
Thanks for listening!
Additional resources
Podcast episode on task management: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/
Podcast episode on the challenges of task management: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/
How to chose a task management app: https://www.worklifepsych.com/how-to-choose-a-task-management-app/
Webinar recording: getting started with Todoist: https://youtu.be/92owmoXNf7s -
115: Personal Knowledge Management
Welcome to episode 115, where we take an introductory look at the concept of Personal Knowledge Management. This concept has evolved in response to the very real contemporary experience of information overload. When knowledge workers globally are inundated with information from the moment they wake up, how do we decide what to pay attention to? What should we keep for later? And how can we overcome the limitations of our memories, to ensure we can use this knowledge at a later date?
Richard and Pilar take a look at the core ideas of knowledge management, how it can be helpful and how you can make a start.
We’d love to hear how you address this challenge and how you deal with the ‘firehose of information’ that comes your way each day. Send us a message on Twitter or drop us an email (podcast at WorkLifePsych dot com). We always love to hear from our listeners.
Thanks for listening!
Resources mentioned in this episode: ‘Building a Second Brain’ - Tiago Forte: https://www.waterstones.com/book/building-a-second-brain/tiago-forte/9781800812215 Readwise - https://readwise.io Obsidian notes app - https://obsidian.md -
Ep 114: Dealing with the 'Sunday scaries'
In this episode, Richard and Pilar look at the way anxiety about the working week ahead can ruin our Sundays - the so-called 'Sunday scaries'. We discuss why we can feel this way and some simple approaches to lessen the impact of these thoughts and emotions.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Interview with Gemma Roberts: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/112/ Defusion episode: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-056-psychflex-in-action-4-seeing-thoughts-for-what-they-are/ Episode about anxious thoughts and feelings: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-061-anxious-thoughts-and-feelings/ Our task management episode: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-049-the-challenges-of-task-management/ -
113: What is ‘flourishing?’ - with Dr. Lyn Lanka
In this episode, Richard is joined by fellow psychologist Dr. Lyn Lanka, who explains the concept of flourishing. In particular, how we can flourish even though we're experiencing difficulties or in a particularly challenging context.
As Lyn explains, it's not just about 'positive emotions' but more to do with taking helpful action to move towards what's important to us.
Big thanks to Lyn for her time and her expertise.
If you have follow-up comments or questions, reach out on Twitter @MyPocketPsych, or send us an email (postcast@worklifepsych.com). I’ll share links to the concepts Lyn mentions, as well as her professional profile, in the show notes. By way of reminder, you can always find shownotes by visiting worklifepsych.com/podcast/ .
And as always, thanks for listening. -
Ep 112: Mindset Matters, with Gemma Roberts
Welcome to episode 112. After our very short break, we’re back!
Richard is joined by fellow psychologist and coach, Gemma Leigh Roberts. Gemma has just had her first book published, so we take a look at both what she’s hoping readers will take from ‘Mindset Matters’ and what it’s like to translate the science of resilience into something readers can put into action.
Do get in touch with your comments and questions - we love to hear from our listeners.
Thanks for listening!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Gemma’s previous appearance on the podcast: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-016-wellbeing-coaching-for-resilience-with-gemma-roberts/ The Mindset Matters book: https://www.koganpage.com/product/mindset-matters-9781398604841 Gemma’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemmaleighroberts/