Episodes

This episodes looks at how I use Trello to manage my tasks and todos. Resources Mentioned Using images to restore or recenter you Sustaining Your Peak and Avoiding Burnouts with Brad Stulberg podcast interview with Pete Mockaitis Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success (affiliate) by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness Reflections on the Book Peak Performance (028) by John Poelstra Enable Your Board of Advisors & Fight Your Inner Critics (...

If you want to have the best coaching session possible, prepare an agenda in advance. Not sure what to put on your agenda? Here are some ideas. Prompts to help clarify your coaching agenda What are you tolerating in your life? What are you avoiding? What’s not getting done? Is there a commitment you are not meeting? Where would you like to have more impact? Is there a relationship you are unsatisfied with or that you’d like to be better? Are there gremlins or inner critics holding you ba...

You’re thinking about holding and facilitating a meeting. Here are some questions to determine if it is a good idea and how to plan for success. Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 35: Questions to Ask About Meetings You Want to Hold appeared first on John Poelstra.

Asking one question is more powerful than asking three. Creating a new blog post is often better than polishing an old one. This episode is a good example. I’m not convinced I presented the material as well as I could have. I could continue to edit or re-record, but I’m erring on the side of “shipping.” Let me know if that was a good idea. Resources Mentioned Feedly RSS reader Unread iOS RSS reader Sweetsetup website — excellent guides to the best Apple apps and applications Credits Hallon...

I recently installed a new dishwasher and here’s what I learned that will hopefully save you more than $150. Here’s What I Learned Pay someone else to do it Don’t start at the end of the day Minimize the chaos and noise Get moral support from a friend An empty house makes it easier to think Eat good food and get all the tools ready before help arrives Don’t give into the pressure of other people’s needs if you aren’t capable Don’t base your time estimates on a pro if you aren’t a pro (s...

John and Alene Gabriel talk about how to manage our inner critics and the benefits of having your own board of advisors. Identifying Your Inner Critics or Gremlins What are typical things your inner critic says to you? This is that voice that talks you out of certain things and encourages you to play it safe and maintain the status quo. It may be a critical voice or mantra you repeat to yourself that stops you from taking action or committing 100%. Creating Your Own Board of Advisors If you c...

Today John examines an article titled “Why project managers need to lose control” by Jason Coghlan from opensource.com. John mostly disagrees with this notion, believing that ownership across the team is more important. Resources “Why project managers need to lose control: Software-driven projects are rarely predictable—so project managers should loosen up and become more agile” by Jason Coghlan “Being a True Owner” by John Poelstra Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin ...

This episode takes an in-depth look at the book Life on Purpose by: How Living For What Matters Most Changes Everything by Victor Strecher. Other Mentions This is Water by David Foster Wallace The Unstuckable Podcast episode that inspired me to play frisbee with my neighbor–“An Overlooked Cure for Anxiety Discovered” by Charlie Hoehn “Reflections on the Book Peak Performance” by John Poelstra Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unspla...

One of my favorite moments as a project manager was being told it was impossible to draw a picture of all the people on the project. Here’s how I did it. Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 29: Using People Maps to Understand Your Project appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode shares the highlights John found in the book Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. The post 28: Reflections on the Book Peak Performance appeared first on John Poelstra.

In this episode John has a conversation with Alene Gabriel, certified coach and founder of Blue Sky Coaching. John and Alene met at CTI’s Co-Active coaching training and took a few of the classes together. In this conversation they reflect on those experiences and the things they are learning as coaches. Alene also shares her experiences from CTI’s Leadership program that she is currently in the midst of. Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed und...

Sometimes the best next step is simply to start, even if it isn’t the perfect next step. Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 26: Just Do Something appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores the topic of loneliness, some ideas for “finding your people,” and how John found one group of “his people.” Mentioned: Books, Podcasts, Etc. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy by Donald Miller A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller Life Skills That Matter with Stephen Warley Unstuckable with Stephen War...

This episode riffs on my thoughts from reading the book Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory (affiliate link) by Brad Snyder and Tom Sileo. I’m particularly struck by his idea of focusing our energy on the things we can change, not wasting energy on the things we can’t, and the importance of living in the present. Books & Resources Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Fire in ...

This episode explores the different ways I manage my todo list items and along with techniques I’ve learned to avoid feeling overwhelmed by them and get more done. Background The topic of managing task lists and todo items comes up often with coaching clients. I find that many people (including me) sometimes experience their task tracking system as depressing and discouraging instead of helping them. One of the most important things to remember about any task management systems is that they a...

This in-depth episode examines and explains the steps for creating and publishing your own podcast. Five key ingredients to creating a successful podcast 1) Recorded content 2) Produced show 3) Media hosting 4) RSS Feed to automatically tell the world that you have new stuff 5) Syndication on major services like Apple Podcasts (previously known as iTunes), Google Play, etc. In our conversation we go deeper into each one of these ingredients and explain how they all relate to each other. B...

Are you as clear about what you want as you think? This episode explores some ways to get clearer. Resources Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge by Geoffrey M Bellman The Five Whys Accidental Genius (a book about free writing and it’s benefits) Being a True Owner John’s Coaching Program Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 21: What Do You Want? appeared first on John Poelstra.

Today we have something a little different. In this episode I share one of my hacks for creating peace and quiet when I need to concentrate. I created my own ambient soundtracks of the Umpqua River from the Horseshoe Bend campground in southern Oregon (about 45 minutes from Crater Lake). Tracks You Can Download Each of these tracks are approximately 25 minutes long which make for good Pomodoros. Each one is a little different. I use them to block out other sounds when I’m trying to concentrat...

Paul Frields joins the podcast to talk about working remotely and what it takes to succeed. John and Paul also discuss some of the misconceptions about remote work and how to overcome them. Articles and other episodes mentioned: The 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Remote Work Remote is Dead. Long Live Distributed How to get unstuck via What Could Be Fun Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 19: How to Succeed as a Re...

In this wide-ranging conversation, John and guest Paul Frields, talk about working at Red Hat, how they got started with collaborative meeting minutes and Paul’s love of playing the bass. Here’s Paul with one of his bands… The post 18: Talking Red Hat, Meetings and Music with Paul Frields appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores some techniques for facilitating meetings with stronger personalities or those that dominate the discussion too much. Dominant people tend to Hog the discussion Be the first to speak speak Often want to make sure they are heard at the expense of others It’s the faciliator’s job to Be a referee Keep input balanced Make sure all voices and perspectives are heard Keep things moving so that the meeting doesn’t get bogged down or go in circles I confront dominators by ...

Sometimes the best way to get your day out of a ditch is to find something fun. Any amount of fun might be good enough. That’s what I explore in this episode. The music track is Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund and licensed under Creative Commons. The post 16: What Could be Fun? appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores the topic of personal ownership through the eyes of two books: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work by John G. Miller Other resources mentioned on the episode A Few of John’s Favorite Things (013) Tim Ferriss: The Scariest Navy SEAL Imaginable… And What He Taught Me (Interview with Jocko Willink) Tim Ferriss: Jocko Willink on Discipline, Lead...

This episode explores the topic of listening through the Co-Active coaching model and an article from Harvard Business Review. Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House, Phillip Sandahl, and Laura Whitworth (affiliate link) What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman Here’s a downloadable PDF from CTI explaining the three levels of listening Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin Mac...