CoolTimeLife

Thinking up passwords is a chore. Two factor authentication is complicated. And hacking and data breaches? They'll never happen to us. That's for the biggest of the big companies. Wrong on all counts. Cyberhygiene, the practice of securing passwords, accounts and devices, is straightforward and easy. It's also vital. Not just at work, but at home, too. We are all connected - like a global game of six degrees of separation, and the bad guys count on you being the weak point that will help them go wherever they want. This 10-minute episode looks at why we feel it is such a chore, and what we should all be doing right now to patch up the security holes that affect us all.

At the end of every problem, task or opportunity, there is a person waiting for something. This means that the best way to manage stress, time and actual productivity is to ensure you focus on the needs and expectations of that person, and not just the work itself. In this podcast, you will learn four essential techniques for learning how to influence people to help ensure a more productive and healthier workday.

Food and exercise. How often have you had to deal with these twin pressures – somehow in the midst of a busy day, we have to find the time and discipline to eat right and get more exercise. According to executive health and longevity expert Tim Bean, there are five key principles of effective nutrition. Get these easy tips down and you will be burning calories like an elite athlete.

Thought leaders and research companies that study the future of work state that soft skills, such as critical thinking and empathy will be vital. These techniques will contribute to lifelong learning, enhanced collaboration and even cybersecurity by ensuring people think more before doing, and who seek to connect more efficiently with the people they are communicating with. As AI and machine learning take over more of people's current work responsibilities, it will be "soft" people skills that will become central to each person's professional destiny.

Telepresence robots like the Beam and the Double are far more than novelties. People who use them describe them as "transformational" because they combine the best of remote technologies with the immediacy and human connection of face-to-face conversation. Join me for a few minutes to learn more about this next generation of personal productivity tools, and where you can see them in action.

Did you know that lifting weights can do more for your body than cardio exercise, and can even help ward off long-term illnesses like dementia? Managing your body IS rocket science, but it's also very achievable and the benefits extend in surprising directions. Listen to my interview with fitness and vitality expert Tim Bean of the Institute of Physique Management as he shares some eye opening facts about weightlifting and fitness for busy professionals.

Email is a necessary tool of day-to-day business. But its candid and immediate nature swallows up a lot of time. In this podcast I want to share with you a method for pairing your email and calendar together in a way that will make your day healthier and more productive and will not leave you having to sacrifice your evening to returning all those messages.

Project management is often thought of as something done mainly in construction and IT. But in truth it's a proven and practical way of getting things done, using people, tasks and time. Paul Gallagher is the author of a new book entitled The Amazing Me Project. He describes how using project management techniques like goal setting and collaborating with mentors helped him work through some difficult times and helped him get on track with his work and marathon running goals. He joins me on this podcast to share his experiences and to discuss how his book can help you.

People are getting locked inside a loop of surface-level urgencies and are losing the ability to connect creatively with mentors, clients, even their managers. Working days are getting longer, and the separation between work and life is eroding. This, I call, “death-in-harness.”

Cool Down takes a look at the Slow movement that is catching on in Japan and Europe, and asks whether it could possibly take root here, and indeed whether it even should. He takes the concept of “Slow” apart and rebuilds it, using terms, case studies and common sense segments that demonstrate clearly that to get further ahead faster, people do actually need to cool down.

We live in a go-go-go society, where taking breaks or signing off for the day seem like a cop-out. But the brain and body you call home operate on a set of rules far older than any technology you hold in your hands. When you learn to recognize the power of breaks, decompression, and stepping over that line between work and home life, that's when you can truly capitalize on your metabolic strengths and be the best you can be.