There should be a special term for work-mood. How you feel at this point in your career can be as up and down as your personal life mood, and the two aren’t even necessarily linked. In fact, you can be buoyant at home, but when you sit down to work, that lightness falls away.
You can fight back, though. Just as you might take steps to feel happier, inspired, or resilient in your personal life, you can also do that for work and career. I find podcasts the perfect way to do this, or at least to get started. They’re consumed passively, demanding nothing from you but light attention. They’re readily available with a massive backlist. They’re free and require minimal time investment. And there are so many these days, that it’s not hard to find just the right tonic for whatever your malaise.
I’ve collected a few favorite podcasts that can deliver a boost, depending on your mood.
Burned out?
Hello Monday – Beating Burnout with Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Did you know burnout manifests differently for men and women? It’s a serious and common issue, especially while we’re still feeling the workplace effects of the pandemic. Emily and Amelia Nagoski are authors of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. The host of LinkedIn’s Hello Monday podcast, Jesse Hempel, interviews them and uncovers some important tips. They describe burnout’s characteristics and causes, and how to prevent and heal it—all in a very engaging and personal way.
Creatively depleted?
The Tim Ferriss Show: Margaret Atwood — A Living Legend
Margaret Atwood is thriving in her creative work at 82. She gained legend status in 1985 with her dystopian novel, Handmaid’s Tale, but has written 50 books and is still publishing—with a collection of poems released in 2020 and a Booker Prize in 2019. She’s even exploring the inclusion of an NFT with her newest work. Atwood is a poster child for a curiosity-driven life.
Hungry to extend your career?
Repurpose Your Career – The Secret of Success to Staying Employed in Technology into Your 70s
If you’ve hit a dead end in your work, the gig economy can be an excellent way to extend your career. Here Marc Miller of Career Pivot interviews Mike McNatt, who has some excellent tips on how to get started with gig work. He should know: McNatt has successfully done tech gig work well into his 70s, with no signs of stopping.
Worried your job search skills are outdated?
Find Your Dream Job – How to Overcome Five Stereotypes about Older Workers, with Debbie Lipton
Mac Prichard’s website, Mac’s List, provides employment resources, including a job board, with an emphasis on older employees and the Pacific Northwest. Here he talks with Debbie Lipton about ways you may need to update your job search tools and demonstrate in an interview that your age is irrelevant. Lipton gives some really good advice.
Unsure of competence?
Google Cloud Platform Podcast: Imposter Syndrome in Tech with Carter Morgan
You may have been proving yourself in the workplace over many decades, but self-doubt can still sneak in. In fact, you’d be unusual if you didn’t experience imposter syndrome from time to time. I know I do. Ironically, imposter syndrome is most common among high performers, and tech is an environment ripe for it. Tech’s fast-paced environment means you are often called upon to switch it up—new roles, new products, new colleagues. Which invites self-doubt. Here, Carter Morgan, co-host of this podcast, talks about imposter syndrome in tech and why it’s rampant. Even more importantly, he presents ways to avoid or cope with it.
Photo by Nicola Barts