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#207: Charlie Colenutt spent three years interviewing people from all walks of life about their jobs. He explains what causes people to change their career, why most people stay at their current job, and how to find happiness in your career.

What you’ll learn

• [01:30] Why Charlie wrote a book about the different jobs people do.
• [04:28] The experience of having a career crisis.
• [06:30] The problems with the professionalisation of modern life.
• [11:04] How we expected Covid to affect people’s work lives, and what really happened.
• [13:19] The pros and cons of working from home.
• [16:00] Negative experiences people have working from home.
• [19:10] How different generations view the workplace differently.
• [24:46] The different aspects of control people have in their jobs.
• [28:14] What causes people to change their career.
• [29:39] Why most people don’t explore different careers.
• [33:00] The increased challenge of applying for jobs and “career inelasticity”.
• [35:00] Interviewing a Job Centre work coach.
• [37:30] Why there’s been an increase of bureaucracy in the workplace.
• [42:38] How to improve growth in the economy.
• [44:00] How to find happiness in your career.
• [49:40] Questions to ask yourself about your career.

Resources mentioned in this episode
Please note that some of these are affiliate links and we may get a commission in the event that you make a purchase. This helps us to cover our expenses and is at no additional cost to you.

• Is This Working? The Jobs We Do, Told by the People Who Do Them, Charlie Colenutt
• Working, Studs Terkel
• 80,000 Hours
• Technics and Civilization, Lewis Mumford and Langdon Winner
• The Inner Game of Tennis, Timothy Gallwey

For the show notes for this episode, including a full transcript and links to all the resources mentioned, visit:

https://changeworklife.com/is-this-working-what-100-people-are-saying-about-the-world-of-work-in-2025/

Re-assessing your career? Know you need a change but don't really know where to start? Check out these two exercises to start the journey of working out what career is right for you!

Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? Send us a text message!

#206: Sarah Rugg is an author, entrepreneur and an expert in outsourcing, virtual assistance and life admin. She explains how to free up your time through delegating time consuming tasks, what your own personal assistant can do, and how much it costs to hire a virtual assistant.

What you’ll learn

• [01:47] What a virtual assistant is and what their work life looks like.
• [02:39] How a virtual assistant can help you.
• [04:46] How Sarah started her own virtual assistant business.
• [06:50] How to have a good relationship with your virtual assistant.
• [08:02] How common having an assistant for your personal life is.
• [09:17] Why more people have personal assistants.
• [10:15] The average age of people who have personal assistants.
• [11:22] The areas of your personal life a virtual assistant can help with.
• [13:42] The unexpected tasks virtual assistants can help with.
• [15:16] The limits of using a virtual assistant.
• [17:30] How to overcome middle class guilt.
• [21:06] How people’s lives have been improved through having a virtual assistant.
• [22:17] How to know a specific virtual assistant is a good fit for you.
• [23:20] How specific you need to be with your requirements for a virtual assistant.
• [27:25] The amount of time it takes to get set up with a virtual assistant.
• [30:00] The importance of giving your virtual assistant feedback.
• [34:35] The pros and cons of using an overseas virtual assistant.
• [37:52] How much it costs to get a virtual assistant.
• [39:05] How to work out the ROI of a personal assistant.
• [40:50] How virtual assistants can leverage AI.
• [44:43] How to see if using a virtual assistant is right for you.

Resources mentioned in this episode
Please note that some of these are affiliate links and we may get a commission in the event that you make a purchase. This helps us to cover our expenses and is at no additional cost to you.

• Loom
• Moonpig
• Todoist

For the show notes for this episode, including a full transcript and links to all the resources mentioned, visit:

https://changeworklife.com/managing-life-admin-without-the-overwhelm-buying-back-your-time-with-a-virtual-assistant

Re-assessing your career? Know you need a change but don't really know where to start? Check out these two exercises to start the journey of working out what career is right for you!

Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? Send us a text message!

#205: Emma Tekstra is an Actuary and Global Health Consultant who focuses on the data and science of the human body. She explains the difficulties behind making lasting health changes, the motivations people have for improving their health, and how to live a healthier life.

What you’ll learn

• [02:25] What an actuary is and how Emma became a Health specialist.
• [7:28] The different motivations people have for improving their health.
• [11:06] Personal experiences to identify before you think about lifestyle changes.
• [12:54] How to start living a healthier life.
• [15:45] What to do if you’re feeling lonely.
• [16:03] How to reflect on your life circumstances.
• [19:44] What improvements you can make to your life.
• [22:37] How to measure the success of life changes.
• [26:26] Why it’s so difficult to make health changes.
• [27:16] How to avoid improvement plateaus.
• [29:16] Universal truths that benefit everyone.
• [33:52] How to apply critical thinking to lifestyle advice.

Resources mentioned in this episode
Please note that some of these are affiliate links and we may get a commission in the event that you make a purchase. This helps us to cover our expenses and is at no additional cost to you.

• Just One Thing podcast
• Signos
• Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam
• Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv
• Wilful Blindness, Margaret Heffenen
• Things That Matter, Joshua Becker
• Change Work Life Coaching

For the show notes for this episode, including a full transcript and links to all the resources mentioned, visit:

https://changeworklife.com/health-vs-hype-using-data-to-make-smarter-health-choices/

Re-assessing your career? Know you need a change but don't really know where to start? Check out these two exercises to start the journey of working out what career is right for you!