The Solo Collective

Season 3 finale! Sue Ashford really does know what solo workers need to thrive - because she's one of the few people to have spent a career studying how freelancers, remote workers, independent workers and the self employed actually work, and what makes them happy. Her research means we now understand much more about making better choices about how, where and with whom we work. Sue is is the Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor in the Management and Organisations group at the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Sue really cares about using her teaching and research work to help people to be effective in their work lives. She's written for publications like the Harvard Business Review and most recently wrote a brilliant book, The Power Of Flexing which is all about how to change and grow at work. Thank you for joining us during season 3 of the Solo Collective. This episode is the last of the current series, but we plan to be back soon. If you like what we do here, please leave a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts - it helps the algorithm show the podcast to more people who might like it. Thank you! The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. To find out more about Sue: Visit her website: Susanashford.com Twitter: @sueashford Instagram: @susanjashford More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have a bonus episode from our friends at the Freedom Matters podcast which we think you will really enjoy – an interview with Catherine Price, founder of ScreenLifeBalance.com and author of How to Break Up With Your Phone and The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. Host of Freedom Matters, Georgie Powell, talks to Catherine about what exactly 'fun' is and how to make space for more of it in our lives. They also cover the enormous health and productivity benefits of fun and how to structure your life to encourage fun magnets. The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. Listen to the Freedom Matters podcast on Apple, Anchor, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. For more fun you can also sign up for Catherine's newsletter at HowToHaveFun.com You can also follow Catherine on Twitter (@Catherine_Price) and Instagram (@_CatherinePrice) Catherine Price: https://www.screenlifebalance.com/ Find out more about the Freedom app here. More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The work that academic Heejung Chung does is fascinating. She studies flexible working (among many other aspects of work) with particular focus on how gender dynamics can and do impact both the work we do and the choices we make about that work. She's just written her first book The Flexibility Paradox: Why Flexible Working Leads to (Self-)Exploitation, which is all about why we need to think carefully as more and more of us move into flexible work - especially solo workers - because working flexibly, while emphatically a good thing for most people, can also lead to overwork and burnout. Instead of rushing into flexibility, we need to think carefully about how to get it right, while we can - while work is evolving as swiftly as it is now. The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. More from Heejung Chung: Website: HeejungChung.com Twitter: @HeejungChung More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oliver Burkeman is a journalist and author of the brilliant Four Thousand Weeks: Time And How To Use It. (Four thousand weeks is the average length of a human lifetime, which is an arresting way to express it.) Oliver spent 12 years working as a columnist at the Guardian - he wrote 'This Column Will Change Your Life' - writing initially about self help and personal development but later broadening out into the philosophy of what it means to be a modern human. Four Thousand Weeks is a time management book of a very different sort - it's not about maximising output, scheduling, hacks or hyper productivity. In fact, it's more about relinquishing the idea that we can and should control and maximise our time, which is what Oliver and Rebecca are talking about here, too. His approach is incredibly enlightening and very helpful for solo workers who so often spend their time grappling with how to manage it. The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. More from Oliver Burkeman: Twitter: @OliverBurkeman Website: www.oliverburkeman.com More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Williams is the author of 'Move! The New Science of Body Over Mind' - an amazing book about how movement impacts the way our brains work, from our creativity to our mental health. We wanted to talk to Caroline, who is also a solo worker, because it is all too easy to sit still all day long when you work alone. We discuss whether sitting really is the new smoking, how we can build more movement into our working days and the mental health benefits of lifting weights (!). The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. More from Caroline Williams: Instagram: @carolinewilliams_science Twitter: @ScienceCaroline More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many of us, looking after our money - as adults, as well as solo workers - feels like one of the most complicated things we have to do. And yet, as Clare Seal points out, most of us lack any kind of financial education and are just muddling along as best we can. Combine that with the fact that for many solo workers, our income is inextricably tied to how we view both our business success and our sense of self worth, and you've got a fairly toxic combination. Clare Seal (no relation to Rebecca!) knows all this only too well: in her 20s, she got into debt and saw it impact not just her finances but also her mental health. As she worked to dig herself out of debt over the past three years, she documented her experiences on instagram, via a then-anonymous account, @myfrugalyear, which gained thousands of followers before she outed herself. Today, she writes about financial well being and helps other people navigate the practicalities and emotions of money. Her latest book is Five Steps to Financial Wellbeing, a brilliant guide to getting to grips with how you feel about money, filled with practical advice - just like this conversation with her is. The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. Clare's recommendations: SnoopQuickbooksMoney Saving ExpertIllumoni More from Clare Seal: Find her on Instagram: @myfrugalyear More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to a new season of the Solo Collective, with Rebecca Seal. We are delighted to have you with us. This episode is a fascinating conversation with Madeleine Dore, founder of the website Extraordinary Routines, which started off as a way for Madeleine to try to find herself an optimum routine by interviewing other people about theirs, but quickly turned into an exploration of the myths around productivity and the complex ways in which our personal productivity becomes enmeshed with our ideas of self worth. Madeleine has just written a fantastic book, I Didn't Do The Thing Today which is about letting go of productivity guilt (and much, much more). She is also host of the Routines and Ruts podcast. Madeleine is based in Australia. The Solo Collective is sponsored by Tide business banking: banking made easy for sole traders and small businesses. We are also sponsored by Pension Bee, which has a flexible pension product specifically for self employed people. More from Madeleine Dore: Find her on Instagram: @extraordinary_routines Her website: https://extraordinaryroutines.com/ More from Rebecca Seal: Instagram: @bexseal ; @the_solo_collective Twitter: @RebeccaSeal Website: How To Work Alone This series is produced by Hester Cant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the Solo Collective, with me, Rebecca Seal. Season 3 is coming very soon: we will be covering money and how not to get in a mess with it, productivity myths and how to break free from them, time and how to use it, flexible working and much, much more. We are glad to have you with us. Subscribe now, so that you get the first new episode as soon as it's released. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce Daisley is one of Europe’s most influential voices when it comes to fixing the workplace. His Sunday Times Bestseller, Joy of Work, distilled years of academic research into practical advice while his celebrated business podcast, Eat Work Sleep Repeat, championed bringing joy to our jobs agains. Recently he’s turned his attention to breaking down the concept of resilience in the workplace - a buzzword that has been thrown around for the last few years but what does it really mean? In this final episode of series two of The Solo Collective, Bruce joins Rebecca to discuss the roots of resilience from the US Army to Simone Biles’ Olympic gold medals and what overcoming adversity really means for the rest of us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As humans, we all have a deep need for belonging and community. It's not surprising then that when we move into the professional world, we often turn to colleagues for friendship. This week Amy Gallo, author of the forthcoming book Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and Contributing Editor at Harvard Biz, joins Rebecca to discuss the benefits of work and professional relationships. She explains the importance of setting boundaries but also argues that retaining a level of openness could lead to more meaningful relationships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we all look for autonomy over our own time, how can we move to a place where work can fit around our lives rather than dictate them? This week Frankie Tortora, host of award-winning podcast Doing It For The Kids, joins Rebecca to wade into the discussion of flexi-working. Frankie shares her experiences of balancing solo working while also juggling parental responsibilities. She also reflects on the highs and lows of being in a flexible freelancing role despite still working in a society that fundamentally isn’t. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mo Gawdat has made happiness his primary topic of research, diving deeply into literature and conversing on the topic with some of the wisest people in the world. In this episode, Rebecca discusses the importance of managing and keeping our emotions in check when we work alone. Using the techniques that Mo has created and brought together from different disciplines we explore how to ensure that you don’t have the Netflix of unhappiness on repeat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For solo workers, it can seem as if there is no clear path to career progression. For people in more traditional roles, progress is marked by a promotion, a bonus or a corner office. So do we need to start thinking about this differently? This week's guest James Mitra, founder of JBM (a values-driven executive search firm) and the host of the 40 Minute Mentor podcast, is here to help us change up our thinking. He advocates for thinking less about titles and salaries and more about ways to spend time with loved ones and the things that bring you joy. The 6th series of 40 Minute Mentor is available to listen to now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Working from home can make it all too easy to blur the boundaries between personal and professional lives. Tech can complicate that line even more with endless Zoom calls and constant pings from colleagues and clients on everything from Teams to Slack. This week’s guest Charlotte Jee, a tech writer for MIT Technology Review, has been working remotely for the last three years. She also writes a daily newsletter about emerging technology called The Download. Charlotte is all for not allowing tech to run your life so consider this your permission slip to turn off your read receipts on your phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Networking can often inspire dread. We associate it with warm wine in plastic cups and awkward conversations. Thankfully, this week’s guest Abadesi Osunsade, founder of Hustle Crew and VP of Belonging at Brandwatch, joins Rebecca to offer a fresh perspective and explains how mutual appreciation can lead to meaningful connections, online and offline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes despite all our external successes, whether it's building a high-flying career or achieving those internal-facing goals, the feeling like a fraud can overshadow our achievements. This self-doubt is called imposter syndrome. In this episode psychotherapist, speaker, and bestselling author Anna Mathur joins Rebecca to discuss how the need for external validation can cause these wobbles and how we can instead worry less about what people think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So many of us go about life with that critical voice in our heads. A voice that tells us, whether, in our work or personal life, we are the worst person in the world. This inner critic can often lead to anxiety. This week Rebecca gets to the heart of what causes this intrusive worrying with the author of The Kindness Method, Shahroo Izadi. They discuss mindful practices and how kindness and self-compassion can be invaluable when it comes to reducing our anxiety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last 18 months, we have seen a re-evaluation of our relationships to work. With more time at home and less time commuting, we’ve been able to think about what we want out of the work-life balance. Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Won’t Love You Back, has been thinking and talking about this relationship for a long time. She joins Rebecca in this week's episode to explain why being passionate about your job doesn’t always lead to the best results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maybe you’re the type to avoid difficult conversations at all costs? Or maybe you go into complicated conversations all guns blazing? Whichever camp you’re in, we’re here to help you get the most out of these conversations. And who better to talk about difficult conversations with than someone who has been described as ‘a therapist at happy hour’? This week, Rebecca is joined by Anna Sale, the host of the award-winning podcast Death, Sea and Money and Author of Let's Talk About Hard Things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we think of self-care, we might think of a long bath or a wine at the end of the day but it’s so much more than that. We need to think about what self-care looks like in our lives. In this episode, we’re joined by Emma Gunavardhana, Host of The Emma Guns Show, who shares her transitional rituals from getting up and active before sitting at her desk to raking herself out of a spruced home office set up at the end of the day. We need to do whatever works for us so let host Rebecca Seal and Emma help you find out your own soothing self-care moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.