Digital Hack minisode 1

Introduction

You have heard the experts take a deep dive on big topics, now get access to the segment more valuable than Bitcoin. Our panellists offer exclusive access to the digital hack that they use on a daily basis to better their life.

Podcast host, Fleur Anderson, is joined by Vanessa Roarty, Branch Lead of Digital Profession, Australian Public Service Commission; Vanessa Doake, Chief People Officer at Art Processors and Co-Founder & Former COO of Code Like a Girl and Pia Andrews, Special Advisor, Digital & Client Data Workstream Lead for Employment and Social Development Canada.

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Transcript

Welcome to the Digital Profession Insights podcast. Digital hack mini sites. You've heard the experts take a deep dove on big topics. But here's your access to this segment. More valuable than Bitcoin. We're asking our leading digital experts. What is the digital hack that they use on a daily basis to make their lives better? Let's hear what they have to say.

Fleur Anderson: OK, now we're going to get to the part of the podcast where we get to hear each of your little secrets. This is where we ask our panel about their daily digital hack at home or at work. It's the thing that saves you every single day. And I'm going to go to you, Vanessa Roarty, first.

Vanessa Roarty: OK, I'm going to let you into my little secret, and that is to get involved with the technology that the kids in your life are using. So this is how you can keep a bit of an eye on them, of course, but it's also the learning that you get from that.

So I've learned so much from watching how my daughter uses TikTok or watching my son stream video games on different platforms. They just use technology in such a unique in such different ways. And there's so much to learn from that.

And I think that's helping me keep my own digital skills fresh just by being involved in what they're doing.

Fleur Anderson: It's gone beyond asking your kid for help with the video, isn't it?

Vanessa Roarty: Absolutely.

Fleur Anderson: Vanessa Doake, what's your daily digital hack?

Vanessa Doake: From a personal perspective? It sounds a little boring, but having a digital calendar that I maintain with my partner to break down the microscopic scheduling and rostering or that had two and a half year old is. I'm not sure what we would do without it from a work perspective, definitely trying to balance work and home.

I'm looking for anything that makes anything more efficient and easier from a work scheduling perspective than summer. I found an excellent tool, has a really nice intuitive UI for planning your week, planning your day, and superhuman from an email perspective, I found, makes what is normally a really dreaded task a little bit quicker and easier.

Fleur Anderson: To think to organize the emails. Pia what's your daily digital hack?

Pia Andrews: Look on a personal level. I think we spoke about I spoke about 10 percent time before on a personal level, make time. You never actually have time. You have to make it. So making time every day to think and to plan and to ensure that you're doing the things that align with your value system and your goals is really important. I'd say that a second part of that is to make sure that that you are, you know, spending your time in the right place, but on a professional level.

And this is sort of a bit more of a macrocosm and it's a bit more philosophical is just to make sure that you're never allowing yourself to be an enabler for inequitable outcomes. Always be the kindest, calmest person in the room. But is an absolute critical one, because if you are always the kindest and calmest person in the room or you strive to be, then you have a chance of being able to work in in highly difficult, contentious, ambiguous, complex areas with different disciplines and be able to get to the again, the most humane outcome with other people who have their own values and perspectives as well. The final personal hack is that you are most effective and productive when you work sustainable hours.

Everything that I do, everything that my teams do is done within the confines of an eight hour day, maybe nine at a stretch on occasion. Those people that are allowing themselves and being forced into these 10, 12 and 14 hour days are simply not productive.

And it is not sustainable, nor effective. So just work sustainably.

Outro: You've been listening to the Digital Profession's Insights podcast, Digital Hack. Many sites find the Digital Insights podcast on all major podcast services. Stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn or Facebook. And of course, if you haven't done so yet, join the profession today.

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