How I Work

**Join our AI Mastery program: https://www.inventium.ai/ai-mastery **
You’ve typed the same instructions into AI for the third week running, tweaked the wording slightly, and got a slightly different result again. It’s tiring, and it makes the output hard to trust.
Meanwhile, the tools you may have built along the way like GPTs and Gems are starting to disappear, and a new term keeps turning up in every major AI platform: Skills
In this How I AI episode, Neo and I get into what a skill is, why the platforms are backing it, and how to tell whether one of your own tasks is worth turning into one.
What you’ll learn:
Why skills are showing up as custom GPTs and gems fade out
What separates a skill from the tools it is replacing
Whether a skill you build in one tool will work in another
How to spot a task that is a good fit for a skill
Practical AI tools for productivity and focus
Real-world AI workflows used by high performers
How to use AI at work without burning out
Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load
Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams.
Find out more about Inventium’s AI Mastery program here: https://www.inventium.ai/ai-mastery

How I AI with Dr Amantha Imber and Neo Aplin explores how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm.
Want more practical ways to put AI to work? You can now follow How I AI separately on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode.

My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've spent years collecting frequent flyer points. Then you finally go to book a flight, and somehow the seats you want are never available. Or the points required seem ridiculous. Or you give up and pay cash anyway.
As it turns out, collecting points is only half the game. Knowing which airlines to book with, where to look for reward seats, and when to use your points can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.
In this episode, I sit down with Steve Hui and Steve Pirie-Nally from the Flights Club (also known as iFlyFlat) to find out how people who really understand frequent flyer points actually use them. We get into why two airlines can charge wildly different amounts of points for the same journey, how to find business class reward seats that seem impossible to book, and how everyday expenses like rent and tax bills could be earning you points towards your next trip.
If you've got a growing pile of points but haven't quite figured out what to do with them, this episode could be worth a lot more than you think.
** Free your team from time-consuming procurement tasks. Discover smart business buying, where unmatched selection meets AI-driven tools to simplify complex processes so you can focus on what matters most. Learn more at Amazon.com.au/howiwork **
The Steves and I discuss:
Why business and first class flights can offer far better value for your points than other rewards
How the same journey can cost dramatically different amounts of points depending on which airline program you use
Why finding reward seats is a bit like fishing, and how having more than one airline program gives you more chances to find a good one
How to earn points on expenses like rent, ATO bills and payroll using payment services such as pay.com.au and Sniip, and when the fees are worth paying
What's changing with credit card surcharges and points earning, and why one of the Steves has started using a debit card for some purchases
The bank accounts that reward you with frequent flyer points instead of interest, and other less obvious ways to build your balance
How alternative points currencies and airline partners can open up reward flights you might otherwise miss
Why booking a reward seat doesn't always have to mean committing to a trip, and how cancellation rules can give you more flexibility
Key quotes
"Points are the ultimate travel insurance for business owners."
"The trip is where you get the value back."
Connect with Steve Hui and Steve Pirie-Nally and learn more about The Flights Club at iFLYflat.

More from How I Work
And speaking of getting more value out of things, if this episode has changed the way you think about your money, my conversation with Sabri Suby might change the way you think about your time. We get into his subtraction method and how doing less can actually help you get more done. Listen to my conversation with Sabri Suby here.
Part 1: https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/the-subtraction-method%3A-how-sabri-suby-protects-his-time-and-focus-(part-1)
Part 2: https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/sabri-suby-on-video-sales-letters%2C-and-the-negotiation-mistakes-almost-everyone-makes-(part-2)

My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your AI greets you like an old friend, then hands back something painfully average. Sometimes it even refers to a job you left two years ago.
What your AI knows about you and what it simply assumes are two very different things, and the gap between them shapes every answer you get.
In this How I AI episode, Neo and I look at what is actually sitting in your AI’s memory. We cover how to see it for yourself, how to correct it, and the blind spot that keeps good-sounding assistants from doing great work.
What you’ll learn:
The one prompt that shows what your AI really knows about you
How to fix memories that are out of date or just plain wrong
What to do when you need your AI to properly forget something
Why very long chats can make your AI lose track of you
The biggest blind spot between knowing your job and knowing how you do it
Practical AI tools for productivity and focus
Real-world AI workflows used by high performers
How to use AI at work without burning out
Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load
Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams.
Find out more about Inventium AI’s training programs at inventium.ai

How I AI with Dr Amantha Imber and Neo Aplin explores how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm.
Want more practical ways to put AI to work? You can now follow How I AI separately on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode.

My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around 80% of us will avoid conflict if given the chance, and Tim Duggan was firmly in that camp.
In this episode, I sit down with Tim, author of Clear In Tension: How to Get Better at Conflict, to explore how we can all handle conflict with more skill and less dread. Tim spent 15 years running the media company Junkie Media, mediating other people’s disputes, all while dreading conflict himself.
We walk through his five-step CLEAR framework, two listening techniques you can use in your very next tough conversation, and what the four symbols tattooed on Amanda Knox’s arm can teach us about finding common ground with anyone. We also talk about why some conflicts will never be solved, and why that is okay.
If you have a hard conversation looming, this episode will leave you feeling calmer and far better prepared.

** Free your team from time-consuming procurement tasks. Discover smart business buying, where unmatched selection meets AI-driven tools to simplify complex processes so you can focus on what matters most. Learn more at Amazon.com.au/howiwork **

Tim and I discuss:
What Tim learned from becoming an accredited mediator, and why the only way to get comfortable with conflict is to practise it
Box breathing as a discreet way to calm your nervous system mid-argument
The CLEAR framework: clarify what matters, listen generously, explore what’s underneath, align on a shared direction, and reset your story
Mirroring and looping, two simple listening techniques that make the other person feel genuinely heard
The difference between positions and interests, and why uncovering someone’s hopes, fears and concerns can solve the problem
The four symbols Amanda Knox has tattooed on her arm as her recipe for a difficult conversation
Why “agree to disagree” is not a failure, and when walking away is the healthiest option
How to rehearse your first line before delivering bad news, a tip I used myself when I had to let people go in 2024
The research on conflict avoiders, the Gottmans’ ratio of positive to negative interactions, and the one word that changes the tone of any disagreement
Key quotes
“The best stuff happens in tension.”
“Sometimes walking away is actually the best thing you can do.”
Connect with Tim Duggan on Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn and his website. Check out his latest book Clear In Tension: How to Get Better at Conflict.

More from How I Work
If you want to get better at difficult conversations and giving hard feedback, I’ve put together a Spotify playlist of my favourite How I Work episodes on exactly that. You can listen here.
And if this episode resonated, a great companion listen is my chat with ex-Atlassian work futurist Dom Price. We get into the two things you might be doing that make difficult conversations harder, how Dom prepares for the tough ones, and how to approach a conversation when you don’t feel safe. Listen here.

My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you still have a prompt formula saved somewhere, maybe an acronym from an Instagram reel that promised better answers from AI? You paste it in, swap a few words, hit send, and what comes back still misses the mark.
Years of typing a few keywords into a search box have shaped how we talk to AI, and that habit might be costing you time and patience.
In this How I AI episode, Neo and I look at why prompt formulas took off, what has changed since, and how to brief AI so you get better work back with far less back and forth.
What you’ll learn:
Why prompt formulas became so popular, and why they matter far less now
What AI memory changes about the way you brief it
The old search habit that quietly works against you
A better way to give AI the background it needs
How to get AI to question your idea, not just your draft
Practical AI tools for productivity and focus
Real-world AI workflows used by high performers
How to use AI at work without burning out
Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load
Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/) and via inventium.ai (https://inventium.ai), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams.
Find out more about Inventium AI’s training programs at inventium.ai

How I AI with Dr Amantha Imber and Neo Aplin explores how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce overwhelm.
Want more practical ways to put AI to work? You can now follow How I AI separately on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode.

My latest book The Energy Game is out now. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.