The Not So Breakfast Show

• Episode 228: Laptops, Notebooks, and the Art of Meeting Presence

  Send us a text Laptops, Notebooks, and the Art of Meeting PresenceSacha's fully dressed this week (an achievement after last episode's Jedi robe situation), while Ish has been designing corporate off-sites and pondering the eternal question: what does your choice of meeting tech say about you? From notebooks to laptop barriers, this conversation dives into how showing up intentionally can transform your professional brand.Main TopicsThe Great Laptop vs. Notebook Debate - Why Sacha can't think without writing but would never open a laptop in meetings (too many distracting possibilities), and Ish's belief that laptops create barriers unless you're actually presenting from themThe Status Symbol Evolution - How laptops went from senior executive privilege to everyone-has-one normalcy, and why the most senior people often circle back to simple notebooks while others do the "grunt work"Meeting Preparation Spectrum - From 5-minute quick prep (why am I here, what do I need to say/not say, how do I want to show up) to deep prep for high-stakes situations where you "prep like they hate you, present like they love you"AI Note-Taking Reality - Technology can capture everything said, but misses what you're thinking, and comprehensive AI transcripts often mean people remember nothingThe Meeting Presence HierarchySacha's judgment scale from best to worst:Notebook with intentional note-takingDigital notebook/iPad with stylus (transparent, purposeful)Laptop for specific presentation purposesPhone note-taking (acceptable for small teams with a history)Laptop as barrier/distraction toolNothing at all ("What the fuck? Are you just gonna remember 20,000 words?")Deep Prep EssentialsKnow your three most essential points, anticipate questions, and have a position on problems you bring (not just "here's a problem, what should we do?"). Understand the purpose of the meeting (information sharing, decision-making, or deliberation), and consider the desired outcomes for both the decisions and the emotions involved.Key InsightsIf you can work during a meeting, you probably don't need to be in that meeting.Senior leaders get paid for their thoughts and opinions - bring both the problem and your recommended solution.The tool you choose (laptop, notebook, nothing) sends a message about your engagement level.Meeting culture varies - some want consensus, others need the numbers to move forward.Holiday Planning WinsIsh is booking another "short circuit break" to Fiji after realising the Australian rain holiday still left him feeling recharged. Sacha scored insane Air New Zealand specials to New York and bullied her parents into a four-generation adventure. Sometimes the gods align with your budget and your calendar.Time out is time in - sometimes you need to change things up to see daylight again.Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

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• Episode 227: Momentum Over Motivation: The Art of Doing It Anyway

  Send us a textSacha appears in full Jedi regalia (aka her dressing gown) because house staging has banished all her warm clothes to boxes in the attic, while fake dried flowers now populate her formerly book-filled shelves. From this perfectly timed example of "not feeling it" comes a conversation about practical strategies for showing up when motivation has completely abandoned ship.Main TopicsThe Normalcy of Not Feeling It -- Why successful people aren't perpetually motivated machines, they're just better at doing things when they don't want to, and why we need that mythical extra day "between all the days" to recover and prepareRoot Cause Analysis -- Looking beyond the immediate lack of motivation to identify if you're bored (need challenge), overwhelmed (everything feels big), or physically depleted (treating yourself worse than you'd treat a puppy)The Puppy vs. Self-Care Test -- Would you feed a dog energy drinks instead of water, wake it up randomly at night, and give it no exercise? Then why do we do this to ourselves and expect peak performance?The Peanut Slab Public Accountability ExperimentSacha's declaration to Christchurch real estate agents that she won't eat peanut slabs until Christmas has created an army of supermarket surveillance. The power of public commitment means she's not even tempted because "the earth gives us peanuts" logic no longer applies when your entire professional network is watching.Key Strategies When Motivation is MIAShrink the task to the smallest possible step that builds momentumAnchor to purpose - remind yourself why this matters beyond the immediate painCreate external accountability (mobilise entire industries if necessary)Change your state - lie on the floor for 10 minutes, walk around, dance nakedReward effort, not just outcomes, and build positive momentumVisit our website: notsobreakfastshow.com

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• Episode 226: The Gap Between Expectation and Rain-Soaked Reality

  Send us a textEpisode 226:  The Gap Between Expectation and Rain-Soaked RealityThe episode opens with something completely unprecedented: Sacha starting the show with a ChatGPT-generated script about disappointment. Three minutes of AI-crafted banter later, both hosts are thoroughly weirded out and decide to start over properly - leading to a deeper conversation about disappointment, expectations, and why sitting with difficult feelings might actually be helpful.Main TopicsThe AI Experiment -- ChatGPT's attempt at writing "in the style of Sacha and Ish" produces technically competent but soulless content, complete with gendered examples (Sacha gets Broadway, Ish gets sports) and zero authentic connectionHoliday Disappointment Reality -- Ish and Jo's Sunshine Coast getaway turns into a rain festival, complete with blocked streets, concrete mixers, and the ultimate insult: a 500-piece New Zealand jigsaw puzzle missing one pieceThe Buddhist Vs. Reality Approach -- Sacha explores the "have zero expectations" philosophy versus actually wanting things to improve, landing on gratitude plus quick adaptation to new circumstances as the sweet spotBig Disappointments Hit Different -- When years of work don't pay off, or when you feel genuinely wronged (head girl trauma, ballet exam failures, construction tender rejections with mysterious four-week feedback delays)The Emotional Spectrum Problem -- Why calling everything "devastating" or being "obsessed" with lipstick dilutes our ability to accurately describe what we're actually experiencingThe Deeper PhilosophySacha and Ish challenge the self-help industry's rush to "fix" uncomfortable feelings, suggesting we sit with disappointment briefly before problem-solving. The pain signals information - maybe you weren't as excited about that job as you thought, or maybe this teaches resilience you'll need later.Key InsightsDisappointment is the gap between expectation and reality - hedge your forecasts accordinglyMoving quickly from "what happened" to "what now" is a crucial life skillLanguage shapes experience - "took a bit longer today" hits different than "terrible traffic"Sometimes the best stories come from the worst plans (Freaky Friday watching in the rain > beach cocktails)Kids need to experience friction to develop coping skills for adult disappointmentsVisit our website: notsobreakfastshow.comPS: The fact that ChatGPT accurately predicted the missing jigsaw puzzle pieces is either impressive pattern recognition or genuinely creepy AI surveillance. 

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• Episode 225: Decision Fatigue

  Send us a textEpisode 225: Decision Fatigue Sacha's sparkling from her early morning gym session (not traditionally a morning person but aging into it), while Ish admits to being in bed by 8:30pm because everyone else was out. From this perfectly matched energy mismatch comes a conversation about decision fatigue - plus Sacha drops a challenge that might just produce New Zealand's next Christmas number one.Main TopicsRecognition Signs of Decision Fatigue -- Delaying decisions while seeking endless information, getting snappy over small issues, defaulting to safe/familiar choices, and the dreaded "yes to everything" syndrome just to clear your mental plateThe Motion Solution -- "No decision is worse than a bad decision" because staying stuck gives you no data, while making imperfect decisions creates momentum you can adjust (like Lost's constant pivoting that keeps viewers hooked)Physical Strength = Mental Resilience -- Sacha's take on Jordan Peterson's terrible "threat of violence" theory, and her much better insight that physical training creates mental robustness (though she's confident she could tackle most men around the legs and escape under fences)Triaging Your Brain Power -- Not all decisions need the same cognitive effort - what's 3+3 versus 9x57? Reserve your mental energy for high-stakes choices, speed through the low-stakes ones (kumara or potato? Just pick one!)Pre-Decision Strategies -- David Beckham's weekly outfit planning, meal prep culture, and the Steve Jobs uniform approach to eliminating decision drain before it startsKey InsightsBad decisions only become "bad" in hindsight - most are good decisions with unexpected outcomesDelegate decision authority with clear parameters, then let people learn from consequencesGuard your prime decision-making time instead of responding to every urgent request immediatelyBatch small decisions into dedicated time blocks rather than death-by-a-thousand-cuts throughout the dayThe strongest leaders physically often show the most mental resilience (correlation, not causation, but worth noting)Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.comPS: If this Christmas single actually happens, remember you heard it here first. Also, Sacha's confidence in her ability to tackle men and escape under fences while making business decisions is oddly inspiring.

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• Episode 224: F8 Buttons, Failed Records, and Finding Gratitude

  Send us a textEpisode 224: The Hour of Fails and the Power of ReflectionJoin Ish and Sach for the discovery of the dreaded F8 button, and the ultimate podcast fail -doing an entire show without hitting record. But from this beautiful disaster comes a conversation about reflection, journaling, and learning from our daily experiences (including how to properly operate recording equipment).Main TopicsMatthew McConaughey's Journaling Renaissance -- How the "Alright, alright, alright" guy reintroduced journaling to mainstream culture beyond teenage "dear diary" entries, moving it into serious mental wellbeing territoryThe Three-Question Framework -- Ish's simple reflection system: What did you learn today? What's your one thing for tomorrow? What are you grateful for? (No blank page paralysis allowed)From Trauma to Triumph -- Childhood diary disasters that still haunt us: Sacha's epic swear-word note that boomeranged back to her mum, and why Norwegian seamen apparently have cleaner language than 11-year-oldsThe Deeper ReflectionJournaling isn't about crafting publishable prose - it's about getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper, whether that's "f#@k, f#@k, f#@k, that was a crap day" or deeper insights about your patterns and triggers. The key is honest self-assessment without the pressure of literary perfection.If your daily "one thing" is always urgent, you're living in constant firefighting mode. The goal is finding space for the "not urgent but important" stuff - learning, planning, self-care, family time. Your journal data will reveal whether you're managing your priorities or just reacting to everyone else's. Don't let all your best stories be from decades ago. Create new memories with the people who gave you great old memories, because these are the days your kids will call "the good old days."Visit our website: notsobreakfastshow.comPS: Matthew McConaughey apparently needs some promo for his new book "Poems and Prayers" since he's clearly struggling financially and could use our help.

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