Looking ahead to a new year can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time, especially when you’re not quite sure what you want the next chapter to feel like. 

In part 2 of my end-of-year reflection episode with my good friend and ABC broadcaster Lisa Leong - we explore the questions, habits, and small structural tweaks that can help shape a more intentional 2026 - the things that genuinely influence how your days unfold. 

If you’re planning out your 2026 and want a more thoughtful way to do it, this episode will give you plenty to play with. 

Lisa and I discuss: 
The simple reframing that helps you imagine your next year as if it has already happened 
How Lisa approaches designing an “ideal week” and why I’m thinking about a “perfect average day” 
The role of the reticular activating system and why vision boards work for some people 
How values shape the projects and choices you prioritise for the coming year 
The habits we’re keeping, the ones we’re changing, and how identity influences behaviour 
Why I’m stepping back from Instagram (again) and rethinking my relationship with email 
How a “dumb phone” or burner phone can help create healthier digital boundaries 
Our favourite prompts from the Year Compass, including the surprising question that reveals your “secret wish” for the year ahead 

 

KEY QUOTES  

“Instead of asking what would have been, I love writing it like it’s already happened — it changes how you think about the future.” 
“I want to design a perfect average day, because it’s something I can actually live up to and repeat.” 

Connect with Lisa Leong on Instagram and LinkedIn. Listen to her show This Working Life, and check out her book with Monique Ross, This Working Life  

 

If you want to try one of the reflection tools I mentioned in this episode, you can download the free Year Compass booklet here: https://yearcompass.com/ 

Listen to part 1 of my chat with Lisa here 

 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

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-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

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 

Looking ahead to a new year can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time, especially when&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;not quite sure&nbsp;what you want the next chapter to feel like.&nbsp;
In part 2 of my end-of-year reflection&nbsp;episode&nbsp;with&nbsp;my good friend and ABC broadcaster&nbsp;Lisa Leong&nbsp;-&nbsp;we&nbsp;explore&nbsp;the questions, habits, and small structural tweaks that can help shape a more intentional 2026&nbsp;-&nbsp;the things that genuinely influence how your days unfold.&nbsp;
If&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;planning out&nbsp;your 2026 and want a more thoughtful way to do it, this episode will give you plenty to play with.&nbsp;
Lisa and I&nbsp;discuss:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">The simple reframing that helps you imagine your next year as if it has already happened&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">How Lisa approaches designing an &ldquo;ideal week&rdquo; and why&nbsp;I&rsquo;m&nbsp;thinking about a &ldquo;perfect average day&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">The role of the reticular activating system and why vision boards work for some people&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">How values shape the projects and choices you&nbsp;prioritise&nbsp;for the coming year&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">The habits&nbsp;we&rsquo;re&nbsp;keeping, the ones&nbsp;we&rsquo;re&nbsp;changing, and how identity influences&nbsp;behaviour&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Why&nbsp;I&rsquo;m&nbsp;stepping back from Instagram (again) and rethinking my relationship with email&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">How a &ldquo;dumb phone&rdquo; or burner phone can help create healthier digital boundaries&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="1">Our&nbsp;favourite&nbsp;prompts from the Year Compass, including the surprising question that reveals your &ldquo;secret wish&rdquo; for the year ahead&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
KEY QUOTES&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Instead of asking what would have been, I love writing it like it&rsquo;s already happened &mdash; it changes how you think about the future.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I want to design a perfect average day, because it&rsquo;s something I can actually live up to and repeat.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Connect with&nbsp;Lisa Leong&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lisasleong/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasleong/?originalSubdomain=au">LinkedIn</a>. Listen to her show&nbsp;<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/this-working-life">This Working Life</a>, and check out her book with Monique Ross,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thisworkinglifebook.com/">This Working Life</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you want to try one of the reflection tools I mentioned in this episode, you can download the free Year Compass booklet here:&nbsp;<a href="https://yearcompass.com/">https://yearcompass.com/</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/how-to-make-sense-of-2025-and-design-your-best-2026%2C-with-lisa-leong-(part-1)">Listen to part 1 of my chat with Lisa here</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
My latest&nbsp;book&nbsp;The Health&nbsp;Habit&nbsp;is out now. You can order a copy here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/">https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/</a>&nbsp;
Connect with me on the socials:&nbsp;
Linkedin&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber">https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber</a>)&nbsp;
Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/amanthai">https://www.instagram.com/amanthai</a>)&nbsp;
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&nbsp;simple to apply&nbsp;tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at&nbsp;<a href="https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe">https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe</a>&nbsp;
Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast">https://www.amantha.com/podcast</a>&nbsp;for full show notes from all episodes.&nbsp;
Get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:amantha@inventium.com.au">amantha@inventium.com.au</a>&nbsp;
Credits:&nbsp; Host: Amantha Imber&nbsp; Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler&nbsp;

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets - the daily strategies behind their success through to life hacks and productivity hacks they’d rather keep to themselves. We’re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that’ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who’ve cracked the code.

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets&nbsp;- the daily strategies behind their success through to&nbsp;life hacks and productivity hacks they&rsquo;d rather keep to themselves. We&rsquo;re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that&rsquo;ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who&rsquo;ve cracked the code.

Have you ever wondered if the worlds leading entrepreneurs, writers, musicians and business people construct their day differently to you?

How I Work

How to make sense of 2025 and design your best 2026, with Lisa Leong (Part 2)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/clips/70a5d0a9-42ca-45ad-bc58-b3aa00070a3b/transcript

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