I'm teaching a new workshop on May 15 & 16, 2024! It's called World-Building for Business Owners, and it's based... more

"How do I want to live?" Philosopher Rahel Jaeggi says this question is bound up in the concept of alienation.... more

It seems the creator economy is booming. Or is it?And what even is the creator economy??Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and... more

The labor market has undergone a sea change in the last 20 years. A full third of US workers are... more

The Center for Nonviolent Communication describes what they teach as "empathy in action." And so it seems fitting to close... more

I have learned a lot about cognitive empathy by learning copywriting. After all, copywriting is a puzzle—the puzzle of figuring... more

Typically, the question of accessibility online is considered in technical terms: How does this website need to be designed? What... more

How do you get seen in a world that doesn't see you? How do you get recognized when so many... more

Today, we peel back the layers of a term that's become ubiquitous in the business world and beyond: empathy. In... more

Are you waiting for a glorious day with your system, plan, or business just work? I hate to tell you this—but... more

Our beliefs leave an indelible mark on how we interact with others and our environment. Even when those beliefs aren't... more

The proliferation of derivative nonsense on various social media platforms begs the question: Is it possible to make a TikTok... more

Last week, Vox published an article by internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings about how everybody needs to be a self-promoter... more

Layers. Unless we're talking about cake, you can have too many layers. In today's episode, I share a recent metaphorical revelation... more

So, you're stressed. Or work feels intense. Or you're putting more energy than you should into manifesting a day with "no... more

Why is it that our bodies and brains tend to function on so much outdated code? Our personal algorithms and... more

The only sure bet is uncertainty. As we start a new year, I want to take a closer look at... more

Today, a short meditation on time, the end-of-year season, and how we might carry what we experience now into the... more

This is the 3rd edition of Cold Pitch, an experimental project from YellowHouse.Media exploring media, curiosity, and identity. I'll be... more

Planners and project management apps reinforce linear, chronological thinking. What if we used a completely different medium to plan for... more

This is the second edition of Cold Pitch, an experimental project from YellowHouse.Media about media, curiosity, and identity. In this... more

Over the next few weeks, I've got something a wee bit different for you! This is the very first edition... more

This is the final installment in Strange New Work, a series that uses speculative fiction to explore radical work futures.Power.... more

This is the penultimate episode of Strange New Work, a special series from What Works that explores the future of... more

I've got something short, sweet, and really special for you today. Sean, my husband, my go-to extrovert shield, and the... more

This is the 6th installment of Strange New Work, a special series that uses speculative fiction to explore radically different... more

This is the 5th installment of Strange New Work, a special series that explores how speculative fiction can help us... more

This is the 4th installment in Strange New Work, a special series from What Works that explores how speculative fiction... more

This is the third installment in Strange New Work, a series that explores how speculative fiction can help us imagine... more

This is the 11th edition of This is Not Advice, a "not advice" column for premium subscribers of What Works.... more

This is the second episode in my new series, "Strange New Work." Artist and writer Morgan Harper Nichols is a... more

The future of work doesn't have to be an extension of today's reality.This is the first installment in Strange New... more

Join Tara McMullin for a journey into the far future of work, and consider how we can create more humane,... more

Today’s episode is a sneak peek of Work In Practice, my new 12-week training program for guides of all kinds.... more

There are rules you know about—and rules you don't. Some rules are written down—and other rules are "just the way... more

Play, learn, work, retire—those are the four stages of what Mauro Guillén calls the sequential mode of life. In his new... more

This is the 8th edition of This is Not Advice, my "not-advice" column for premium subscribers of What Works. Today, I'm talking... more

Making work for the public seems to come with a slew of fuzzy social expectations. What do we owe our... more

The media give us wildly exaggerated images of wealth and consumption. And even if we recognize that a tv show... more

At age 50, Manisha Thakor realized that she'd sacrificed her life at the altar of work. How did that happen?... more

This is an excerpt from the 7th edition of This is Not Advice—a not-advice column exclusively for premium subscribers. In this... more

This episode originally ran on May 25, 2022. It's been lightly remixed for today's release!“Rugged individualism” is the very language... more

So much of our modern discourse around productivity, empowerment, entrepreneurship, and personal growth includes messages about our bodies. These messages... more

This is an episode of "This is Not Advice," a bonus podcast I do for premium subscribers of What Works.... more

This is an episode about Meta's new app, Threads. It's also about Substack and Substack's new-ish feature, Notes. But really,... more

"It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism," say Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Žižek.Capitalist... more

Welcome to the 5th edition of This is Not Advice, a non-advice column for premium subscribers of What Works. If... more

"Failure" got a glow-up sometime in the last 20 years. Instead of something to be feared, gurus tell us to embrace... more

Buckle up—today's episode was inspired by something that got me really worked up this week: "I think home-baking is one of... more

"Outsiders" shoulder a disproportionate burden when it comes to fitting in. Can we demand more from the "insiders?"This is a... more

What gets labeled as "authentic" is often quite predictable. It's a market-compatible expression of what was once something unique or... more

On June 8, Skye Pillsbury opened the latest edition of her newsletter, The Squeeze, with the header RIP Gimlet. She... more

I’m about to write the most journalistic thing I’ve ever written: I received a tip.I wish I could say it... more

Welcome to the 3rd edition of This is Not Advice, my advice column that’s not an advice column for paid... more

Today's episode is all about trust and responsibility—and how those qualities impact the cost of doing business and the work... more

What are we really talking about when we talk about our hopes and fears about AI?It's us. We're the problem.Actually,... more

There's a sort of inside joke in the online business space of coaches, creators, and service providers. Or maybe, at... more

“This cancerous economic principle means that executives and venture capitalists have abandoned the concept of value within a business. Through... more

Today’s quick episode is a sample of something I’m creating for paid subscribers to What Works. I’m calling it my... more

What does a bad movie from 1992, loss aversion, Steinbeck, pizza, farm animals, and the founder of a software company... more

I am on board when it comes to technological progress. I look forward to updating my devices (although I don’t... more

It seems like every company today claims to be "on a mission" to change the world or improve our lives.... more

At least in my corner of social media, there are a lot of folks asking what makes a business ethical.... more

This Earth Month... buy more stuff?!We're about to be bombarded with messaging about corporate climate initiatives. We'll have the chance... more

"All parasites have value, Sibling Dex. Not to their hosts, perhaps, but you could say the same about a predator... more

I’ve called myself a recovering overachiever. I’m recovering not from the drive to excel but from the anxiety inherent to... more

We all have deep human needs—for belonging, for autonomy, for creative expression, for safety and security. But modern life can... more

What makes an idea valuable? What turns it into a product that can be bought, sold, or rented? Ideas turn... more

This is Part 2 of The Economics of Getting (and Paying) Attention. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, I... more

How comfortable are you with your own voice? How likely are you to say what's on your mind?Samara Bay, the... more

How does the principle of supply and demand influence what we pay attention to? (And who pays attention to us?)

If we want to understand the tiny economy of our businesses, then we have to understand cashflow.

How can we avoid unintentional exploitation in our working relationships?

If information wants to be free… why is it so darn expensive?

Can economics help you decide whether or not to quit social media? Yes!

Can we unlearn urgency and learn to enjoy patience?

Work has evolved. The way we work has not.

Tara & Sean share a look back at the year and what caught their attention in books, tv, podcasts, and... more

While the answer might seem obvious, understanding how work creates stress and help us design more sustainable work systems.

Thinking about doing things differently next year? Here's one way my own work has changed—big time.

How do you see through the bait & switch?

Charlie Gilkey talks with Tara about the cultural code that lurks beneath our assumptions about goals & success.

Jenny Blake, Charlie Gilkey, and Tara discuss capacity, time, and avoiding overcommitment.

🙌🏻 A 400th Episode AND Book Birthday celebration! 🙌🏻

Who does all of our productivity really benefit?

What happens when confidence and control collide?

How we use our voices is a microcosm of how we think about ourselves. What happens when we use our... more

How do influencers impact the way we see ourselves, our families, and… our shopping lists?

Personality types are big business on Instagram. Why are we so hooked on ourselves?

Who do you trust with improving your life?

Is this really what empowerment looks like?

Are we all in the self-help business now?

Are we all in the self-help business now?

What even is the economy really? How does economic news impact my daily life? And what would prompt two humanities... more

After finding myself frustrated, exhausted, and burnt out, I had to ask: Are the goals I set making my life... more

How do you prepare your small business for economic ups and downs?

How has our relationship with ourselves changed since we started to put so much effort into emphasizing the most marketable... more

Can work be valuable even if you're not making money with it? What role do hobbies and personal pursuits have... more

Vibe check: does positive thinking get in the way of recognizing real limitations and structural challenges?

How can we think more strategically about the way we get paid as business owners & independent workers?

Do you spend more of your time working for internet companies than for yourself or your clients?

Is loving your work all it's cracked up to be? And is the work you love meeting your needs?

Has individualism made it harder to navigate the 21st-century economy?

Does your refund policy help you make sales... or do right by your customers?

At the end of 2021, I stepped away from my business: left our community, off-boarded my employee to another company,... more

I’m sure you’ve heard it before: underpromise and overdeliver. But is that really the best way to do business? Or... more

I’m bringing our Time & Money series to a close this week by exploring why we choose squeezing more in... more

A lot of the work we do today doesn’t much look like “work.” The divide between work-life and life-life is... more

The systems we operate in all have different incentive systems: our business models, the social media platforms, our economy, the... more

Most of us learn the value of our time in our first jobs. Even as we get more experience and... more