Ian Fagan, Director and Co-founder of Skodel, an innovative wellbeing-focused company helping 100,000+ students, on forming healthy habits, managing wellbeing, and working efficiently (#1)

Top 3 quotes from the episode

“When you need to wear many hats, I think the risk that you find yourself in, in terms of productivity, is that you get into that multi-tasking habit and it feels like you’re being really productive"

"One of the key challenges for them (students) is starting small. There's a tendency to want to make drastic changes in behaviour, or ways of thinking, and it’s very difficult to make those big behavioural changes at once." 

"(Manging wellbeing is about) finding those energy-giving things that you do and what might be draining for the energy levels"

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Show Notes

Ian's drive and "why" behind Skodel (0:40)

How to manage conflicting responsibilities/demands (2:30)

Dealing with overwhelm at work (7:48)

How Ian structure's his day (9:33)

Key challenges students face in behaviour change (13:04)

How teachers can support student wellbeing (16:06)

Valuable behaviours for improving student wellbeing (18:52)

Rapid-fire questions (21:43)

Biggest challenges navigating student wellbeing (24:20)

How exercise helps support Ian's wellbeing (27:38)

What drives me to work in the wellbeing space (31:32)

More quotes from the episode

"The sooner we could get kids thinking about their mental health and being proactive in it, the less likely they are to end up in rehabilitation facilities "

"We are not really being productive at all when we're task-switching and it’s no wonder why in today’s society ... we are not able to stay on task effectively."

"The example that he (James Clear) uses is that if you wanted to change your diet and reduce the fats or calories you were eating, you could start by spreading less butter on your toast ... if you start on that with a smaller step you’re more likely to succeed long-term” 

"In today’s world where cost of living is going up, parents are being asked to work multiple jobs to pay bills ... sometimes family time can get lost or eroded a little bit and I think that’s a habit collaboratively as a family, we should all be trying to implement in our lives."

Links from the episode:

The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings: a systematic review | Abdin, S., Welch, R. K., Byron-Daniel, J., & Meyrick, J.

How the Time of Day Affects Productivity: Evidence from School Schedules | Nolan G. Pope

A critical review of the definition of ‘wellbeing’ for doctors and their patients in a post Covid-19 era | Simons G, Baldwin DS.

Stress, anxiety and depression in law students : how student behaviours affect student wellbeing | Skead, N., & Rogers, S. L.

The Influence of Student Characteristics and Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour in the Classroom on Student’s Wellbeing | Van Petegem, K., Aelterman, A., Van Keer, H., & Rosseel, Y. 

Task switching and the measurement of “switch costs” | Wylie, G., & Allport, A.