My Favorite Podcasts to Listen to at Work

Happy Wednesday, sweet friends! It is officially Fall and even though it’s going to be 90 degrees all week, I am so ready for this season. I’ve spent time adding some fall touches to my home and just starting shopping for fall work outfits. This is absolutely my favorite time of the year because we can actually enjoy going outside and are not sweating through our outfits. Also, as we get closer to the holidays, my weekends become time to just be cozy at home with a cup of apple cider while burning candles all day and eating pumpkin muffins. I mean, who doesn’t want that?

Going back to a 9-5 after a year and half of freelance life has been an interesting adjustment. For sure, my life is more scheduled and predictable. However, I’ve had to find creative ways to keep up with my WFH habits that worked for me. One thing I loved to do was listen to at least 1 podcast episode a day. I would sometimes listen in the morning as getting my coffee, while answering blog comments, checking through emails or handling administrative tasks. I became a serious podcast junkie and found dozens that were perfect for me with everything from true crime to religious to comedy and more. Now, I can’t quite have my podcasts playing loudly in the office but since we have an open workspace, I have found that listening to podcasts keep me more focused and less distracted by noise and conversations. (sidenote: anyone have a serious love/HATE relationship with open workspaces? Let me know in the comments.) Plus, being able to continue this habit helps give me a little of the feel of being full-time self-employed again.

Since sharing this last professional tips posts, I had a ton of requests for a follow-up. So today, I’m pumped to share 5 podcasts that I love listening to at work that are the perfect balance of light conversations but also keep me informed and/or continuously learning.

 

1 | Secrets of Wealthy Women – As the title would give away, this podcast is all about money and careers. Since I set a few aggressive financial goals this year and will need to get a new car at the end of the year, I have seriously been looking at my $$ and trying to find inspiration on how to make my money work better for me. This podcast features amazing women from all walks of life and professions to share how they spend money, make money and keep money in their pockets for retirement, vacation, overall savings and travel.

2 | Skimm’d from the Couch – If you’re a Skimm reader, which you absolutely should be, this is podcast for you. The founders interview amazing women who talk about the challenges they’ve faced in their careers and what they have learned in the process. One of my favorite features of this podcast is when they asked their guests to skim their resumes at the beginning of the show. As a millennial, I hear so many people talk about the negative sides of moving jobs in your 20s. However, why I love this question in the show is because it shows me how women who have the success that we all admire also had setbacks, changed jobs, got fired and had to start over at times. Though I don’t want to move jobs constantly, it’s always comforting to know that successful people have made the same decisions in their careers and still came out on top. The founders are super relaxed and funny which makes the episodes enjoyable.

3 | TED Education – Okay y’all, I am a serious lover of TED talks. One of my greatest goals is to have my own TED talk on a local or national scale. As an educate advocate, I love to hear how educators and advocates find creative ways to impact traditional and non-traditional learning experiences across the globe. The episodes are super short, I’m talking 15-20 minutes, which is perfect if you want to listen to an episode as you start or end your day. TED also has several categories of podcasts if you’re looking for anything on politics, health, technology, kids, work and literally everything in between.

4 | Black Girl Podcast – Not that this one needs much explanation, because hello, but I LOVE this podcast for several reasons. For one, this podcast is hosted by a group of amazing black women who talk about issues and trending topics that are important to me and that I can directly identify with. Second, their episodes are much longer AKA min. 40 minutes and up to 2 hours. If you have a day full of administrative or light tasks that are a bit time consuming, this one is perfect to feel like you’re in the room with your friends talking about all things #HotGirlSummer, Essence Fest, Girlfriends, sex and relationships. This podcast is so playful, lighthearted and I feel like I know all the women in real life.

5 | Secret Lives of Black Women – Similar to Black Girl Podcast, Secret Lives of Black Women makes me feel so comforted and part of the conversation. This podcast is hosted by 2 friends who interview black women to talk all things beauty standards, overcoming fear and doing the real work. Their episodes make me want push forward in life on days when I feel burnt out and confused about where I am going next. This podcast altogether is a total feel good space for me.

Friends, there are SOOOOOO many amazing podcasts out there and I could literally go on forever. If you want me to do more podcast posts on topics like millennials, finance, travel or anything else, just let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for reading! -xo, Azanique <3