WLP347 Listening and Reading Recommendations February 2024
Release Date: 02/10/2024
It's Time for a Pause after 10 Years...
21st Century Work Life
A very short episode where I (Pilar Orti) share the reasons why the 21st Century Work Life podcast is going on pause. Stay subscribed though, as you never know when new episodes might drop! Thank you very much for listening and all the best for 2025. Get in touch:
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WLP372 What's Going On: Let's Not Blame Remote
21st Century Work Life
It’s the end of the year, but we’re not making any predictions - things are moving way too fast! Instead, Pilar and Maya review some of the issues that have been blamed on “remote”. For an extensive summary of the episode, check out You can message Pilar through the Virtual not Distant website: and get hold of Maya over at Remote Work Europe: .
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WLP371 Using Frameworks for Connection and Back to Basics
21st Century Work Life
Listener reached out to host Pilar Orti after hearing the episode on the 3 A’s of Connection. He has plenty to say on the subject of connection in remote teams, and many different frameworks to share to help other listeners think through change programmes and their own leadership. Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: For detailed show notes, head over to
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WLP370 A Curated Experience in Romania for Digital Nomads and Remote Professionals
21st Century Work Life
In this episode, host Pilar Orti interviews Andreea Gătin an event and community manager who is organising a unique experience for digital nomad and remote workers in Romania. Andreea discusses her goals for the experience, which include showcasing Romania as a destination for digital nomads and fostering a sense of community among participants. It’s happening in March 2025, so Find an episode summary over at Find out more about Andreea and the experience she’s creating:
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WLP369 Strategy Leader with a Heart
21st Century Work Life
In this episode, host Pilar Orti talks to Sagar Chandni, who describes himself as a distributed work practitioner and a strategy leader with a heart. We talk about the nuances of these terms and the evolving nature of work, particularly in India where Sagar is based. Sagar discusses his work with startups and the challenges and opportunities they face, and shares his approach to informed leadership, ethical business strategies, and workplace inclusiveness, as well as the importance of embracing a mindset shift and approaching work in a way that...
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WLP368 How do You Build a Hub of Talent?
21st Century Work Life
Host Pilar Orti is joined by Doug Haines, the founder of and . Doug's entrepreneurial journey began with Kalium, where he successfully recruited talent from South Africa. This positive experience inspired him to launch Marketing Pros, an agency connecting South African marketing professionals with global opportunities. In this episode, Doug discusses the development of both ventures and his strategies for maintaining a robust talent pool. For the full show notes check out Find out more about Doug Haines and his companies: Marketing Pros: Kalium: If you’re looking to expand...
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WLP367 The 3 A's of Connection and other things I've been up to
21st Century Work Life
In this episode, host Pilar Orti shares her new framework showing how we connect at work, and talks about some of her other projects. If you'd like to be alerted when the Remotely Shakespeare wall calendar comes out, head over to For more information check out
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WLP366 The Multiple Challenges of "Hybrid"
21st Century Work Life
A special episode to celebrate the launch of the revised edition of The Long-Distance Leader, written by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel, who returns to the show with another conversation that made host Pilar Orti laugh plenty of times. The conversation takes a critical look at the “hybrid” workplace - is it a compromise, a hostage negotiation? Or is the problem that we’re all transitioning to a new era of knowledge work, and are uncomfortable with uncertainty? Wayne also covers the role of trust, building a culture fit for hybrid and proximity bias. Summary blog post: ...
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WLP365 Career Transformation, Cultural Adaptation and Running a Pilates Studio!
21st Century Work Life
In today’s episode, host Pilar Orti catches up with Frédérique Lloyd Bougreau, about how she transformed her career and lifestyle by setting up a Pilates studio in rural France. They talk about cultural adaptation, building a business in a new environment and the Importance of movement and exercise as we progress through life. Frédérique’s contact details are over at her website: As always, you can find Pilar over at
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WLP364 Researching Gen Z plus Reading and Listening Recommendations
21st Century Work Life
For today’s Recommendations episode, Pilar is joined by Catherine Nicholson, co-founder and creative director of The Virtual Training Team. Before they move onto this month’s reading and listening recommendations, Catherine talks about her recent interest: the blend of generations in the workplace, and how to make the most out of them. Recorded on 7 August 2024 For the full set of show notes, head over to
info_outlineToday’s post is the audio companion to the Virtual not Distant monthly newsletter, and you can subscribe to it via email here. Every month, Pilar shares with readers articles she’s come across on the web, books she’s read (or is reading) and podcast episodes she’s listened to.
The newsletter also has a digest of the Virtual not Distant content - but this podcast version has an update of Pilar’s own work.
Coffee Break Articles:
The dark side of remote work via Asynchronous Agile
Remote work stifles innovation, a massive new study finds via Gallant CEO, based on a study in Nature
Apple knew AirDrop users could be identified and tracked as early as 2019, researchers say via CNN Business
'I had £3,000 stolen via WhatsApp job scam message' via BBC UK
(This month’s articles are all a bit dark, but it’s just a coincidence!)
Book Recommendation:
This month’s book recommendation is "Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count" by Oliver Burkeman. It is NOT a book on how to manage your time. It's a philosophical read.
Listening Recommendations:
Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Podcast
Episode: Matt Mullenweg — The Art of Crafting a Sabbatical, Tips for Defending Against Hackers, Leveraging Open Source, Thriving in an AI World, and Tips for Life’s Darkest Hours (#713)
Date: 29 December 2023
Podcast: Work from Home Forever
Episode: Eileen Tanner, 27 Years of Remote Work from Fax Machines to Virtual Meetings
Date: 18 December 2023
(And if you want to find out more about Don Voltaire, host of Work from Home Forever , check out the latest episode of Adventures in Podcasting: Ep 71 Adventures in podcasting with your son, finding guests and the life-changing potential of remote work)
Podcast: Hard Fork