WLP347 Listening and Reading Recommendations February 2024
Release Date: 02/10/2024
WLP375 Booknotes: Futureproof by Kevin Roose
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose Favourite highlight: "It’s on us—the people who love technology but worry about its use—to explore this adjacent possible and push for the best version of it." Part 2 Updates from Pilar: A fiction recommendation: You Are Here by David Nicholls The struggles writing the...
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WLP374 Booknotes: Because Internet
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season: Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Because Internet: Understanding how language is changing by Gretchen McCulloch Listener Roberta recommends: It’s Not Magic. The Ordinary Skills of Exceptional Leaders by John Amaechi and the fiction book: No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. Pilar in turn recommends Roberta Sawatzky’s memoir Between here and Where? Embracing life’s...
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WLP373 New season! Booknotes: How to Have a Good Day
21st Century Work Life
The 21st Century Work Life podcast is back - with a different kind of content and format. The Booknotes season starts and will last... for a while. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from How To Have A Good Day: The Essential Toolkit for a Productive Day at Work and Beyond by Caroline Webb Chris Coladonato’s (the connection catalyst) colour book: Color Me Unplugged: Mindful Patterns Inspired By Nature Walks - A Coloring Book for Rest, Relaxation, and Creativity Teresa Douglas, author of Secrets of the Remote Workforce: By Employees, For Employees,...
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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
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