#488 Coping with curveballs – what to do when your day doesn’t go to plan

Ever had your day derailed by a last-minute request? A sudden change of plan? Or that dreaded moment when you're put on the spot and don’t have the answer? In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore the curveballs that show up in our working week—and how we can respond to them with more confidence and control.

From tech fails to surprise tasks, curveballs can throw us off track and test our confidence. Helen and Sarah share personal stories, reflect on their own curveball capability, and offer practical ideas for action to help you deal with the unexpected, think on your feet, and stop small things from snowballing.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the Squiggly Careers Podcast

00:33 Day-To-Day Curveballs

05:52 Acknowledging & Receiving Curveballs

07:46 Why Curveballs Feel Hard In The Moment

09:06 Curveballs Are More Likely In Squiggly Careers

11:00 Rating Your Curveball Capability

16:55 Idea For Action — Anticipating & Thinking On The Spot

20:35 Idea For Action — Using Multiple Workarounds

26:14 Idea For Action — Avoiding Curveballs Becoming Snowballs

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- Why curveballs feel hard in the moment

- Why curveballs are more common in squiggly careers

- How to anticipate the unexpected and think on your feet

- How to stop curveballs from becoming snowballs

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

🏃‍♀️ Join our next Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint2024

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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Squiggly Careers is a weekly podcast that will help you take control of your career development. Hosted by the founders of Amazing If (https://www.amazingif.com/), Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, together they cover all things work: from how to manage stress and overcome your confidence gremlins to micro-aggressions and discovering your strengths. Each episode is full of ideas, actions, hints, and tips that you can put into practice straight away. 

Every so often they take a break from talking to each other to interview other people who are leading the way in making work better. Past guests include entrepreneur and philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley, author of The Joy of Work Bruce Daisley, and neuroscience expert Amy Brann. 

The Squiggly Careers podcast has been recommended by Harvard Business Review, Stylist, Marie Claire and Management Today.

For more ideas, tools and inspiration every week, you can also sign up to their newsletter Squiggly Careers in Action.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• No. of episodes: 491
• Latest episode: 2025-07-15
• Business Careers Management

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