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Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E5: Work-Tech Life Balance

JoRatcliffe — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:11:52 GMT

It is time for Episode 5 of the Top Tech Voices podcast! This episode’s guest is Dr Anne-Laure Le Cunff: a neuroscientist and former Googler.

Tune in for an episode covering:

Why ‘pushing through’ and resilience culture can be toxic
How curiosity helps you learn and improve yourself in the long-term
The ‘plus minus next’ journaling system for self-improvement
How to use AI as a partner for thinking and feedback

Click the banner below to watch the podcast video or listen on your favorite platform.

Or you can watch straight away right here:

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Comments should include constructive discussion on the episode's topics (for example, spending the first hour of your day on deep / focused work instead of checking emails, meta-cognition, how to deal with uncertainty), or useful feedback that helps improve future podcasts.

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RE: Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E5: Work-Tech Life Balance

wolfgangfriedrich — Sat, 09 May 2026 21:31:59 GMT

There is one word that is going to stick in my brain after listening to this episode: metacognition!

Thinking about thinking.

I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

YasminaCodes — Sat, 09 May 2026 12:09:45 GMT

Hello! I’ve just joined this community and wanted to properly introduce myself.

Nice to meet you all! I’m Yasmina, and I work as a software and data engineer.

You might be wondering what I’m doing here if my current work seems a bit far from electronics. In a way, I’m actually returning to my roots, since my background is in industrial electronics and automation.

Right now, I’m finishing my master’s degree in HPC and working on quantum computing for HPC-related projects. But the deeper I go into these fields, the more I feel like I want to get back into low-level projects where I can put the “engineering” part of my degree to work. That’s exactly what brought me here.

I’m really looking forward to participating more and engaging with everything this community has to offer.

By the way, I also create content about technology on social media, so hopefully I’ll be able to share some of what I learn here with the wider tech community too.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

DAB — Sat, 09 May 2026 19:05:10 GMT

Welcome to element14.

I have Computer Engineering Degree, which always put me in both camps.

I have found that you can write better software when you better understand what the hardware is doing and vice versa.

So I greatly encourage you to explore both.

It will make you a better engineer.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

kk99 — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:22:48 GMT

Welcome to the community.

We have made changes to the element14 Community homepage!

cstanton — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:47:32 GMT

Maybe as soon as now!

Behind the scenes we have been making changes based up on your feedback, and some ideas of our own. The changes went live on Tuesday the 5th of May at about 1pm.

What kind of changes?

When you're logged into the Community you'll now get a bit more clear information about your account. Where to go to change your avatar, customise your notifications, view your content and see your community activity.

You can also change the achievements you want to highlight on your profile - maybe learn about some achievements you've yet to get? And also what your current level is, and details on how you got there.

We'll be looking into changing this area a little bit in the future, maybe highlighting some more about your account so you can get the most out of it.

When you're logged out of the site, it'll look a little different.

We wanted to highlight some of the benefits of the Community to entice people to join. We had to put something here, so we've started with this and we may build upon it in future.

As for the rest of the page?

We're highlighting featured content in a new way.

Here you should see content that we think you should see. From our programmes, announcements and otherwise, or maybe a RoadTest and Webinar that have particular interest. Here you may see new and old content featured for you to engage with.

Speaking of content to engage with, Webinars and RoadTests now have a more prominent place, along with the current question of the month (I should update that):

You'll get a quick presentation of the past two to three Webinars or RoadTests if there's nothing enrolling right now for you to check out and read up on. We do have a long library of on-demand Webinars after all, and the RoadTest Reviews are definitely a bit more than just a review.

Content that overflows from our 'Featured content' will feature in the banner below, from our third party associations through to projects that are still just as important, but we couldn't quite fit in.

We now show all of the 'recent content' in one list (well, two, and no more 'tabbed' content) so if there's a new blog post, or forum post or project to the Community it'll be shown straight away and not hidden away.

On the left of this list is who created it and when, in the centre is the title, and where it was created, and on the right an icon to represent the content type, how many views, and how many likes it has.

We have separated the list into 'Latest from the Community' and 'Latest Tech News from our Partners', our partners are those who manage their own group and sell products on the Farnell online stores.

There are some 'stretch goals' we have in mind to improve this layout, filters for the recent content list for one, and surfacing different content when you log in.

Hopefully this will help your content come to the front page sooner and make it easier for you to find your way to what's new, and then we'll be looking at the rest of the site and its sections as we go.

Thanks again for being a part of this journey with us.

[embed:33ecb077-39b7-4078-9b1e-dc3f977a690b:5c84d319-4cfb-4932-8faa-7f9eaeb2dd0c:question=How%20do%20you%20feel%20about%20the%20updated%20element14%20Community%20homepage%3F&description=&pollOptions=%5B%7B%22OptionId%22%3A%2250dce5dc-5eb2-4a60-a54e-8cf7a0fa15be%22%2C%22Option%22%3A%22%20I%20like%20it%2C%20it%E2%80%99s%20clearer%20and%20easier%20to%20use%22%2C%22Ordinal%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22OptionId%22%3A%227081968d-0f9d-48ea-a333-008d968625f1%22%2C%22Option%22%3A%22I%27m%20still%20getting%20used%20to%20it%22%2C%22Ordinal%22%3A1%7D%2C%7B%22OptionId%22%3A%229772d9a3-6dbf-42fe-88b2-6575d4dff6a3%22%2C%22Option%22%3A%22I%20prefer%20some%20things%20on%20the%20old%20design%22%2C%22Ordinal%22%3A2%7D%2C%7B%22OptionId%22%3A%22c2b2ddfe-2666-4f5f-b1a3-83ccc21beab3%22%2C%22Option%22%3A%22I%20have...%20opinions%2C%20I%27ll%20add%20a%20comment%21%22%2C%22Ordinal%22%3A3%7D%5D&ShowResultsConfiguration=1%2C0]

RE: We have made changes to the element14 Community homepage!

dixonselvan — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:15:48 GMT

Looking good on desktop 👌 Looks a bit congested on mobile though. Will take a while to get used to. Thanks for all your efforts in putting this through. So that we can enjoy the time we spend in the community site.

RE: Thank you element14 community

dixonselvan — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:11:49 GMT

Thank you, Alice for your contributions, help and support. All the best to your future endeavours!

Thank you element14 community

E14Alice — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:12:38 GMT

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share that 7th May will be my last day with the element14 team.

If you have any Design Challenge kit issues, please reach out to [mention:ef3eff32a0cb4cc7a5e89891f461c343:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05]. For anything RoadTest‑related, [mention:f9190b89a3144423a92cda972f7c734a:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] is your person.

For prizes currently in the system, the team will reach out to you once they have shipment information or updates. You can also reach out to me before 5pm GMT on the 7th May, if you have any questions about shipments and prizes.

Looking back, I've genuinely loved my time here. From putting together the round‑up/ask14 posts, to packing and sending off kits/swag bags, to the many conversations I've had with you all. Even when it's been due to FedEx problems [emoticon:d6dd260102fd406884fc96b8bc59760b]

During my time contacting you, I have realised how special the element14 community is. You have all made me feel so welcome and supportive.
This community is a very special place. Being part of it has been a privilege, and I've truly loved every minute.

Thank you,
Alice [emoticon:fbd079a1c4f748c5a234faee215de9cc]

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

meera_hussien — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:44:55 GMT

Welcome to the community

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

kmikemoo — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:32:01 GMT

Welcome to the community. We look forward to your participation. ☺

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

dougw — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:20:17 GMT

Welcome! Looking forward to your participation...

Alejandro, Embedded Systems and Hardware Acceleration Enthusiast

afernandez — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:09:49 GMT

My name is Alejandro, and I’m excited to join the element14 Community.

I’m an embedded systems and software engineer with a strong interest in hardware design, digital electronics, FPGA/RTL development, and embedded Linux. I enjoy working close to the hardware, understanding how systems behave at a low level, and building projects that combine software, electronics, and real-world applications.

Some of the areas I’m especially interested in are embedded C/C++, FreeRTOS, Linux drivers, SystemVerilog, hardware accelerators, sensors, communication buses, and edge computing.

I’m looking forward to learning from the community, sharing my projects, asking technical questions, and contributing whenever I can.

Thanks for having me here!

RE: Alejandro, Embedded Systems and Hardware Acceleration Enthusiast

genebren — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:11:34 GMT

Welcome to the element14 community. Many of the members have very similar interests (myself included). Learning and sharing are really what this community is about.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

genebren — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:08:17 GMT

Welcome to the element14 community! The community is made up of people with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds, so we all fit in somewhere. Many of us have moved through our careers, bouncing between the lines of software and hardware, wearing different hats as the need arises.

Find a path that fits you as you are now, and play nice with the others and you will do just fine.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

colporteur — Sat, 09 May 2026 13:59:41 GMT

Welcome. My career path has some similarities. Started with a formal education in electronics and some where along the journey took a path that ended in a retirement from IT security. I think you will discover the software and data skills are not wasted here. Don't burn your finger with the iron.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

dang74 — Sat, 09 May 2026 13:23:39 GMT

Welcome YasminaCodes . You've come to the right place for revisiting your electronics roots.

RE: Alejandro, Embedded Systems and Hardware Acceleration Enthusiast

dang74 — Sat, 09 May 2026 13:19:53 GMT

Welcome Alejandro, your interests intersect with a lot of what this community has to offer.

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

afernandez — Sat, 09 May 2026 12:24:53 GMT

Hi Yasmina and welcome onboard! I think that your interests and background fits perfect to this party ;)!

RE: I'm Yasmina and I just joined the party!

chloro — Sat, 09 May 2026 12:18:42 GMT

Hey Yasmina, welcome aboard! 😉 That’s some really awesome background experience you’ve got there, and quite frankly, returning to engineering is the right call for you. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

RE: Alejandro, Embedded Systems and Hardware Acceleration Enthusiast

afernandez — Sat, 09 May 2026 11:09:02 GMT

Thanks for your coments and the warm welcome!

RE: Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E5: Work-Tech Life Balance

embeddedguy — Sat, 09 May 2026 07:20:17 GMT

Interesting Podcast. They have discussed about Toxic environments and how working at Toxic places can reduce our productivity. But she also mentioned that freelancers and content creators have more freedom and they can grow creatively.

Indeed, this is a kind of discovery that we all have to make about ourselves. But a podcast on a community can help us understand that many others also feel the same way I feel about work and workplace.

I have been reading a famous book called "IKIGAI" and this podcast has something similar to the topics that are discussed in that book.!

What do they mean? Product marketing.

colporteur — Thu, 07 May 2026 14:23:43 GMT

I recently did a survey, that asked me to use my understanding of a list of terms to make product decisions.

At the end of the survey the marketer provided their definition of the terms and asked if my decisions would have changed.

I discovered I had a bias. If you the marketer understood how I defined a term, they could change my behaviour.

The exercise is for you to match the terms in column A with the meaning in column B. What do the terms mean to you? SPOILER ALERT the answer key is included.

	A	B
A1	Alternatives	Products you have looked at during your recent browsing.
A2	Similar products	Products that other customers looked at when viewing this item.
A3	Associated products	Products designed to work with the one you’re viewing.
A4	Recommended products	Optional add ons that complement or enhance the product.
A5	Recently viewed	Products that are related, but not necessarily similar or compatible.
A6	People also viewed	Products suggested based on relevance, popularity, or suitability.
A7	Compatible products	Products that can be used instead of the one you’re viewing, offering a similar purpose or function.
A8	Accessories	Products that share key characteristics but may differ in features, specifications, or brand.

I would be interested in your feedback after you complete the exercise.

Below is the matching order for the definitions in column B.

A5
A6
A7
A8
A3
A4
A1
A2

RE: What do they mean? Product marketing.

colporteur — Fri, 08 May 2026 21:18:28 GMT

BD is that cynicism I detect or did you skip a bathroom break:)

RE: What do they mean? Product marketing.

kmikemoo — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:45:11 GMT

I actually liked how Alanta Lee did it - completely open. I think matching leads the answers and you miss out on true discovery. Open questions can reveal blind spots and connections that the person creating the survey would never have considered. IMHO.