The PiViva audio library: help to listen to, from a ninety-second reset to a longer session

PiViva's audio library, called Listen, groups recordings by what you need and how long you've got: ninety-second resets, short pep talks before something important, longer guided sessions, a bedtime story for grown-ups, and music. Every coaching tool also has its own Tasting Note, a short audio explainer of around ninety seconds.

When is audio better than a worksheet?

There are days when you want to sit down with a cup of tea and work through a tool properly, giving it twenty minutes and some honest answers. Those days are wonderful, and the tools in PiViva are there for them.

There are other days, though, when you have ninety seconds between meetings and your head is still in the last one. Or you're about to walk into an interview and your stomach is doing somersaults. Or it's eleven o'clock at night, you're exhausted, and your mind simply won't switch off.

In those moments a worksheet is the last thing you need, and a calm voice in your ears can do far more for you. That's what Listen is for.

What's in the audio library?

The shelves are named after coffee, and they're sized by how long they take. Tasting Notes has a short audio explainer for each of the coaching tools, telling you what it is, where it comes from and how to use it, in around ninety seconds. Ristretto has short, sharp resets of around ninety seconds, such as "Three breaths before you speak" and "Put the last meeting down".

Espresso has quick pep talks for the moments before something important, including "Before you walk in", "Nerves, before you present", "Procrastination, broken now" and "Power pose, without the shouting". Cappuccino gives you time to think something through, with tracks such as "Building a habit" and "Standing in your own shoes". Latte has unhurried sessions for lasting change, including "Meeting your future self", "Your ideal life, five years from now" and "Reframing the story you tell yourself".

Hot Chocolate is for relaxing, guilt-free listening, starting with "A bedtime story for grown-ups", and Americano has music and voiceless audio for focus, winding down and sleep. If you'd rather browse by what's on your mind, you can also explore by topic: confidence, fear and courage; focus and procrastination; habits; mindset and limiting beliefs; vision and future-self visualisation; meditation and focus; and sleep.

Who made it, and what's the thinking behind it?

The recordings are narrated by three voices, Ralph Varcoe, Marston York and Jo Whitfield, so you'll soon find the voice that suits you best at the end of a long day.

There's good evidence behind the different formats. A 2018 review by Andrea Zaccaro and colleagues found that slow breathing was linked to calmer physiology and a better mood, which is the principle behind the short Ristretto resets. A 2019 meta-analysis by Kimberly Valentine and colleagues found that hypnosis was an effective treatment for anxiety. And a 2022 Cochrane review led by Kira Jespersen found that listening to music may improve sleep quality for adults living with insomnia.

"Meeting your future self" draws on Hal Hershfield's research, which suggests that people who connect with their future selves make different decisions for them.

It's only fair to be honest about one track as well. "Power pose" is named with a smile. The original power-posing research in 2010 claimed effects on hormones that a larger study in 2015 couldn't find, so the bold claims didn't hold up. What does seem to hold up is that it can change how powerful you feel, and that feeling is exactly what the track is there to help with.

How do you use Listen?

The best place to start is with what you need and how long you've got, and those are the first two filters on the Listen page: "What do you need?" and "How long have you got?".

Every Tasting Note has the words written underneath if you'd rather read than listen, and once you've heard about a tool you can sign up and use the tool itself.

You can also add tracks to your own library and come back to them as often as you like.

Some of this material isn't right for everybody, and where that's the case the category tells you so. Please use common sense with the longer relaxation tracks: they're meant for times when you can close your eyes and let go, so never listen to them while driving.

What if you'd like more than audio?

Many people find a track and a tool work beautifully together. You might listen to "Procrastination, broken now" and then open the Procrastination Killer while the energy is still there. You might listen to "Your ideal life, five years from now" and then write it down in My Ideal Life while the picture is still fresh. Or you might listen to "Reframing the story you tell yourself" and then carry the work on in Reframing Beliefs.

New recordings are added over time, so the library keeps growing at no extra cost, and there's a good chance that whatever kind of day you're having, there'll be something there to help you through it.