WEBVTT - Celebrate what you’ve done 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to celebrate what you've done, Especially when

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<v Speaker 1>you're working from home and not commuting anywhere. It can

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<v Speaker 1>be easy to feel like you haven't done much of anything,

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<v Speaker 1>but you probably have so best to notice that. When

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<v Speaker 1>I first began working from home almost twenty years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>I found the switch from an office job disorienting. I

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<v Speaker 1>was used to getting up and getting into fancy clothes

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<v Speaker 1>and then taking a train and two buses to get

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<v Speaker 1>to work. As you might imagine, that process had to

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<v Speaker 1>be reversed to get home. Moving myself around so much

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<v Speaker 1>meant that by evening, whatever else had happened that day,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd feel like I'd done a lot, and then suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't going much of anywhere. Not only that, no

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<v Speaker 1>one was monitoring when I started working or when I stopped.

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<v Speaker 1>If I didn't get much done on any particular day,

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<v Speaker 1>there was absolutely no hiding that fact from myself. Eventually

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<v Speaker 1>I got better at the rhythms of daily life, but

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<v Speaker 1>one thing that helped me feel productive is learning to

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<v Speaker 1>make challenging but doable task lists for each day and

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<v Speaker 1>then making sure I ended the day with everything crossed off.

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<v Speaker 1>If I did something that wasn't on the task list,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd write it after doing it, and then I'd cross

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<v Speaker 1>it off. I know that sounds silly, and yes it

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<v Speaker 1>is kind of silly, but the crossing off was important

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<v Speaker 1>for me mentally. It was my way of celebrating what

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<v Speaker 1>I'd done. Crossing items off a list is one approach,

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<v Speaker 1>but you can also just go straight to the celebration

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<v Speaker 1>part at the end of the day. Get in the

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<v Speaker 1>habit of listing the tasks you've accomplished. You might call

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<v Speaker 1>this your done lists, or even if you want to

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<v Speaker 1>be cute, a two done list, not just a to

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<v Speaker 1>do list. If you've got a supervisor, this would make

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<v Speaker 1>a great end of day email. Your supervisor can't read

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<v Speaker 1>your mind, and it's harder to keep tabs on things

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<v Speaker 1>with remote workers. This done list keeps you accountable. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>your manager give you feedback and let's be honest. Will

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<v Speaker 1>likely lead to a great job note that will help

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<v Speaker 1>you in the day well too. You can share your

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<v Speaker 1>list with team members as well, not so much for

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<v Speaker 1>seeking validation as just to keep everyone up to date.

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<v Speaker 1>They'll probably share what they've done with you, which you

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<v Speaker 1>can applaud. If you've got direct reports, you might ask

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<v Speaker 1>them to send you a done list so you can

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<v Speaker 1>keep tabs on what's going on and give them lots

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<v Speaker 1>of high fives as well. This habit does a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of good things. First, it keeps everyone focused on what's

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<v Speaker 1>getting done. Sometimes we can measure work days and hours,

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<v Speaker 1>as in I put in my eight, but honestly, who

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<v Speaker 1>cares about the time. What usually matters is what you

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<v Speaker 1>did with it. A done list keeps you accountable for results.

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<v Speaker 1>It can also make you feel really good. There are

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<v Speaker 1>always things you've done, even if it's not necessarily what

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<v Speaker 1>you intended to do at the beginning of the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes we can get derailed from our to do lists,

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<v Speaker 1>but we never get derailed from our done list because well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's in the past. If you are supposed to do

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<v Speaker 1>eight things and you did five of them but did

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<v Speaker 1>five other things, well you may need to work on

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<v Speaker 1>your to do list making skills, but there is no

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<v Speaker 1>reason not to celebrate the ten things that did happen.

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<v Speaker 1>And finally, creating a done list is a great way

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<v Speaker 1>to end the day. Once you've listed what you've done.

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<v Speaker 1>You can actually be done when you work from home

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<v Speaker 1>and don't have an end of day commute, creating a

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<v Speaker 1>boundary around work. This can be a smart way to

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<v Speaker 1>create such a boundary. You think back over the day,

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<v Speaker 1>you celebrate all the good stuff you made happen, and

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<v Speaker 1>then you can shut down your laptop and move on

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<v Speaker 1>to the rest of your life. So, if you are

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<v Speaker 1>looking for a way to make work from home days

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<v Speaker 1>feel more productive, try making a done list. You just

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<v Speaker 1>might surprise yourself with how good it feels. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. M m Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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