1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: tip is to round early. Making yourself available to your 4 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: colleagues well before the end of the workday and perhaps 5 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: to your kids well before bedtime means you'll be more 6 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: likely to stick to your schedule without sacrificing connection. You 7 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: have probably heard of medical rounds. Medical providers make their 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: way to see each of their patients in the hospital 9 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: to check on them and be available for any questions. 10 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: Even if you work in an office, you can take 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: a page from physicians playbooks and round. That is, you 12 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: can proactively walk the area where you're tea works and 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: either verbally check in with each of your team members 14 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: or simply make yourself visible so they can call you 15 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: over if there is anything they need to talk through. 16 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: You may feel like you are already fielding a thousand 17 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: questions and the last thing you want to do is 18 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: an invite even more. But here's the thing. Your team 19 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: probably has questions and updates they want to share. Rounding 20 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: lets you address those questions and updates at a time 21 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: that works for you. Rounds are like office hours, but 22 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: in reverse, you go to your team instead of being 23 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: available for your team to come to you. Because rounds 24 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: make you available to your team, your team members are 25 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: less likely to email you or send a chat message, 26 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: or to make a guess about how they should handle 27 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: a tricky situation. As rounding early, I mean plan on 28 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: doing this, circling a significant amount of time before you 29 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: plan to walk out the door. Here's why. If you 30 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: round early, you might ward off that tendency for a 31 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: colleague to approach you with just one quick question right 32 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: as you need to leave. You may be on your 33 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: way to pick up a kid, or meet a friend 34 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: for a drink, or change clothes for a yoga class 35 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: that starts really soon. You may not really have time 36 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: for the question, but you also don't want to leave 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: your team member hanging unable to move forward in their work. 38 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: So why not give people a chance to remember and 39 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: ask those questions earlier in the day. It might not work, 40 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: but it also just might. A similar approach can work 41 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,119 Speaker 1: at home. I hear from parents of tweens and teens 42 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: that their own bedtime gets through thrown off when a 43 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: usually silent child suddenly wants to open up When the 44 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: parent sticks their head in to say good night, leaving 45 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: the parent torn between spending meaningful time with a kid 46 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: and getting to bed in time for a good night's sleep. 47 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: I have definitely been there to create opportunity for connection 48 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: and sleep. I find it can help to round earlier 49 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: instead of waiting until bedtime to engage with your kids. 50 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: Consider making the rounds an hour or so before. My 51 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: kids are required to be in their bedrooms without devices 52 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: an hour before lights out, so it is possible to 53 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: stop by earlier. If I want to get to bed 54 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: as early as possible. Perhaps a similar approach might work 55 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: for you, just as it pays to round earlier at 56 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: work and in your home. In other contexts too, there 57 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: is wisdom and making sure that you connect before the 58 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: window is closing. Don't let a lunch with a friend 59 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: pass with just chet chat about Taylor Swift's new album 60 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: and your commuting woes. If what you really want to 61 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: talk about is whether you should move in with your partner, 62 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 1: that big topic warrants more time, then you can give 63 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: it if you bring it up only as you are 64 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: waiting for the check. Don't spend a week at your 65 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: parents house playing bridge if what you really want to 66 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: do is talk with them about where they want to 67 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: live when they can't live independently any more. Get to 68 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: the big topics sooner. We have all had the experience 69 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: of big, schedule busting matters coming out at the end 70 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: of a meeting or the end of any sort of gathering, 71 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: and sometimes that is just life. But it might also 72 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: be possible to round early and encourage these big matters 73 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: to surface at a time when you have enough time 74 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: to deal with them in the meantime. This is Laura. 75 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the moose of 76 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 77 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 78 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 79 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 80 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 81 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.