WEBVTT - Try a desk day

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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 try a desk day. In an

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<v Speaker 1>earlier episode, we talked about being more thoughtful with meetings.

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<v Speaker 1>A related question is when we should schedule meetings, and

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<v Speaker 1>just as important, when we shouldn't schedule meetings. Meetings and

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<v Speaker 1>appointments are obviously necessary, but when things land on our

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<v Speaker 1>calendars for specific times and involve other people, they don't

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<v Speaker 1>just consume the time allotted to them. We plan our

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<v Speaker 1>whole days around them. We stop what we're doing before

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<v Speaker 1>meeting start, and when they're done, we cycle back through

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<v Speaker 1>our transition rituals, checking email, checking headlines, and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>The result is that time feels chopped up. We hesitate

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<v Speaker 1>to start bigger projects or anything that requires an uncertain

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<v Speaker 1>amount of time. So how can we solve this problem?

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<v Speaker 1>I love to suggestion and sent in by a Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast listener named Diane. She writes that, having spent the

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<v Speaker 1>last ten years as a freelance graphic designer, I'm pretty

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<v Speaker 1>obsessed with tracking my work time and constantly improving efficiency.

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<v Speaker 1>Last year I started employing a new trick that has

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<v Speaker 1>really helped me manage my weeks the trick is this

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<v Speaker 1>no meetings or appointments for work or personal reasons on Monday's.

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<v Speaker 1>Diane writes, the hours of eight to five are blocked off,

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<v Speaker 1>sacred reserved for desk work. The reason she started doing

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<v Speaker 1>what she calls desk Mondays is that in her business,

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<v Speaker 1>she notes, many of my clients work weekends, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is often when they email requests to me. Other clients

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<v Speaker 1>returned to work on Monday and bust through a to

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<v Speaker 1>do list that involves offloading certain projects. To me, Mondays

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<v Speaker 1>were always hectic and unpredictable, and accommodating anything away from

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<v Speaker 1>my desk created a day of rushing and stress. So

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<v Speaker 1>I just decided that desk Mondays would be a thing,

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<v Speaker 1>and it has given me enough time to deal with

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<v Speaker 1>the things I planned, the things I didn't, and to

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<v Speaker 1>prep a bit for the rest of the week. A

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<v Speaker 1>day with no scheduled appointments gives Diane freedom and flexibility.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I understand that Mondays might not work for everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>While it's nice to start the week with the ability

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<v Speaker 1>to execute on big projects, maybe you'd have better luck

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<v Speaker 1>keeping Fridays free for desk Fridays. In many organizations, Friday

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<v Speaker 1>is already a little lighter on the meetings. This open

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<v Speaker 1>space allows you to catch up on anything that didn't

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<v Speaker 1>happen earlier in the week. That way, you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to borrow time from the next week or work on

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend. I've also seen some more intriguing versions of this.

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<v Speaker 1>A few organizations I've studied have work from home Wednesday.

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<v Speaker 1>I love this as a policy. People get a midweek

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<v Speaker 1>break from commuting, and managers can be assured that people

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<v Speaker 1>aren't using telecommuting as a back doorway of leaving early

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<v Speaker 1>for the weekend. Anyway, as part of work from home Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>people agree not to schedule meetings for that day. Everyone

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<v Speaker 1>can hunker down and do focused work. They come back

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday and Friday ready to collaborate. If you're listening to

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<v Speaker 1>this and thinking, but Laura, I have no control over

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<v Speaker 1>when meetings get scheduled, or I have too many meetings

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<v Speaker 1>to leave a day free, don't worry. Even if you

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<v Speaker 1>can't get a whole desk day like Diane, you might

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<v Speaker 1>do your best to block off half a day or

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<v Speaker 1>even a few hours. Study your schedule to see where

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<v Speaker 1>this might work. It doesn't always need to be the

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<v Speaker 1>same time every week. Maybe every other week would work,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe you can be creative. If I've flown somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>for work at night and my first appointment is at

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<v Speaker 1>noon the next day, I'll block that time in the

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<v Speaker 1>morning and do focused work in my hotel room. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>be on the road. Then seems to be a magical

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<v Speaker 1>line for making a block of time off limits. You

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<v Speaker 1>might also realize that you have more control than you think. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>people manage to not schedule meetings or appointments while they're

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<v Speaker 1>on airplanes and the world keeps spinning. When I've had

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<v Speaker 1>people study their schedules, many report back that a fair

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<v Speaker 1>number of requests come in the form of could I

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<v Speaker 1>get some time Monday or Tuesday? If Monday is your

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<v Speaker 1>desk day. Don't offer this time up without a really

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<v Speaker 1>good reason. If you have to, you have to, but

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<v Speaker 1>make sure this is a conscious choice. If you do this,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll have time to collaborate and time to focus. Just

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<v Speaker 1>like Diane, You'll be feeling less busy while getting more done.

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<v Speaker 1>So look at your calendar and see when a desk

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<v Speaker 1>day could happen for you. If you're managing people, see

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<v Speaker 1>if you can all agree on a desk day, you

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<v Speaker 1>might be pleased with the results. In the meantime, this

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

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch.