1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: tip is that you don't have to schedule calls in 4 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: your personal life and your professional life. If you want 5 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: to talk with someone, you can just pick up the phone. 6 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: So I'm guessing that you occasionally get an unexpected call 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: from someone you know. You may wonder why they are calling. 8 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: Perhaps you even worry that you forgot about something, or 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: perhaps that something terrible has happened. But if you pick 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: up the phone and discover that the person was just 11 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: thinking of you and wanted to say hi, the call 12 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: will almost certainly brighten your day. And if the unexpected 13 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: call is from a colleague who has a quick question, 14 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: I am guessing you would much prefer that call to 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: receiving a multi paragraph email that would take you fifteen 16 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: minutes to respond to. In both of these cases, you 17 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: weren't mad about receiving the call. So it stands to 18 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 1: reason that most people you know well enough to call 19 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: will also be perfectly fine with hearing from you unannounced. 20 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: Yet I know a great many of us are incredibly 21 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: reluctant to just pick up the phone. And call someone 22 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: without a scheduled appointment. I am not sure why this is. 23 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: I am old enough to remember when there wasn't a 24 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 1: great way to communicate beyond phone calls with people. Your 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: home phone would ring and someone would answer it who 26 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: knew who might be calling. Texting an email make communications 27 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: so much easier. But the trouble is that arranging a 28 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: call often takes as much time and energy is simply 29 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: picking up the phone and calling right then. I see 30 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: this especially with people's work schedules. Someone has a quick question, 31 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 1: the sort you might casually ask while stopping by someone's cubicle, 32 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: But with many folks working from home these days, there 33 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: are fewer casual interactions like that. So you get on 34 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: someone's calendar, but they might be booked up until a 35 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: day or two from now, and then you are on 36 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: the calendar for thirty minutes because that's the default, and 37 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: you and the person have to look at the appointment 38 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: and stop other things to get in the mindset, and 39 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: all this winds up being quite a waste of time. 40 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: Just pick up the phone. If the person can answer, 41 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: then great. If they can't, you could call back, or 42 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: you can text, or you can email. But it's worth 43 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: a shot. Likewise, in our personal lives, phone calls are 44 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: a great leisure time activity for connecting with people who 45 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: we can't see in person. Lots of folks are busy 46 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: with kids and activities and work. It's hard to get 47 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: together for dinner, but fifteen minutes after kid bedtime could 48 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: turn into a fun catch up time. You might not 49 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: know exactly when your kids or your friend's kids will 50 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: be down, but maybe there is a ninety percent confidence 51 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: interval after nine pm. So just pick up the phone 52 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: and call your friend. Then if she can't answer, she 53 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: can't answer, but maybe she can, and you'll have a 54 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: lot more fun talking than scrolling around to see what 55 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: Netflix has on offer. Now. I know that if you 56 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: are not accustomed to just calling people, this might all 57 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: feel quite awkward. They might think you have big news 58 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: to share or something, so you'll just have to assure 59 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: them that no, you are not having another baby. You 60 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: just wanted to chat. Eventually, you will become the person 61 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: who just chats and people won't wonder what is going 62 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: on now. Of course, I am not saying not to 63 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: schedule calls. I know people who have phone or FaceTime 64 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: dates with friends and relatives and treasure that time. And 65 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: if your boss is really booked solid, maybe you are 66 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: best off trying to protect time on her calendar and 67 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: speak with her about all the matters you need to 68 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: address at that time. But you don't have to schedule 69 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: and potentially reschedule all your calls. You can also just 70 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: pick up the phone. Truly, that is how it used 71 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: to work. All the time, we use our phones for 72 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: so much, from directions to entertainment, that we forget what 73 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: they were actually created for. It might be worth rediscovering 74 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: that function in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, 75 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks 76 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 77 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 78 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 79 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 80 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.