WEBVTT - You don't have to schedule calls

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that you don't have to schedule calls in

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<v Speaker 1>your personal life and your professional life. If you want

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<v Speaker 1>to talk with someone, you can just pick up the phone.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm guessing that you occasionally get an unexpected call

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<v Speaker 1>from someone you know. You may wonder why they are calling.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you even worry that you forgot about something, or

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps that something terrible has happened. But if you pick

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<v Speaker 1>up the phone and discover that the person was just

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<v Speaker 1>thinking of you and wanted to say hi, the call

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<v Speaker 1>will almost certainly brighten your day. And if the unexpected

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<v Speaker 1>call is from a colleague who has a quick question,

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<v Speaker 1>I am guessing you would much prefer that call to

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<v Speaker 1>receiving a multi paragraph email that would take you fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>minutes to respond to. In both of these cases, you

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<v Speaker 1>weren't mad about receiving the call. So it stands to

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<v Speaker 1>reason that most people you know well enough to call

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<v Speaker 1>will also be perfectly fine with hearing from you unannounced.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet I know a great many of us are incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>reluctant to just pick up the phone. And call someone

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<v Speaker 1>without a scheduled appointment. I am not sure why this is.

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<v Speaker 1>I am old enough to remember when there wasn't a

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<v Speaker 1>great way to communicate beyond phone calls with people. Your

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<v Speaker 1>home phone would ring and someone would answer it who

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<v Speaker 1>knew who might be calling. Texting an email make communications

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<v Speaker 1>so much easier. But the trouble is that arranging a

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<v Speaker 1>call often takes as much time and energy is simply

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<v Speaker 1>picking up the phone and calling right then. I see

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<v Speaker 1>this especially with people's work schedules. Someone has a quick question,

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<v Speaker 1>the sort you might casually ask while stopping by someone's cubicle,

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<v Speaker 1>But with many folks working from home these days, there

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<v Speaker 1>are fewer casual interactions like that. So you get on

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<v Speaker 1>someone's calendar, but they might be booked up until a

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<v Speaker 1>day or two from now, and then you are on

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<v Speaker 1>the calendar for thirty minutes because that's the default, and

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<v Speaker 1>you and the person have to look at the appointment

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<v Speaker 1>and stop other things to get in the mindset, and

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<v Speaker 1>all this winds up being quite a waste of time.

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<v Speaker 1>Just pick up the phone. If the person can answer,

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<v Speaker 1>then great. If they can't, you could call back, or

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<v Speaker 1>you can text, or you can email. But it's worth

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<v Speaker 1>a shot. Likewise, in our personal lives, phone calls are

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<v Speaker 1>a great leisure time activity for connecting with people who

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<v Speaker 1>we can't see in person. Lots of folks are busy

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<v Speaker 1>with kids and activities and work. It's hard to get

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<v Speaker 1>together for dinner, but fifteen minutes after kid bedtime could

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<v Speaker 1>turn into a fun catch up time. You might not

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<v Speaker 1>know exactly when your kids or your friend's kids will

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<v Speaker 1>be down, but maybe there is a ninety percent confidence

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<v Speaker 1>interval after nine pm. So just pick up the phone

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<v Speaker 1>and call your friend. Then if she can't answer, she

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<v Speaker 1>can't answer, but maybe she can, and you'll have a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more fun talking than scrolling around to see what

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix has on offer. Now. I know that if you

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<v Speaker 1>are not accustomed to just calling people, this might all

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<v Speaker 1>feel quite awkward. They might think you have big news

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<v Speaker 1>to share or something, so you'll just have to assure

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<v Speaker 1>them that no, you are not having another baby. You

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<v Speaker 1>just wanted to chat. Eventually, you will become the person

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<v Speaker 1>who just chats and people won't wonder what is going

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<v Speaker 1>on now. Of course, I am not saying not to

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<v Speaker 1>schedule calls. I know people who have phone or FaceTime

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<v Speaker 1>dates with friends and relatives and treasure that time. And

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<v Speaker 1>if your boss is really booked solid, maybe you are

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<v Speaker 1>best off trying to protect time on her calendar and

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<v Speaker 1>speak with her about all the matters you need to

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<v Speaker 1>address at that time. But you don't have to schedule

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<v Speaker 1>and potentially reschedule all your calls. You can also just

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<v Speaker 1>pick up the phone. Truly, that is how it used

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<v Speaker 1>to work. All the time, we use our phones for

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<v Speaker 1>so much, from directions to entertainment, that we forget what

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<v Speaker 1>they were actually created for. It might be worth rediscovering

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<v Speaker 1>that function in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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