WEBVTT - Work side by side

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:16.800
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.840
<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you want more connection in your

0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.759
<v Speaker 1>life but also need to get your work done, you

0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:26.439
<v Speaker 1>could try working side by side with a friend or

0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:32.600
<v Speaker 1>favorite colleague. You will log time together and you just

0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:37.320
<v Speaker 1>might make each other more productive. Today's tip comes from

0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:40.720
<v Speaker 1>an interview I did recently with Anna Goldfarb, author of

0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:46.000
<v Speaker 1>the book Modern Friendship. During our conversation, Anna mentioned that

0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.199
<v Speaker 1>she and a writer friend worked side by side at

0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:54.240
<v Speaker 1>a cafe once a week for seven years. They logged

0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.440
<v Speaker 1>a lot of time together. It turns out that consistency

0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:03.280
<v Speaker 1>is one of the dental elements of friendship. When you

0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:06.559
<v Speaker 1>see each other regularly, as Anna and her writer friend did,

0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:12.280
<v Speaker 1>you create conditions for intimacy to grow. Anna points out

0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:15.720
<v Speaker 1>that an additional secret of their success was that their

0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:20.559
<v Speaker 1>get togethers had a clear about or purpose. They both

0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:24.720
<v Speaker 1>knew that they were there to write. I think this

0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.200
<v Speaker 1>is great and as a bonus, these get togethers may

0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:33.000
<v Speaker 1>have eased the isolation that freelancers and remote workers sometimes feel.

0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.720
<v Speaker 1>So if you are looking for more connection and you

0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.080
<v Speaker 1>have the flexibility to work where you want to at

0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:44.000
<v Speaker 1>least some of the time. You might also benefit from

0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:47.920
<v Speaker 1>working side by side. This could work in a variety

0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:53.040
<v Speaker 1>of ways. If you work remotely, one option is to

0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:55.960
<v Speaker 1>occasionally work side by side with a colleague who lives

0:01:55.960 --> 0:02:00.000
<v Speaker 1>in your area. Maybe every Monday afternoon, you could meet

0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.160
<v Speaker 1>up with her at a coffee shop and work side

0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.880
<v Speaker 1>by side. Of course, if you and she need to

0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:07.920
<v Speaker 1>meet about anything, you could do that while you are

0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:12.320
<v Speaker 1>together too. If you are a freelancer or remote worker

0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.080
<v Speaker 1>without colleagues nearby, you could work side by side with

0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:18.799
<v Speaker 1>a friend who is also a remote worker or a freelancer.

0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.239
<v Speaker 1>As Anna and her friends showed, it can be enjoyable

0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.400
<v Speaker 1>and productive to work side by side, even if you're

0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:30.720
<v Speaker 1>working on different things. While you are working side by side,

0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.200
<v Speaker 1>you will likely spend a little time chatting, just as

0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.440
<v Speaker 1>you would chat with the person in the cubicle next

0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.440
<v Speaker 1>to yours if you worked in an office. If you

0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.200
<v Speaker 1>want time for deeper conversation, you could talk during your

0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.359
<v Speaker 1>lunch break or stay for a while after your work

0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:49.320
<v Speaker 1>day ends. As for where to work with a friend,

0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.240
<v Speaker 1>a coffee shop or somewhere like Panera is probably the easiest. Option,

0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.600
<v Speaker 1>but you could also work at one of your homes,

0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:02.400
<v Speaker 1>perhaps alternating between them. Your dining room table one week,

0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:08.480
<v Speaker 1>her kitchen counter the next. The library is another possibility.

0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.280
<v Speaker 1>Some libraries even have rooms you can reserve so you

0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.839
<v Speaker 1>can chat rather than needing to be silent the entire time. Now,

0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:18.919
<v Speaker 1>I brought up working side by side as a way

0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.440
<v Speaker 1>to build a relationship while getting your work done, but

0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:25.480
<v Speaker 1>you may find that working near a friend actually increases

0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:30.920
<v Speaker 1>your productivity. If anyone in your life has ADHD. You

0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:35.600
<v Speaker 1>may have heard of body doubling. A person with ADHD

0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.600
<v Speaker 1>works in the presence of another person who is also working.

0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.400
<v Speaker 1>When you are near someone who is calmly getting their

0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.840
<v Speaker 1>work done, it creates a model for how you can

0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:50.160
<v Speaker 1>get your work done too. When you work side by side,

0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:53.280
<v Speaker 1>you and your friends serve as each other's body doubles

0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:59.520
<v Speaker 1>and offer a model of focus and productivity. In other words,

0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.040
<v Speaker 1>of working out at home leaves you frequently distracted, Maybe

0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:06.640
<v Speaker 1>a little coworking is what you need. Work side by

0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.640
<v Speaker 1>side with a friend and you will know that it

0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.880
<v Speaker 1>is work time, and you will log the hours that

0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:17.360
<v Speaker 1>will make you even better friends in the future. In

0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:22.880
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:32.640
<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:37.120
<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:46.760
<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.960
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:55.560
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

0:04:55.600 --> 0:05:07.599
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.