1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to build a reputation for 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: being reliable even if life isn't conspiring to help you 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: out in that regard. I know many people listening to 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: this podcast pride themselves on doing what they say they'll do. 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: I also know that this is easier for some people 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: than others, in ways that a lot of the productivity 9 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: literature out there doesn't always consider. I recently got a 10 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: note from a listener who asked what I suggested for 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: people with unpredictable or chronic medical issues. I know that 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: I have come off as unreliable at times due to 13 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: my chronic pain, and I don't like being perceived that way, 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: our listener writes, I agree, it's incredibly frustrating to be 15 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: seen as unreliable when it's really not your fault. I 16 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: know I'm fortunate not to be dealing with these specific 17 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: issues of a chronic medical condition, but I do have 18 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,279 Speaker 1: four children, and when you are a caregiver for other people, 19 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: there are so many more logistics that must be dealt 20 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: with that sometimes could make you seem unreliable as well, 21 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: and this is one reason I sometimes get frustrated with 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: productivity literature written by people who aren't in that position 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: and have never even considered what would happen if a 24 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: babysitter calls in sick, or the nurse calls because your 25 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: kid needs to be picked up at school. Last year, 26 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: I had the experience of getting a note that one 27 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: of my books, A hundred sixty eight Hours, was being 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: included on a list of the best time management books 29 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: of all time. Wow, very exciting. Literally the next minute 30 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: I was on the phone with our school systems bus dispatcher. 31 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: She told me that the school bus was not going 32 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: to be able to get down our street due to 33 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: some work that was suddenly being done, so somebody would 34 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: need to go stand on a street corner a ways 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: a way to get my children. I was curious how 36 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: many other authors on that time management book list we're 37 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: dealing with such issues at that moment. That said, I 38 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: do believe that even if there are parts of life 39 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: you can't control, there are also parts you can, and 40 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: it is possible to build a reputation for being reliable 41 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: even if you are dealing with far more complicated circumstances 42 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,359 Speaker 1: than someone who's major worry is whether he'll make it 43 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: home in time for Monday night football. Anyone dealing with 44 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: major life complications should do a few things. First, take 45 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: care of yourself. Most of us do better when we 46 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: are well rested, well fed, and moving our physical bodies 47 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,399 Speaker 1: in whatever ways we're capable of. Surround yourself with positive 48 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: people who can keep you fully charged and in a 49 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: solution seeking mindset. Second, become aware of your time, and 50 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: even more importantly, of your energy. From my conversations with 51 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: but with chronic health issues, I've learned that there are 52 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: often good days and bad days, and more than that, 53 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: even good hours and bad hours. And if there's any 54 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: sort of pattern you can detect, this is helpful for 55 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: planning your life. In my case, I've certainly found patterns 56 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: with my kids schedules. I know that we have more 57 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: snow days and sick days in January than in say, October, 58 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: so I can try to plan big life projects around that. 59 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: If you know you generally have a reasonable amount of 60 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: energy between say, eight and nine am, you'll want to 61 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: plan important matters for that window. You can leave routine 62 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: stuff for lower energy times. Third, get in the habit 63 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: of working ahead and leaving extra space. The extra space 64 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: can absorb whatever goes wrong, since, as anyone with a 65 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: complicated life knows, stuff can definitely go wrong. If an 66 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: assignment is due Friday, I aim to be done by 67 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: Tuesday or Wednesday. That way, if I lose a work 68 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: day early in the week, I still have time to 69 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: make it up, or maybe I'm already done and then 70 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: I'm still on track. If I lose a day later 71 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: in the week, particularly for longer projects, you can often 72 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: work quite a ways ahead. Book deadlines might be assigned 73 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: a year or so out, so I planned my work 74 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: to be done several months before the deadline. That way, 75 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: anything that happens in the days or weeks before the 76 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,559 Speaker 1: deadline isn't an issue. I also work ahead by taking 77 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: advantage of any found time when things are going well 78 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: and I'm feeling good and nothing's wrong with the kids. 79 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: So if the kids are all happy or doing something 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: on the weekend, I'll work then, knowing that I might 81 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: lose time during the week. This recently came in handy 82 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: when I had a major assignment do on a Wednesday. 83 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: I'd blocked out time on Monday, and Tuesday to deal 84 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: with it. But some space opened up on the weekend 85 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: when my husband was doing something with all the kids. 86 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: I managed to get about sev the way done. This 87 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: turned out to matter when we wound up spending the 88 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: entire latter half of Monday in the emergency room, with 89 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: follow up to doctor visits then required on Tuesday. All 90 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: is fine, thankfully, but it's nice in these circumstances not 91 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: to add call and explain why I need an extension 92 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: to the to do list. Fourth, well, I think of 93 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: myself as a positive person. I assume things will go wrong, 94 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: and because I make this assumption, I make plans to 95 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: address most possibilities, at least the ones I can think about. 96 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: Even though all my children are in school at least 97 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,799 Speaker 1: part time now, we still have full time childcare. That way, 98 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: if my husband and I are both nowhere near home 99 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: and a sudden ice storm means school has dismissed three 100 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: hours early, someone is on call to deal with it, 101 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: and someone with a chronic health issue might plan to 102 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: be at an event. But if that becomes impossible because 103 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: of changing conditions, well, she's already trained someone and arranged 104 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: for that person to be able to cover it if needed, 105 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: with her providing virtual support if that's possible. Finally, you 106 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: might recalibrate what it means to be reliable. I found 107 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: that when you generally do what you say you're going 108 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: to do, people are incredibly understanding in the rare circumstances 109 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: when you can't. I know, if I had called my 110 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: editor and asked for an extension after the emergency room incident, 111 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: it would have been fine. They built in space too. 112 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: Those of us who value reliability and worry that we 113 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: might be perceived as unreliable might be surprised to learn 114 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: how many people don't do what they say they're going 115 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: to do. A physician recently mentioned that her office is 116 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: no show rate was about fifteen percent, even with calls 117 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: and texts and email reminders of people don't show up 118 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: for an appointment that they personally made. And when I 119 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: researched this because I was surprised by that number, I 120 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: learned that that's actually pretty good, and some specialties the 121 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: no show rate is thirty And I'm sure that many 122 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: of these people have really good reasons for not showing up, 123 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: but I'm also sure that others probably don't. If you're 124 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: trying hard and doing good work when you can. Most 125 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: people will understand the few times when you can't, and 126 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: over time you can make choices to create a life 127 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: where you work with people who do understand. Look for 128 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: organizations with managers who have real lives. Look for organizations 129 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: that don't just talk about flexibility, but actually have people 130 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: working at different times and different places. These places are 131 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: more likely to value talented employees who just need a 132 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: little extra time and a little extra space to do 133 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: amazing things, so they are the ones who deserve you. 134 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 135 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 136 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 137 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 138 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. 139 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D. 140 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 141 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled 142 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look 143 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 144 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 145 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app Apple podcasts, or wherever 146 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.