WEBVTT - Leave room for opportunity

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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 to leave room for opportunity. Why is time?

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<v Speaker 1>Managers know to leave a buffer for things to go wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is also possible that something could go amazingly right.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to leave space for that opportunity. So I

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<v Speaker 1>am sure you have had the experience of feeling like

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<v Speaker 1>your calendar is packed absolutely full. Then someone floats a

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<v Speaker 1>vague idea and you're vaguely interested, but there's no real space,

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<v Speaker 1>so you don't pursue it. I am also sure that, you,

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<v Speaker 1>like me, have had the experience of something random turning

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<v Speaker 1>into something really cool. A getting to know you chat

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<v Speaker 1>turns into a full fledged collaboration. An invite to walk

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<v Speaker 1>with a group some morning turns into several close friendships.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I know this is a balancing act. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the most common productivity tips out there is to say

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<v Speaker 1>no more often, and there's definitely something to that, especially

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<v Speaker 1>if you have trouble with boundaries. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>almost every new cool thing in life comes out of

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<v Speaker 1>a yes. Sometimes the yes is obvious. Why yes, I

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<v Speaker 1>would like a big raise and a promotion thank you,

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<v Speaker 1>But often that yes comes after a few conversations and

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<v Speaker 1>a few follow ups that lead there. So given this

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<v Speaker 1>balancing act, I think the best approach is two part. First,

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<v Speaker 1>be utterly ruthless about saying no to stuff that is

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<v Speaker 1>of zero interest or really doesn't feel like a good

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<v Speaker 1>use of your time. I include regularly scheduled work meetings

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<v Speaker 1>in this. They need to earn their keep on your calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>But then leave some space to be open to opportunity.

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<v Speaker 1>I try to leave Fridays pretty open. If something goes wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>I have room for the overflow. But because I think

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<v Speaker 1>of Fridays as open time, I am also willing to

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<v Speaker 1>put potentially interesting stuff there without viewing it as being

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<v Speaker 1>in competition with everything else I am doing. The upside

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<v Speaker 1>is that then if somebody wants to meet or chat

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<v Speaker 1>about something and it seems like it could be interesting,

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<v Speaker 1>I can set that up on Fridays. I often do

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<v Speaker 1>lunches or coffees on Fridays. Most don't lead to anything.

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<v Speaker 1>Most stuff in life just doesn't, but some does. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>you can try to leave a little space open in

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<v Speaker 1>your life for opportunity to On the professional front, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>Fridays would work, or maybe it's some afternoon each week.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes you'll need this space for emergencies, but sometimes you

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<v Speaker 1>can use it for being open to randomness. I think

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<v Speaker 1>this can work in our personal lives as well. I

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<v Speaker 1>am a big fan of planning weekends ahead of time,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do get a little concerned when all the

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<v Speaker 1>weekends for the next few months start to look booked up.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that there will be a cool trip, or

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<v Speaker 1>a friend will be visiting town, or someone will throw

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<v Speaker 1>a party that would be fun to go to. Best

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<v Speaker 1>to leave at least a little open space. I will

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<v Speaker 1>be taking a trip in May with a friend that

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<v Speaker 1>she suggested randomly, so I am glad that all my

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<v Speaker 1>May weekends weren't full. Productivity is always about a balance,

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<v Speaker 1>but the truth is that we seldom know before any

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<v Speaker 1>bit of time all the things that we will need

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<v Speaker 1>or want to do by the end of that bit

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<v Speaker 1>of time. We need to leave space for emergencies, because

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<v Speaker 1>we all know that emergencies happen, but good things can

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<v Speaker 1>come up to the good news is that it is

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<v Speaker 1>usually possible to proactively schedule in your priorities and leave

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<v Speaker 1>space for what comes up. Time is vast. A little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of randomness can make your time a lot more fun.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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