1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,399 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: tip is that an empty inbox does not mean you 4 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: don't have any more work to do. Indeed, whether your 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: inbox is empty or full doesn't have a lot to 6 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: do with what you should be focusing on next. Most likely, 7 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: email is not your job. It is a tool to 8 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: do your job. Best to keep that in perspective. So 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: if you use one of the most popular email programs 10 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: out there, when your inbox is empty, you get a 11 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 1: message that says, all done for the day, Enjoy your 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: empty inbox now. As cheerful as that sounds, it is 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,919 Speaker 1: most likely not accurate. Even when your inbox is empty, 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: you are probably not all done for the day. It 15 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: is easy to fall into the trap of believing that 16 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: email and work are synonymous, but they are not. Just 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: because your inbox is empty doesn't mean there's no work 18 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: that you would be wise to do. You may have 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: a meeting tomorrow where you will be asked about something complicated, 20 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: and so you should prepare some defensible answers. You may 21 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: have a colleague who you suspect is stuck on something 22 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: and addressing that problem now will be a lot easier 23 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: than addressing it a few hours before your deadline. You 24 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: could be planning out the next week, or pursuing a 25 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: speculative project, or figuring out if you need to hire 26 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: someone new next year. Even when your email inbox is empty, 27 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: there is probably important work you can and should be doing. 28 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: On the other hand, even when your inbox is full, 29 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that your full inbox should determine your 30 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: to dos for the day. The tasks clamoring for your 31 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: attention in your inbox may be your day's top priorities, 32 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: but they might not be either. Only you can figure 33 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: that out, and the random order with which things hit 34 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: your inbox is not a substitute for wise decision making. 35 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: How do you decide what to do? Longtime listeners know 36 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: that I suggest planning the upcoming week on Fridays. By 37 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: setting your priorities for the week before it even begins, 38 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: you know exactly what you need to focus on when 39 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: Monday morning rolls around. What needs to move forward this week, 40 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: and how will you do that At the end of 41 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: each workday, Also determine what steps on those projects you'll 42 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: tackle the next work day. That way, when you get 43 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: to your desk in the morning, you know what you 44 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: need to do now. Of course, we all do need 45 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,399 Speaker 1: to deal with email at some point, maybe at three 46 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: points during each work day, or maybe even a bit 47 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: more often, depending on the nature of your work, but 48 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: living in your inbox is probably not the way to 49 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: make meaningful progress on the work that matters most. Sure, 50 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: you'll stay busy, but you weren't hired to be busy. 51 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: You are hired to get important things done. I am 52 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: not sure that achieving an empty inbox message indicates that 53 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: this has happened. So if you see a message in 54 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: your inbox that says you're all done for the day, 55 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: don't be fooled. Your job is not to process email. 56 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it's a lot more exciting than that. In 57 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's 58 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: to making the most of our times. Thanks for listening 59 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, 60 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 61 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 62 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or 63 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.