WEBVTT - You are not all done

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.399
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:16.880
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:21.240
<v Speaker 1>tip is that an empty inbox does not mean you

0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:25.160
<v Speaker 1>don't have any more work to do. Indeed, whether your

0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.480
<v Speaker 1>inbox is empty or full doesn't have a lot to

0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:32.440
<v Speaker 1>do with what you should be focusing on next. Most likely,

0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:38.199
<v Speaker 1>email is not your job. It is a tool to

0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:44.720
<v Speaker 1>do your job. Best to keep that in perspective. So

0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.400
<v Speaker 1>if you use one of the most popular email programs

0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:51.199
<v Speaker 1>out there, when your inbox is empty, you get a

0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:55.279
<v Speaker 1>message that says, all done for the day, Enjoy your

0:00:55.280 --> 0:01:00.320
<v Speaker 1>empty inbox now. As cheerful as that sounds, it is

0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:05.919
<v Speaker 1>most likely not accurate. Even when your inbox is empty,

0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:10.039
<v Speaker 1>you are probably not all done for the day. It

0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:12.320
<v Speaker 1>is easy to fall into the trap of believing that

0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:17.080
<v Speaker 1>email and work are synonymous, but they are not. Just

0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.760
<v Speaker 1>because your inbox is empty doesn't mean there's no work

0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:23.840
<v Speaker 1>that you would be wise to do. You may have

0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.920
<v Speaker 1>a meeting tomorrow where you will be asked about something complicated,

0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:33.840
<v Speaker 1>and so you should prepare some defensible answers. You may

0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.680
<v Speaker 1>have a colleague who you suspect is stuck on something

0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:42.040
<v Speaker 1>and addressing that problem now will be a lot easier

0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:46.120
<v Speaker 1>than addressing it a few hours before your deadline. You

0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.240
<v Speaker 1>could be planning out the next week, or pursuing a

0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.600
<v Speaker 1>speculative project, or figuring out if you need to hire

0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:57.240
<v Speaker 1>someone new next year. Even when your email inbox is empty,

0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:03.280
<v Speaker 1>there is probably important work you can and should be doing.

0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.080
<v Speaker 1>On the other hand, even when your inbox is full,

0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.480
<v Speaker 1>that doesn't mean that your full inbox should determine your

0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:14.080
<v Speaker 1>to dos for the day. The tasks clamoring for your

0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:17.600
<v Speaker 1>attention in your inbox may be your day's top priorities,

0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.840
<v Speaker 1>but they might not be either. Only you can figure

0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.720
<v Speaker 1>that out, and the random order with which things hit

0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:30.400
<v Speaker 1>your inbox is not a substitute for wise decision making.

0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:35.480
<v Speaker 1>How do you decide what to do? Longtime listeners know

0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:39.799
<v Speaker 1>that I suggest planning the upcoming week on Fridays. By

0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.560
<v Speaker 1>setting your priorities for the week before it even begins,

0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.160
<v Speaker 1>you know exactly what you need to focus on when

0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:50.600
<v Speaker 1>Monday morning rolls around. What needs to move forward this week,

0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.880
<v Speaker 1>and how will you do that At the end of

0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.880
<v Speaker 1>each workday, Also determine what steps on those projects you'll

0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:01.520
<v Speaker 1>tackle the next work day. That way, when you get

0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:04.720
<v Speaker 1>to your desk in the morning, you know what you

0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:08.400
<v Speaker 1>need to do now. Of course, we all do need

0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.399
<v Speaker 1>to deal with email at some point, maybe at three

0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:13.720
<v Speaker 1>points during each work day, or maybe even a bit

0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.240
<v Speaker 1>more often, depending on the nature of your work, but

0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.200
<v Speaker 1>living in your inbox is probably not the way to

0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:24.880
<v Speaker 1>make meaningful progress on the work that matters most. Sure,

0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:29.200
<v Speaker 1>you'll stay busy, but you weren't hired to be busy.

0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:33.280
<v Speaker 1>You are hired to get important things done. I am

0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.960
<v Speaker 1>not sure that achieving an empty inbox message indicates that

0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.800
<v Speaker 1>this has happened. So if you see a message in

0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:42.880
<v Speaker 1>your inbox that says you're all done for the day,

0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:47.920
<v Speaker 1>don't be fooled. Your job is not to process email.

0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:53.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm guessing it's a lot more exciting than that. In

0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:58.200
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:08.000
<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our times. Thanks for listening

0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.480
<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:22.160
<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:26.279
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:30.920
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or

0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:32.840
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.